TOMS RIVER – As Christopher Gregor was sentenced to 25 years for endangerment and aggravated manslaughter in the death of his son, people following the case were upset that he didn’t get the maximum.
The video of Gregor putting his son, Corey Micciolo, 6, on a treadmill and speeding it up so the boy fell off multiple times – and then biting the boy’s head – has become infamous and leant weight to the sentencing, the judge said.
However, the charge of endangering only received a sentence of 5 years out of a maximum of 10.
The treadmill incident, which took place on March 20, 2021, did not contribute to the death from blunt force impact to the chest and abdomen on April 2, 2021. The exact cause of these injuries might never be made public, but Gregor was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the aggravated manslaughter charge in relation to the boy’s death. The maximum is 30.
Gregor will have to serve 85 percent of the 20-year sentence before being eligible for parole. The 885 days he has served since his arrest would be subtracted. The 5-year sentence will take place immediately after the 20-year sentence.
Gregor, now 32, will have 5 years of supervised parole after all that.
“It was not as long as we wanted but at least he will not be able to start his life over,” Corey’s mother Breanna Micciolo told reporters outside the courtroom.
Family Members Speak
The final part of the trial was a sentencing hearing, where Judge Guy Ryan listened to the parties involved.
Gregor stood up and read from a speech written on yellow legal paper. “I’m sorry that we lost Corey. He was simply the best. I know we’ll miss him for the rest of our lives,”
“Corey, wherever you are, I just want to say I’m proud of you,” he said.
Although he said the treadmill incident was “inexcusable,” he said that he did nothing to cause Corey’s passing. “I regret not bringing him to the hospital sooner. I didn’t know. I just thought he was tired.”
Gregor cried through his statement. Corey’s other family cried during most of the hearing.
After the sentencing, Breanna Micciolo said those tears were for himself, not for Corey. Gregor was crying because he was afraid of getting the maximum sentence.
Following Gregor’s statement, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Christine Lento advocated for the maximum penalty by law – 10 years for endangering and 30 years for aggravated manslaughter.
She outlined Gregor’s actions and how they fit into legal definitions that would get to that maximum sentence. She painted a picture of Gregor’s rage, actions to cover his tracks, and history.
“He’s a person with no impulse control and he will commit more crimes,” she said.
Lento noted how Gregor tried to coach his mother’s testimony as a way to game the system.
“There is nothing I can say that is more important than the facts of the case,” Lento said. “Christopher Gregor abused his son. He ended his life, and he left him alone in the hospital to die. I can only imagine what was going through Corey’s mind.”
Lento described the fatal wound, a laceration to the heart, and also a bruised lung and lacerated liver. “While Corey’s body was shutting down, the defendant ordered food.”
Gregor didn’t tell Breanna where Corey was when he called her for her insurance information from the hospital. “Not only did he take Corey’s life, but he took the last moments with his family.”
As for past brushes with the law, Gregor had no indictable offenses but showed a pattern of not following the law, she said.
Vito Micciolo, Corey’s grandfather, read a letter from Corey’s Aunt Nicole who was too emotional to read it. He described how Corey came home from his first visit with his father with a fat lip that Gregor attributed to playing sports.
The family wanted to keep him from spending time with Gregor but the State Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) required him to go.
“Corey didn’t have a choice and wasn’t shown any mercy and Chris shouldn’t be given a choice or shown any mercy,” he read from the letter.
Corey’s grandmother, Rebecca Micciolo, also took the stand. She talked about how Corey should be preparing to go back to school. She wonders what he would look like today.
“This is not a man who should be shown mercy,” she told the judge. “I see that treadmill video in my nightmares. He didn’t shed a tear while watching that video.”
She also noted some legal issues Gregor had in the past.
“The system failed Corey. This man has never had to answer for any bad behavior,” she said.
She said that Corey knew that something bad was going to happen. He had written “I die” in chalk near the front door. He had asked her “Does God see what Daddy does to me?” When she answered that He sees everything, the boy responded “Why doesn’t He help me?”
Rebecca said she couldn’t see her grandson after his death because the body was considered evidence.
It was then Breanna’s turn to talk. She began when she began a romantic relationship with Gregor. She was 16 and he was 21.
“You’ve heard a lot about my past,” she said, referencing drug use that Gregor’s attorney described. “I admit I abused drugs. But I stand here today clean and sober.”
She suggested that Gregor hit Corey either because Gregor’s sick or because he was angry at her. She is haunted by the fact that she dropped him off to his father’s home and never saw him again.
She dreads normal smalltalk now. What if someone asks how many children she has? She has a daughter now, who is one and a half. When they go to visit Corey’s grave, the little girl plays with the toys that have been left there.
“He looked up to you,” Breanna said to Gregor. “And he so wanted you to be a role model.”
Corey died surrounded by medical professionals, which was cold, but at least Gregor’s face wasn’t the last one he saw, she said.
“All this monster could have done was say he did not want to be a father,” she said. “I truly believe if he ever gets out (of jail), he will kill me.”
David Gregor, Christopher Gregor’s father, was given an opportunity to speak as well. While Corey’s blood relatives spoke from the witness box, David Gregor spoke from the audience.
“It’s unfair to say he was afraid here,” David said about Corey’s time at his house in Monroe before Christopher moved to Barnegat.
He also said that there is information about the Micciolo family pertinent to the discussion that might never be brought to light.
The Judge’s Decision
Finally, it was Judge Guy Ryan’s time to review everything that was presented in order to determine how many years Gregor should spend in prison. He said he had read numerous letters praising Gregor’s character, and numerous victim impact letters.
He said that those praising Gregor talk about how he gave up his career in special education to come home to be a father, and the behavior on the treadmill was a way of teaching Corey “if you fall, you get back up.”
“That’s not what we saw,” Ryan countered. “That was abuse of the most egregious sort.” Corey was ejected like he was on a conveyer belt.
“I remember the jury sucking in their breath” when they saw that, Ryan said.
“A picture is worth a thousand words, but that video is worth 10,000 words,” he said.
That footage or another video of Breanna dropping Corey off to Gregor demonstrated no kindness between them. “(Corey) was treated by the defendant as if he was a stray dog.”
Ryan didn’t say that any abuse happened in the Gregor home in Monroe, but both sides have a right to closure, and they should stop attacking each other.
Several things were unable to be entered into his decision. He couldn’t take Gregor’s previous brushes with the law into account if they didn’t result in charges. One marijuana charge wouldn’t even be a crime today since it’s been legalized. He couldn’t consider hearsay. “I don’t have the luxury of expressing opinion.”
The fact that after Corey’s death, Gregor was located in Arkansas 45 minutes from Mexico shows his intent to flee. He tried to manipulate the trial through his mother’s testimony.
Sometimes, a defendant will serve two sentences at the same time. They are shown leniency.
Ryan instead ordered that Gregor will have to serve the 5-year term first and the 20-year one separately. This is following case law directed to making it so there are no free crimes.
When the years were spoken, there was audible disgust from members of the Micciolo family.
“They obviously failed my grandson, that’s for sure,” Vito Micciolo told JerseyShoreOnline.com outside the courtroom. “The whole system failed him.”
Micciolo said that throughout the trial, Judge Ryan had been meticulous to minimize any chance of appeal.
Indeed, Ryan had said that the maximum sentence is “legally unsustainable.”
“Christopher Gregor will spend the rest of his days here on earth knowing that he caused the death of his son Corey,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. “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.”
Protection For Other Victims
“I don’t think we’ll ever get closure,” Breanna Micciolo, told JerseyShoreOnline.com after the sentencing. At the very least, she won’t have to see Gregor again.
However, she said her work is just beginning. She has been speaking to lawmakers about “Corey’s Law,” which would put children in a safe environment while child abuse is being investigated.
DCP&P needs a complete overhaul, she said.
