TOMS RIVER – The father facing child endangerment charges in Barnegat remains in custody in the Ocean County Jail. A detention hearing scheduled for yesterday was adjourned until tomorrow.
Christopher Gregor’s charges stem from a March 20, 2021 incident involving his six-year-old son, Corey Micciolo. The young boy’s sudden death on April 2, 2021, remains under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office.
Gregor’s attorney, Mario Gallucci, asked for the two-day adjournment during the detention hearing before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels. Gallucci cited his need to review evidentiary matters as the reason for the request.
Barnegat Police Detective William Hetrick signed the Preliminary Law Enforcement Incident Report leading to Gregor’s charges dated July 7, 2021, which includes an Affidavit of Probable Cause.
The document refers to Corey by his initials and gives his date of birth. Hetrick indicated that he was involved in the investigation of the child’s death. He subsequently learned that a surveillance video depicting Gregor and Corey as entering the gym at the clubhouse of the Atlantic Heights rental apartments on March 20, 2021, at approximately 4:17 pm.
According to Hetrick, the child begins running on the treadmill and Gregor approached it, increasing the speed. The young boy was unable to keep up with the increased speed and fell off the treadmill. Gregor picked up the child and placed him back on the moving treadmill and appeared to bite the child on the head.
The six-year-old then fell off the treadmill again and as he tried to get back on the moving treadmill several more times, he fell each time.
“There is zero connection between the March 20th incident and the death of the baby,” asserted Gallucci. “This will probably come to light at the hearing tomorrow. They have been investigating this case since April. If they could have charged him (Gregor) with murder, they would have.”
Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, spoke to Jersey Shore Online at length last week, and shared her frustration. Breanna alleges that Gregor mistreated her son on numerous occasions and says she made multiple reports of abuse to the State Division of Child Protection and Permanency (formerly called DYFS).
On April 1, 2021, medical records indicate that a pediatrician documented Corey saying “he got more bruises when he fell from a treadmill. He said that he had to run fast because his father said he was too fat.”
After a referral to the hospital the same evening, Breanna said she and the father were to bring the boy to see a child abuse expert.
When the next day came, Corey was back with his father. On the afternoon of April 2, 2021, Breanna received a phone call saying the child wasn’t well and that Gregor needed insurance information to bring him to the hospital.
Gallucci contends that Corey was lethargic when he was returned from the mother’s home. The boy subsequently died at Southern Ocean County Medical Center.
Although official reports have not been reviewed, Breanna says she was informed that the medical examiner listed the official cause of death as a contusion to the heart.
In its press release announcing Gregor’s arrest, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office thanked several law enforcement agencies, including one in Tennessee. Gregor traveled to Tennessee after Corey’s death.
“He didn’t leave the child,” said Gallucci. “He did go to Tennessee, but that was after the child had passed. His going to Tennessee had nothing to do whatsoever with the case. He was not fleeing anywhere.”
“There is not a question in my mind that the mother or someone from her family had something to do with the child’s passing,” said Gallucci. “I am just waiting for the medical examiner’s report and a forensic expert to look at it.”
Citing a January 2020 custody order, Gallucci said that Gregor had full and legal custody of Corey. He stated that his client made numerous reports to child protective services, claiming that Breanna abused the child.
“My client was never charged with child abuse,” said Christopher Conrad, Breanna’s personal attorney. “She knows of no complaints made against her accusing her of hurting Corey.”
According to Conrad, the most recent custody order between the parents called for shared custody. That order was signed in October 2020.
Breanna began a campaign asking for Justice for Corey soon after his death. A Facebook memory documents when the mother asked a mom’s group for advice in connection with her son’s “busted lip” as far back as 2019. The Facebook group “Justice for Corey” now has 8.5K members from all parts of the globe.
Some members of the Facebook page joined Breanna in front of the Ocean County Courthouse yesterday, calling for Justice for Corey. At least five were complete strangers, taken in by the sad story of a young life gone too soon.
“I believe that when the facts of this case come out, there will be justice for Corey,” Gallucci said, with confidence. “But it’s not Mr. Gregor that is going to be the one to hang for it.”
