A father who tortured his six-year-old son by forcing him to run extremely fast on a treadmill turned on the waterworks and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his child’s death.
Corey Micciolo died in 2021 after months of abuse and mistreatment at the hands of his father Christopher Gregor, 32.
On Friday, Corey’s family begged New Jersey Judge Guy P Ryan to issue the strongest possible statement for the crime.
His mother, Breanna Micciolo, wept as she pleaded for justice for her son, describing the “irreparable damage” Gregor had caused.
“He has no remorse for any of the acts he committed. His own remorse is because he was caught and convicted,” Micciolo told the court.
“Everything he did to Corey was done out of pure spite against me. Another reason is because he’s sick in the head and he used Corey as his punching bag. He never had an ounce of love for Corey, he was just an inconvenience in his life.
“I can’t even imagine what my son went through behind closed doors with this man.”
Faced with the prospect of a 40-year prison sentence, Gregor wept as he listened to Corey’s family recount the impact the loss had had on their lives.
Judge Ryan sentenced him to 20 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter and five years in prison for child abuse. These sentences are to be served consecutively.
He argued that it was “legally untenable” to impose the maximum sentences, as these sentences would likely be overturned on appeal.
During the emotional hearing, Corey’s mother described how “haunted” she was by the memory of the moment she dropped her son off at Gregor’s home for the last time.
“Despite what he did, Corey still loved him,” Micciolo sobbed before addressing Gregor directly.
“He looked up to you,” she added. “He still wanted to feel like a real father. Instead of being a good role model for Corey, he decided to beat him to death.
Micciolo died on April 2, 2021, after complaining of nausea and shortness of breath. He suffered multiple seizures upon arrival at the hospital and died an hour later
The case gained national attention after video surfaced showing Gregor forcing the six-year-old to run on a treadmill, even picking him up and putting him back on the machine after he fell
Corey’s mother Breanna Micciolo sobbed as she described the devastating impact of losing her son
“I hate you, I will never forgive you. I will never get my son back. My family will never feel lost again. My daughter will never meet my brother again. You took my whole world away.”
Gregor was convicted after a four-week trial, during which jurors were shown surveillance footage of him increasing the speed and incline on a treadmill, causing Corey to fall several times.
The boy died several weeks later and Gregor’s legal team continues to maintain that he died of an infection, despite medical experts’ findings that he suffered blunt force trauma.
“I never wanted to see that video,” Micciolo sobbed as she recalled having to watch the clip as part of the trial.
The jury dismissed the murder charge, instead convicting him of the lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter, which carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison.
Gregor was originally only charged with child abuse in connection with the surveillance footage.
He was not formally charged with murder until nearly a year after his son’s death, after the coroner initially ruled that the cause of death had not yet been determined.
According to the Ashbury Park Press, the autopsy report was later amended and the death was ruled a homicide.
Corey’s grandmother Rebecca Micciolo begged the court to give Gregor the maximum sentence
Gregor reacts as the jury reads out the guilty verdict for aggravated manslaughter on Friday
Corey’s mother Breanna Micciolo cried as Gregor was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the death of their son
Defense attorney Mario Gallucci had argued that he died of natural causes, specifically a “rapidly spreading infection,” and previously claimed he had pneumonia.
But his allegations stand in stark contrast to the testimony of a forensic pathologist who spoke on the fifth day of the trial.
According to Dr. Thomas Andrew, Corey died of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen with a laceration to the heart. Andrew testified that the cause of death was homicide.
On the morning of April 2, 2021, Micciolo brought Corey to Gregor’s house. It would be the last time she saw her son alive.
The woman told police that she last heard from Gregor that afternoon. He told her he was taking Corey to the hospital, but she didn’t say which hospital.
The little boy complained of nausea and shortness of breath, according to a probable cause statement. He suffered seizures shortly after arriving at Southern Ocean Medical Center and died an hour later.
Surveillance footage shows nurses and a doctor coming to comfort Gregor as he collapses in a chair outside his son’s hospital room.
But he left 27 minutes before Corey died, a fact noted by prosecutors, before fleeing and being captured by police in Alcoa, Tennessee, two days after Corey’s death.
Corey’s mother shared disgusting images of the abuse she claims was inflicted by the father on social media, including bruises and contusions on his body
She claims she reported Gregor to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency more than 100 times over an 18-month period, but nothing was done. She has since sued the agency for failing to act.
Micciolo’s request for emergency custody of her son was denied the day before Corey’s death on the advice of DCCP, despite at least one social worker having viewed the treadmill video and photographed the injuries on Corey’s body
“He was a little boy who deserved protection from his father, not abuse,” Judge Ryan said in his summing up.
He rejected the defense’s argument that Gregor, a former elite athlete, was merely trying to make his son stronger, calling it “unreasonable and wrong.”
“The defendant is motivated by anger, he took advantage of someone who couldn’t resist, someone who was young,” Ryan added. “Someone who does that, who has that disposition, is likely to reoffend.
He ruled that Gregor must serve a minimum of 17 years in prison before being eligible for parole on his manslaughter charge.