Abusive NJ dad who tortured ‘fat’ son to death sentenced to prison

TOMS RIVER — An Ocean County man found guilty in the death of his six-year-old son has been sentenced to more than two decades in state prison.

Christopher Gregor, 32, of Monroe was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment by an Ocean County jury in late May. He was found responsible for the death of his son Corey Micciolo at the hospital on Aug. 2, 2021.

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan sentenced Gregor to 20 years in state prison for the aggravated manslaughter charge and 5 years for the child endangerment offense.

The sentences will run consecutively, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.

“Christopher Gregor will spend the rest of his days here on earth knowing that he caused the death of his son Corey. While nothing can bring this precious child back to his family, I hope that today’s sentence brings some sense of closure for those who knew and loved Corey. At long last, justice for Corey has been accomplished,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.

In deciding the sentence, Ryan said that he believed Gregor was likely to re-offend based on his prior disorderly persons' offenses and the fact that he tried to influence his mother's testimony.

He also factored in that Gregor fled to Tennessee immediately after his son's death to escape arrest plus the horrific footage of Gregor forcing Corey to run on a treadmill while repeatedly falling. Ryan said that jurors "sucked in their breath" in shock when they saw the video.

"A picture is worth 1,000 words and a video is worth 10,000 words. So whatever happened that day, Corey was not receiving love, or companionship, or kindness, or support," said Ryan.

RELATED: Treadmill abuse video shown during NJ dad murder trial

Grieving mother begs for maximum sentence

Speaking before the court at the sentencing hearing, Corey's mother Breanna Micciolo said between tears that Gregor had shown no remorse since their son's death and that she didn't accept any apologies.

Micciolo said that she had been able to avoid watching the infamous video of Gregor abusing Corey on the treadmill for over three years — but she was forced to watch it at trial because Gregor refused to admit what he had done and take a plea deal.

The prosecution and defense said that running on the treadmill was not the cause of Corey's death. However, a medical examiner said in an autopsy that the boy's heart suffered an "acute traumatic injury" around six to 12 hours before his death.

He died from "blunt impact injuries of the chest and abdomen with laceration of the heart, left pulmonary contusion and contusion of the liver," according to the report.

"What this monster did was pathetic, disgusting, and I wish him nothing but the worst. One could only hope that karma comes to him quickly," said Micciolo.

She begged Judge Ryan for the maximum sentence of 30 years in state prison.

After Micciolo spoke, Gregor's father defended his son. David Gregor said Corey's grades and social activity improved after Christopher Gregor took custody.

Gregor's attorney has said they will appeal the verdict.