A New Jersey man is facing child neglect charges after his son died following injuries sustained while reportedly with his father.
Christopher Gregor, 29, has been charged with child endangerment following the death of his son, Corey, who passed away in April. Gregor subsequently obtained an attorney and turned himself in on July 9.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey, Gregor is not currently facing charges concerning the child’s death, but previous incidents have the prosecution looking at the case closely, NJ.com reports.
Court documents indicate that an investigator looking into the case reported that on March 20, Gregor and Corey were at a clubhouse gym at Gregor’s apartment complex. Security footage allegedly showed Gregor increase the speed on a treadmill that his son was jogging on.
Corey fell off of the treadmill, but Gregor told him to get back on and continued to increase the speed, according to court documents. The boy fell several times and at one point, Gregor appeared to bite his son on the head while putting the child back on the treadmill, court documents state.
Jersey Shore Online reports that Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, said that there were numerous warning signs of abuse. She claimed that the Department of Protection and Permanency (child social services) didn’t do enough to help her, despite her making child abuse reports.
“The first time he visited his father, he came home with a busted lip,” Micciolo said. “I went to the police station, and they called DCPP (NJ Child Protective Services). Chris said he accidentally kicked him in the face when he was going to kick a soccer ball. They (DCPP) closed the case.”
In October 2019, Corey came home from his father’s place with burns up and down his body.
“Corey told me his father told him he was fat and made him run on the treadmill,” Micciolo said. “What looked like rug burns were probably from him falling on the rubber on the treadmill.”
Micciolo told Jersey Shore Online that she contacted DCPP directly, but they closed the case after Gregor said the boy fell off of a treadmill.
“He would tell us that his dad hit him, or he was trying to get away from his dad. There was just so much in a little bit of time. I would tell the caseworker from DCPP that he didn’t want to go with his father. Corey was hiding in closets and crying – kicking and screaming that he didn’t want to go. They told me he had to go anyway.”
Micciolo told CrimeOnline that the trampoline incident is not what ultimately killed her son. She said an unknown incident that happened around 13 days before his death may have contributed to Corey’s death, but investigators are still trying to determine what happened.
Attorney Mark Galluci, who represents Gregor, reportedly said that his client has denied the charges and accusations against him.
“Mr. Gregor has been aware of this investigation for several months. My office has and continues to do an independent investigation which includes the retention of a forensic expert,” Gallucci said.
An autopsy indicated Corey passed away from contusions to the heart, according to Micciolo. She added that Corey was healthy and had no heart conditions prior to his death.
Physicians requested for Micciolo and Gregor to meet with a child abuse expert earlier this year after she again noticed numerous bruises on the boy’s body. According to Micciolo, Gregor never showed up to the appointment.
Instead, Gregor reportedly took his son to Southern Ocean County Medical Center, where the boy died that night. Gregor allegedly refused to tell Micciolo which hospital he took the child to. She found about his death when an officer came to her home and informed her.
“They came to notify me that Corey died. I was in shock,” Micciolo said.
Detectives are still investigating the case; no one has been charged with the boy’s death.
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[Feature Photo: Corey Micciolo/Justice for Corey]
