TOMS RIVER – “A picture is worth a thousand words, but that video is worth 10,000 words,” Judge Guy Ryan said as he sentenced Christopher Gregor for aggravated manslaughter and endangering the welfare of his own son.
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. 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.
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. He will have 5 years of supervised parole after all that.
“They obviously failed my grandson, that’s for sure,” Vito Micciolo told JerseyShoreOnline.com outside the courtroom. Numerous people demanded that Gregor be dealt the maximum sentence – 10 years for endangering and 30 years for aggravated manslaughter.
Micciolo said that throughout the trial, Judge Ryan had been meticulous to minimize any chance of appeal.
Indeed, Ryan had said that the maximum is “legally unsustainable.” He also spoke of hoping that the close of this trial lends some sense of closure.
“I don’t think we’ll ever get closure,” Corey’s mother, 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.
“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.”
