A murder trial is underway in New Jersey, where a father is accused of killing his 6-year-old son in 2021. Christopher Gregor, 31, reportedly abused his son, Corey Micciolo, over an extended period of time. Gregor allegedly inflicted extreme punishments on his son, including making him run on a treadmill at excessive speeds and inclines because the father thought the child was “too fat.”
In a video obtained by Court TV, the man and his son enter the Atlantic Heights Clubhouse fitness center, where Corey is seemingly made to run on the treadmill until his body physically can’t keep up. Tragically, Corey died after what his mother claimed was months of abuse at the hands of his father, and the courts allegedly did nothing to help her.
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The surveillance video is difficult to watch.
Court TV posted video from the trial to its YouTube channel of the father and son in the gym on March 20, 2021. We see Corey running on the treadmill while his father works out in another area of the gym.
As the video progresses, it appears Gregor increases the speed on the treadmill, and the child tries as hard as he can to keep up. Gregor stands at the treadmill, appearing to talk to his son as Corey runs. Sadly, it is too much for the child, and he falls off the end of the treadmill.
The father appears to show his son no mercy.
He picks up Corey from the floor and returns him to the moving treadmill. It appears the father then pushes his teeth into his son’s head. The child does his best to keep up, but once again, the treadmill wins, and the child falls on the floor.
Corey gets back up and his father finally slows down the machine. He walks away, Corey gets off, and he and his father appear to leave the facility.
Gregor sat stoically in the courtroom as the footage played.
The father watched the footage, appearing emotionless. Per the US Sun, his mother, Bre Micciolo, asked that Gregor take the boy to the doctor on April 1, 2021. While there, Corey reportedly told the doctor about the treadmill incident and that his father thought he was “too fat.”
Gregor took Corey to the hospital the next day because he was stumbling and slurring after a nap. Corey had a seizure, and doctors performed life-saving measures, but the child ultimately died.
His mother reportedly tried to get emergency custody days before Corey’s death.
His mother filed multiple abuse claims against Gregor beginning in 2019, per a post on the Justice for Corey Facebook page. The day her son died, she allegedly spoke to Gregor and pleaded with him to take the boy to the hospital. Later that day, she could not get ahold of him and called police.
“I called the police and reported to them that I didn’t know where my son was and what his father told me. They started searching, eventually I got a knock on my door with the worst news. My son had passed away at 5:00pm," sh wrote. "They don’t know how but they told me his father had left the hospital and we’d later find out he fled the state.”
Micciolo attempted to obtain emergency custody of Corey on March 31, according to Inside Edition, but her bid was denied.
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Gregor could spend the rest of his life in jail.
According to the Barnegat-Manahawkin (New Jersey) Patch, an autopsy revealed Corey suffered from bruises and cuts to the heart and liver. Dr. Thomas Andrew, a forensic pathologist who was chief medical examiner for New Hampshire for decades, stated there was evidence of chronic abuse and an acute traumatic injury to the heart that occurred four to 12 hours before Corey's death.
Gregor was offered a 30-year plea deal but turned it down, the New York Post reported. His trial continues.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
