Christopher Gregor called mom to coach her testimony at trial in son Corey's death

TOMS RIVER - Christopher Gregor, on trial in the murder of his 6-year-old son, telephoned his mother Friday to coach her on what was expected to be her testimony before a jury on Wednesday.

Gregor persisted in trying to instruct his mother, Carolyn, how to testify, despite both his parents repeatedly telling him to stop, according to attorneys and the judge presiding over the case.

The phone call, which was recorded, occurred after Carolyn Gregor testified in court Friday, outside the presence of the jury, for Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to rule what, if any, of her testimony would be admissible to the jury.

Jamie Schron, an assistant Ocean County prosecutor, told the judge Wednesday, also outside the presence of the jury, that she would seek to cross-examine Carolyn Gregor about the telephone call if she was called by the defense to testify.

Based on that, defense attorney Mario Gallucci said it would be too damaging for him to call Carolyn Gregor to the stand.

"I find it necessary not to call Mrs. Gregor,'' Gallucci said.

Gallucci, who said he listened to the recording of the phone call, said he did not disagree with Schron's interpretation that Gregor was trying to coach his mother on her testimony.

"She (Carolyn Gregor) made every attempt to stop him from talking, but he persisted,'' Gallucci said. "She hung up on her son because he continued to persist.''

Christopher Gregor, 31, of Barnegat, is charged with the murder of his son, Corey Micciolo, who died April 2, 2021, after his father brought him to the emergency room at Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford Township. He also is charged with child endangerment related to an incident March 20, 2021, in which he is seen on surveillance video at the gym in his apartment complex increasing the speed on a treadmill on which Corey was running, causing the child to repeatedly fall off the machine.

The prosecution maintains Corey died as a result of blunt-force trauma, but the defense claims he died as a result of sepsis brought on by pneumonia.

Gregor is being held at the Ocean County Jail, where all phone calls made by inmates are recorded.

Ryan said the phone conversation between Gregor and his mother would be admissible on cross-examination to show consciousness of guilt and what influence it may have had on Carolyn Gregor's testimony.

Ryan said not only did Carolyn Gregor try to end the conversation, but her husband, Christopher's father, also intervened in it to say the conversation was over.

Both of Christopher Gregor's parents told him, 'This is the end of the call, it's over, stop, stop, stop, stop,'' before his mother hung up on him, Ryan said.

Both parents were expected to testify for the defense today, but only the defendant's father, David Gregor, did.

He, too, testified outside the presence of the jury Friday for Ryan to rule on the admissibility of his statements.

David Gregor's testimony before the jury largely mirrored what he said on Friday, except for the portions the judge ruled were inadmissible. And, Carolyn Gregor's testimony on Friday largely mirrored her husband's.

Both parents testified about the family receiving threats within hours after Corey's death. Ryan ruled they could only testify that they were threatened their son could be charged with murder.

David Gregor, a retired state trooper, did not make mention of threats when he testified before the jury.

He recounted, as he did on Friday, how the family first learned of the child's existence in 2018, when he was 4 years old, while Christopher was living in Baltimore, pursuing a master's degree in teaching at Johns Hopkins University.

Corey came to live with the Gregor family in Monroe in 2019, and David Gregor told the jury he would tend to the child's needs during the day, getting him ready for school, checking his assignments and meeting him at the school bus, while Christopher was at his teaching job.

"It was all-encompassing,'' he said.

When Christopher and Corey moved to an apartment in Barnegat in August 2020, David Gregor said he did not see his son and grandson every day, as in the past, but remained involved in his grandson's welfare.

He said he last saw Corey on March 22, 2021 - two days after the treadmill incident - when he and his wife, a real estate agent, traveled to Barnegat to show Christopher some houses as Christopher was contemplating purchasing a home for him and Corey.

David Gregor described his grandson as "happy and energetic'' that day.

But he did notice a bruise on his forehead.

Assistant Prosecutor Christine Lento, cross-examining David Gregor, asked him why he didn't tell a detective about the bruise when he was questioned after Corey's death.

"I didn't think it was any more significant than him telling me he fell on the treadmill,'' the witness responded.

Being questioned by Gallucci, David Gregor said he never watched the treadmill video.

When asked why not, he said, "Because I didn't want to see Corey mistreated.''

David Gregor also testified about driving to Southern Ocean Medical Center with his wife on the day Corey died. During the ride, he said he overheard a loud telephone conversation his wife was having with Christopher and grabbed the phone from her.

When he did, Christopher was on the other end, "hysterical,'' David Gregor testified.

"He was inconsolable,'' the witness said. "He just lost his son.''

But when the couple got to the hospital, their son had left, he said.

David Gregor said he didn't know his son's whereabouts, but when he later heard from him the following day, he helped arrange for him to get a rental car because police in Tennessee had seized his vehicle.

"We were distraught, and I told him to come home,'' he said.

Gallucci later sought to have police body-camera footage from the traffic stop in Alcoa, Tennessee, admitted into evidence, purportedly to show that his client was cooperative with police and allowed them to search his car.

In another hearing outside the jury's presence, some of the lengthy body-camera footage was played in the courtroom, but the judge ruled that it would not be admitted into evidence because it contained too much hearsay as well as statements by the police officers that could be damaging to the defendant.

Shron said the state also objected to the body-camera footage coming into evidence, saying it was a way for the defendant to get his statements before the jury while circumventing cross-examination.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Treadmill abuse trial: Day 7 in Christopher Gregor murder case