Christopher Gregor from New Jersey was accused of killing his 6-year-old son, Corey Micciolo, by forcing him to undergo a grueling treadmill workout. The harrowing video presented during Gregor’s trial showed him carrying Corey’s lifeless body into a hospital shortly before he died. The child was barely moving as his father carried him, displaying signs of distress and dire health issues.
Witnesses at the hospital described Corey as not showing any signs of being verbal and taking almost end-of-life breaths. Medical staff tried to save the boy’s life, but his injuries were so severe that he suffered a seizure during a CT scan, ultimately leading to his death. An initial autopsy revealed that Corey died from blunt force injuries with cardiac and liver contusions, acute inflammation, and sepsis.
Surveillance footage shown in court depicted Gregor putting his son through a disturbing workout at a fitness center because he believed the child was overweight. He forced Corey onto a treadmill, increased the speed and incline rapidly, causing the boy to fall multiple times. Corey struggled to keep up, and despite his desperate attempts, his father did not stop the workout until later lowering the speed.
During the trial at Ocean County Superior Court, Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, testified about noticing odd-shaped bruises on her son, which the pediatrician had dismissed. However, Corey later revealed the abuse to the doctor. On the day Corey died, he displayed symptoms of illness, including stumbling and slurring his words, leading to his father bringing him to the hospital, where he eventually died.
Gregor was arrested and charged with child neglect three months after Corey’s death. A forensic pathologist later identified the boy’s death as a homicide due to chronic child abuse, citing blunt force injuries to Corey’s chest and abdomen, as well as a laceration to his heart. Subsequently, Gregor was arrested on murder charges in March 2022 after turning down a 30-year plea offer and now faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of his son’s death.
