Corey Micciolo spoke to hospital staff about experiencing nausea and shortness of breath, according to a probable cause affidavit. Corey then had seizures and died soon after, at which point Christopher Gregor fled the hospital and state, says affidavit.
The trial for the New Jersey man accused of murdering his son the day after a judge denied a motion for emergency custody filed by the boy's mother is underway. Christopher Gregor, 31, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The victim in both cases is his son Corey Micciolo, who died at the age of 6 on April 2, 2021
Jurors in the Ocean County criminal trial watched two videos related to those charges this week after they were entered into evidence by prosecutors.
On Wednesday, a video of Gregor allegedly forcing his son to run on a treadmill was played in court.
The incident was captured on video surveillance footage at the fitness center at Atlantic Heights, where Gregor was living at the time. The footage shows Gregor pointing Corey to the treadmills, the affidavit says.
Inside Edition Digital was not in the courtroom to see that video, but the probable cause affidavit filed by police in Gregor's murder case describes what allegedly happened on March 20, 2022, just two weeks before Corey's death..
"At approximately 1618 hours, [Corey] begins running on a treadmill. At approximately 1627 hours, Gregor approached the treadmill and appeared to increase the speed," the affidavit says. "At approximately 1628 hours, [Corey] falls off of the back of the treadmill. Gregor subsequently picks [Corey] up by grabbing his shirt, putting him back in the moving treadmill. [Corey] appears to struggling to gain footing, while Gregor appears to be biting on the top of [Corey's] head.
"[Corey] regains footing and continues running on the treadmill," the affidavit continues. "Gregor appears to adjust the speed of the treadmill as [Corey] again falls off of the back. [Corey] attempts to run onto the moving treadmill four more times, falling off the back each time, while Gregor stands next to the treadmill."
Corey's mother, Breanna Micciolo, told police that this happened because Gregor was mad at Corey.
"[Corey] told [Bre Micciolo] that Gregor made him run on the treadmill really fast because Gregor was mad. While running on the treadmill [Corey] fell and hit his head," the affidavit says.
That video resulted in Gregor being charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Then on Thursday, the jury saw a video taken 12 days after the alleged abuse seen in the treadmill incident. Surveillance footage showed Gregor arriving at a local hospital with Corey on the day the boy passed away.
Corey spoke to hospital staff about experiencing nausea and shortness of breath, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Denis Mitchell of the major crime unit and homicide squad in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Corey soon started having seizures, the affidavit says. He died less than an hour later.
The probable cause affidavit alleges that upon learning the news, Gregor got into his car and left the state. He would not return for three months.
An autopsy determined that Corey's cause of death was blunt force injuries including blunt force trauma with cardiac and liver contusions with acute inflammation and sepsis.
In March 2022, prosecutors formally charged Gregor with murder and ordered him held without bond at the Ocean County Jail.
The defense disputes the findings of this autopsy report and said in their opening statement that Corey died of pneumonia.
It is a defense that Gregor's lawyer first shared with Inside Edition Digital over a year ago.
"Corey Micciolo died from complications from pneumonia. Our expert and even the Ocean County Medical Examiner agreed on this early diagnosis, while it is a tragedy it is not a homicide," Galucci tells Inside Edition Digital. "My client completely denies all the allegations and is looking forward to a trial in a courtroom and not a trial by social media, as the Micciolos have been so diligently attempting to do.”
Gregor is currently being held without bond at the Ocean County Jail.
He entered a plea of npot guilty to both charges and denies ever hitting or abusing his son. When asked bout his son's bruises he allegedly told Bre that Corey needed to be “tougher" in text messages seen by Inside Edition Digital.
Gregor faces life in prison if convicted in what some are now calling the treadmill abuse murder trial..
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