A father who tortured his six-year-old son by forcing him to run excessively on a treadmill turned on the water works as he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for the child’s death.
Corey Micciolo died in 2021 following months of beatings and abuse at the hands of his father Christopher Gregor, 32.
On Friday, Corey’s family begged New Jersey Judge Guy P Ryan to hand down the harshest possible statement for the crime.
His mother Breanna Micciolo struggled through tears as she pleaded for justice for her son and described the ‘irreparable harm’ Gregor has inflicted.
‘He has no remorse for any of the actions he committed. His own remorse is because he got caught and convicted,’ Micciolo told the court.
‘Everything he had done to Corey was done out of spite to me. Another reason is he is sick in the head and used Corey as his punching bag. He never had an ounce of love for Corey, he was just an inconvenience to his life.
‘I cannot even begin to imagine what my son went through behind closed doors with this man.’
Gregor was facing the prospect of up to 40 years behind bars and sobbed as he listened to Corey’s family detail the impact of the loss on their lives.
Judge Ryan sentenced him to 20 years for aggravated manslaughter and five years for his child endangerment charge, to be served consecutively.
He stated that it was not ‘legally sustainable’ to hand down the maximum sentences which would likely be overturned on appeal if given.
During the emotional hearing, Corey’s mom described being ‘haunted’ by the memory of dropping her son off at Gregor’s home for the final 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 him to feel like a real father. Instead of being a good role model to Corey he decided to beat him to death.
Micciolo died on April 2, 2021, after complaining of nausea and shortness of breath. He suffered several seizures upon arriving at the hospital and died an hour later
The case drew national interest after video surfaced of Gregor forcing the six-year-old to run on a treadmill, even picking him up and placing him back on the machine after he fell
Corey’s mom Breanna Micciolo sobbed as she described the shattering impact of her son’s loss
‘I hate you, I will never forgive you. I will never have my son back. My family will never feel hole again. My daughter will never get to meet my brother. You took my whole world away.’
Gregor was convicted from a four-week trial in which jurors were shown surveillance footage showing him increasing the speed and incline on a treadmill, causing Corey to fall several times.
The little boy died weeks later, and Gregor’s legal team insists he died of 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 sit through the clip as part of the trial.
The jury rejected a murder charge, but instead convicted him on a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter, which comes with 10 to 30 years behind bars.
Gregor had originally only been charged with child endangerment in relation to the surveillance video.
It wasn’t until almost a year after his son died that he was formally charged with murder after the medical examiner initially ruled the death to be undetermined.
According to the Ashbury Park Press, the autopsy report was later amended and listed the death as a homicide.
Corey’s grandmother Rebecca Micciolo pleaded with the court to hand down the maximum sentence to Gregor
Gregor reacts as the jury reads the guilty verdict to aggravated manslaughter on Friday
Corey’s mother Breanna Micciolo cried as Gregor was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter of their son
Defense attorney Mario Gallucci had argued that he died of natural causes, specifically a ‘rapidly spreading infection,’ and previously asserted that he came down with pneumonia.
But his allegations draw a 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 from blunt impact injury of the chest and abdomen with laceration of the heart. Andrew testified that the manner of death was homicide.
On the morning of April 2, 2021, Micciolo dropped Corey off at Gregor’s home. It would be the last time she saw her son alive.
The woman told police she last heard from Gregor that afternoon, when told her that he was taking Corey to the hospital but didn’t mention which one.
The little boy had complained of nausea and shortness of breath, according to a probable cause affidavit. He suffered seizures soon after arriving at Southern Ocean Medical Center and died an hour later.
Surveillance footage captured nurses and a doctor appearing to comfort Gregor as he collapsed in a chair outside his son’s hospital room.
But he left 27 minutes before Corey died, a fact which was noted by the prosecution, before fleeing and being picked up by police in Alcoa, Tennessee, two days after Corey’s death.
Corey’s mother shared sickening images of the abuse she claims was inflicted by the father to social media, including black eyes and bruises across his body
She claimed to have reported Gregor to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency more than 100 times in a span of 18 months, but nothing was done. She has since sued the agency for failing to act
Micciolo’s bid for emergency custody of her son was denied the day before Corey’s death on the advice of DCCP, despite at least one caseworker viewing the treadmill video and photographing injuries on Corey’s body
‘He was a little boy who deserved protection from his father, not abuse,’ Judge Ryan said in his summary.
He rejected the defense’s argument that Gregor, a former star athlete was just trying to toughen his son up as ‘unreasonable and inaccurate’.
‘The defendant is motivated by anger he took advantage of someone who could not resist, someone who is of tender years,’ Ryan added. ‘Someone who does that who has that disposition is likely to reoffend.
He stipulated that Gregor must serve at least 17 years in jail before being eligible for parole for his manslaughter charge.
