TOMS RIVER – The trial of Christopher Gregor, accused of endangering his son by abusing him on a treadmill and also charged with the boy’s murder, entered its second week with testimony recounting his final hours.
Registered nurse Lindsay Carnivale recounted how Gregor’s emotional detachment clashed with Corey’s deteriorating health. Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, labeled a drug addict by Gregor, was kept away from the hospital at the father’s insistence.
As Corey’s condition rapidly worsened, it led to him seizing, his heart stopping, and his cessation of breathing. Medical professionals were able to revive him and attempted to evaluate his condition with a CT scan. He lost his pulse again, and second revival attempts failed.
Surveillance footage captured Gregor leaving his son’s side before the CT scan. He is next seen breaking down before re-entering Corey’s room during the second set of lifesaving measures. He appeared in anguish as he left again – after seeing his son for the last time.
Corey passed away on April 2, 2021, at 5:03 p.m., with only medical personnel present in the room with him. Surveillance video showed Gregor on the phone outside the hospital before driving away from Southern Ocean Medical Center at 5:20 p.m.
Sgt. Raymond Coles of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office explained searches the suspect made on his phone. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
Digital Evidence
Analysis of Gregor’s electronic devices by Sgt. Raymond Coles of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office revealed deleted internet searches and text messages. Gregor searched for information on various topics related to Corey’s condition, including loss of consciousness and gastrointestinal bleeding. He also sought information about how long after an autopsy someone would be charged with murder.
Less than an hour after he left Southern Ocean Medical Center, Gregor searched to see if a phone could be tracked in airplane mode. Next, he sought to determine if a car could be tracked.
Coles performed phone extractions on both Breanna and Gregor’s cell phones. Breanna had 3,466 text exchanges with Gregor saved on her Samsung Galaxy. The text messages amounted to 880 pages when they were printed. Gregor had none despite his message retention set to forever on his iPhone 11.
“I checked to make sure that her contact was not blocked at the time I received the phone,” said Coles. “Her phone contact was not blocked.”
The compilation of information led Coles to believe that Gregor deleted the text messages between the two – although he wasn’t able to pinpoint when.
A review of GPS data on Gregor’s phone tracked him from New Jersey to the southwest portion of Arkansas. The phone was placed in airplane mode on April 2, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. and not taken out of it until 2:19 p.m. on April 3.
Defense attorney Mario Gallucci questions forensic pathologist Dr. Thomas A. Andrew. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
Cause And Manner Of Death
Medical experts have not directly linked the murder charges to the alleged abuse that took place on a treadmill on March 20, 2021. Corey Micciolo died on April 2, 2021, a day after his mother brought him for a child abuse evaluation at Jersey Shore Medical Center.
Dr. Thomas A. Andrew, a forensic pathologist who served as New Hampshire’s Chief Medical Examiner from 1997 until 2017, provided his expert opinion of the cause and manner of Corey’s death.
“Corey died of blunt impact injuries of the chest and abdomen,” said Andrew. “With laceration of the heart, left pulmonary contusion, and laceration and contusion of the liver.”
Andrew added that Corey’s death was homicide because another person caused it.
As he reviewed the information obtained in the autopsy, Andrew also noticed several marks that pointed to child abuse. Corey might have lived after receiving treatment for the injury to his liver. However, it was the inch-and-a-half laceration to the heart that created the life-threatening issues.
Explaining the concept of cause of death to the jurors, Dr. Andrew emphasized its significance in identifying the specific disease or injury that initiates a lethal chain of events. He elaborated on the types and effects of blunt force trauma, from minor injuries to life-threatening ones.
Andrew said Corey had suffered a severe injury that meant the rate of survival was limited.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Thomas A. Andrew stands before a picture of Christopher Gregor and Corey taken hours before his death. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
Suspect’s Parents Speak Out
Under most circumstances, the prosecution would present its case before the defense began theirs. However, scheduling conflicts have resulted in Gregor’s attorney beginning to introduce witnesses on his behalf.
Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan held an evidence hearing to listen to the testimony of Christopher Gregor’s parents, David and Carolyn, outside the jury’s presence. Defense counsel Mario Gallucci has not indicated whether his client will testify at trial.
David Gregor became emotional when he mentioned meeting his grandson for the first time and he became part of the family in 2019. David pulled out old sporting equipment and took an active role in the child’s life. Chris was teaching in Camden and David had more flexibility since he worked from home.
At some point, Corey moved into the Gregor home and entered one of the same schools that Chris and his siblings attended. Although David couldn’t remember the grade level Corey was in, he regularly checked his homework and was active in his education.
David acknowledged that he did not completely understand the language of the custody arrangement ordered by the court. His interpretation of joint custody was that Chris had custody, and the members of the Micciolo family had visitation rights.
“In our minds, he was living with us,” said David. “And visiting his grandmother (Rebecca, Brenna’s mom.)”
After he was pulled over for a motor vehicle stop and marijuana discovered, Chris temporarily lost custody of Corey.
Chris ultimately moved to Barnegat, where his uncle resided. He wanted to raise Corey on his own and thought Barnegat had a good school system.
Two days after the treadmill incident, David said he and his wife went to look at houses with their son and Corey. They questioned a bruise on Corey’s forehead, which the child said happened after he fell from a treadmill. Corey was energetic and excited about the prospect of moving into a home with his father and dog.
David related his first knowledge of Corey’s presentation at Southern Ocean Medical Center. He and his wife immediately drove from Monroe to Stafford – but Corey had already passed, and Chris had left the hospital.
Lindsay Carnivale, RN, was part of the team who tried to save Corey Micciolo during his final hours at Southern Ocean Medical Center. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
Assistant Prosecutor Christine Lento showed David documentation concerning a call he made to Stafford Police saying there was an “unattended” death at the hospital. David said he had no recollection of using that particular terminology.
After Corey’s death, David learned that Rebecca had showed up at the Gregor home and that his son Danny considered the visit a threat.
Judge Ryan probed David as to why he considered the visit to Danny or the accusations against their son threatening in nature.
Months later, David filed charges against Breanna for being part of a group that vandalized the Gregor home by throwing eggs, fish, and other items at their house. Social media posts and signs were placed near the family home accusing Chris of murder.
Defense counsel has attempted to link the Justice for Corey Facebook group with harassing the family to the point that they have moved from their former residence.
David said he and his wife pleaded with Chris to return to New Jersey. After his car was impounded in Tennessee, Chris’s parents rented him a car so he and his friend could return home from Alcoa, TN.
Carolyn Gregor presented similar testimony to her husband, saying that Chris drove back to New Jersey on Easter Sunday. He was not placed under arrest. Car rental receipts suggest the mother may have made a mistake concerning the date Chris came back.
Both parents denied ever seeing their son mistreat Corey – and said they had not seen the treadmill video taken at the Atlantic Heights gym.
Judge Ryan has instructed defense counsel to speak with the Gregors concerning statements they cannot make in front of the jury as they are considered inadmissible.
Final charges to the jury are anticipated on May 28.
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