Video shows boy, 6, forced to run on treadmill for being ‘too fat’ before allegedly being murdered by dad
Newly released footage shows the moment a father, accused of murdering his six-year-old son, made the boy run increasingly faster on a treadmill because he thought he was “too fat”.
Christopher Gregor, 31, is accused of murdering his son, Corey Micciolo, who investigators suffered traumatic injuries – including a final blow to the heart just hours before his death – believed to stem from chronic child abuse from his father.
During the trial which began on Tuesday at Superior Court in Ocean City, the court was shown surveillance from Atlantic Heights fitness centre, located in Barnegat, of Mr Gregor forcing Micciolo onto a treadmill.
Micciolo’s mother, Bre Micciolo, burst into tears as she watched her son abused by his father in the clip, as she became the first witness to take the stand.
The footage obtained by Court TV and filmed on 20 March, 2021, shows the little boy forced to run increasingly faster on the exercise equipment as his dad sharply steepened the incline. Unable to keep up with the conveyor belt beneath, Micciolo’s legs buckled and he fell to the floor.
Mr Gregor was filmed picking up his son, whose legs appeared increasingly weary to the extent that he struggled to stay upright. However, the dad forced him back on the machine. The father then appears to “bite” his son – which was also noted on the arrest warrant – on the top of his head before finally decreasing the machine’s speed and incline.
Ms Micciolo, who shared custody of her son with Mr Gregor, allegedly reported the boy’s injuries to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency just days before his death, she told the court.
She was said to have pleaded with the father to take their son to the doctor on 1 April, 2021. While accompanied by a case worker at the appointment, the six-year-old made a key claim about why he was forced to run: his father told him “he was too fat”.
The next day, Micciolo was pronounced dead.
Mr Gregor allegedly rushed the little boy to hospital after he woke up with slurred speech and stumbling on the morning of 2 April, 2021, according to Court TV. He was also said to have experienced nausea and shortness of breath.
The six-year-old suffered a seizure during a CT scan as medical staff desperately attempted to save his life. Micciolo’s death was the result of sustaining blunt force injuries with cardiac and liver contusions, acute inflammation and sepsis, the initial autopsy revealed.
Mr Gregor was arrested months later on 7 July 2021 on child neglect charges following investigators reviewing the gym footage.
Forensic pathologist, Dr. Thomas Andrew, ruled the boy’s death to be a homicide in September 2021 stemming from chronic abuse. Dr Andrew believes Miccilolo suffered an acute traumatic injury to the heart four to 12 hours before his death.
Gregor was arrested on March 9, 2022, for his son’s death. He is being held in Ocean City Jail without bond.
