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After a six-week trial, a jury unanimously found 32-year-old Christopher Gregor guilty on Friday, May 31 of aggravated manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. The jury found Gregor not guilty of murder.
A nearly video shared by Law & Crime shows the judge delivering the verdict.
Gregor had been indicted on a murder charge in the death of his son Corey Micciolo on Friday, Apr. 2, 2021.
Stafford Township police responded to the report of Corey's death at Southern Ocean Medical Center. An autopsy on Saturday, Apr. 3, 2021, showed the boy died from blunt force trauma.
Investigators said Gregor abused Corey in Barnegat on Saturday, Mar. 20, 2021. Gregor was given the endangering charge on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, and was released from the Ocean County Jail on bail.
The county prosecutor's office received a report on Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022, that Corey died from impact to his chest and stomach, and his death was ruled a homicide. Gregor was re-arrested on Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2022, and has been held in the county jail since.
NewsNation reported trial evidence showed disturbing surveillance video of Gregor forcing Corey to run on a treadmill, falling six times as his cruel father increased the speed and incline. Prosecutors said the boy suffered contusions all over his body, as well as lacerations to his heart and liver.
The defense argued Corey died from a "rapidly spreading infection," not the treadmill injuries. The jury did not convict Gregor of murder.
In an online petition, Corey's mother Breanna Micciolo said she tried for two years to prevent Gregor from seeing her son.
"No one listened or helped," Micciolo wrote. "The day before he died, I asked a judge through an emergent order to allow me to have full custody pending a [state Division of Child Protection and Permanency] investigation outcome. That judge denied it and the very next day, my son was gone."
Gregor faces up to 30 years in prison for his aggravated manslaughter conviction.
"Christopher Gregor must live the rest of his life with the knowledge that he, and he alone, was responsible for the death of his one and only son," Billhimer said in a statement. "It is right and just that he bears that cross. While nothing can bring this precious child back to his family, we hope that today’s jury verdict offers some semblance of peace and closure for those who knew and loved Corey.
"At long last, justice for Corey has been accomplished."
Gregor was scheduled for sentencing on Friday, Aug. 2.
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