A New Jersey Man Bit and Forced His 6-Year-Old Son to Run on a Treadmill as Punishment. Now, He'll Spend Decades Behind Bars for Manslaughter.
A man from New Jersey received a 25-year sentence for killing his son, authorities announced. Christopher Gregor, 31, was previously convicted of aggravated manslaughter and endangering a child, in the death of his 6-year-old son, and was later sentenced for the charges in July, HuffPost reported.
On April 2, 2021, the Southern Ocean Medical Center contacted the Stafford Township Police Department when they received a case of a six-year-old male in their facility, suffering from grievous injuries, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
The victim was identified as Corey Micciolo, HuffPost reported.
An emergency nurse testified during Gregor's trial that the child suffered from seizures and was pronounced dead the same day, HuffPost reported.
On April 3, 2021, a post-mortem examination was performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office shared. It was revealed that the boy lost his life due to injuries from blunt force trauma.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Gregor had allegedly abused his son in Barnegat Township on March 20, 2021, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office claimed. He was subsequently charged with murder and endangering the welfare of a child. On March 9, 2022, Gregor was taken into custody by authorities.
"I’m thankful for the collective effort of all of the law enforcement officers that participated in this very thorough and comprehensive investigation over the past 11 months. Today is the first step in bringing the person we believe is responsible for this young boy’s death to justice," Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated.
During the court proceeding a video was shown where Gregor was forcing Corey Micciolo to run on a treadmill, HuffPost reported. The footage clearly showed Micciolo struggling with running on the speeding treadmill, he fell on his back six times, but his father continued to push him to run. At one point, the father was also seen biting his son's head.
Seeing the bruises on her son's body and learning about the treadmill incident, the victim's mother, Breanna Micciolo, filed for emergency custody in March 2021, HuffPost reported. She also took her son to a doctor, who assured her that the bruises did not cause any infection or respiratory distress.
A few days later Breanna Micciolo got a call from Gregor, that Corey Micciolo was sick and was being taken to the hospital, HuffPost reported.
During the sentencing, she directed all her anger toward Gregor and said, “You have stolen my full potential for happiness. I will never have my son back, my family will never feel whole again, my daughter will never get to meet her brother, and my boyfriend will never get to be the father that the defendant should have been to our son.”
Judge Guy P. Ryan sentenced Gregor to 20 years for manslaughter and five years for child endangerment, Fox8 reported.