TOMS RIVER – As both the prosecution and defense present their cases in the state’s trial against Christopher Gregor for the endangerment and murder of his six-year-old child, one crucial voice is all too silent: that of the young victim, Corey Micciolo.
Much of what Corey allegedly said before his death has been excluded from the jury as hearsay evidence.
A single, accidental video taken by Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, on the morning of her son’s death, barely captures Corey’s voice. In the video, Corey can be heard questioning his mother as she hands him a piece of paper to give to his father, the last time she would see him alive.
Breanna explained to her son that the paper needed to be given to his father because “he’s your other parent, so it’s his right to see it because you went to the doctor.”
A pediatrician formerly associated with Ivy Pediatrics in Toms River first testified outside the presence of the jury about her evaluation of Corey on April 1, 2021, the day before he died. Dr. Nancy Deacon was advised that she could not read her notes to the jury regarding Corey’s explanation of his injuries as the court ruled them as hearsay evidence.
Two Barnegat police officers also testified about their welfare check on Corey at his mother’s request. Officer Daniel Dugan said that the father and son appeared to have a good relationship and that the child was not in distress. He noticed Corey’s bruises and began to recount how the little boy said he got them but was not permitted to continue due to hearsay restrictions.
Barnegat Police Officer Angel Roman prepares to take the stand in the Christopher Gregor murder trial. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
As in the case of all criminal matters, Christopher Gregor is not obligated to testify at trial. His failure to do so should not be interpreted as an admission of his guilt. The information in the timeline below has been assembled as a result of evidence introduced in court, some of which had been deleted from Christopher’s cellphone.
May 1, 2014: Breanna gave birth to Corey when she was 17 years old and in the eleventh grade. Christopher would be 22 years old later that month and not yet confirmed as the child’s father.
August 2019: Corey’s paternal grandfather David Gregor recalled his first visit with his grandson on August 8, 2019. Christopher was living with his parents in Monroe when Corey began overnight visits on August 28, 2019.
October 2019: Corey started living with the Gregors as part of a joint custody order. According to David, Christopher assumed residential custody in January 2020.
August 28, 2020: Christopher and Corey moved to the Atlantic Heights apartment complex in Barnegat.
December 2020: Breanna, who admitted to prior addiction issues with methamphetamine, relapsed in December 2020 and again in February 2021. She remained sober afterward but sought drugs on April 2, 2021, though she did not obtain or use them.
February 2021: Barnegat Police Officer Angel Roman was in his patrol car sometime in February or March and recalled seeing Christopher throwing passes to Corey on the endzone of the high school football field. Nothing seemed unusual about the play.
March 20, 2021: After attending a family party with Corey in Pennsylvania, Breanna was late in returning from scheduled parenting time. She followed Christopher’s instructions to bring Corey to the Atlantic Heights clubhouse gym.
Video surveillance within the gym documented Corey stepping onto a treadmill by himself and running for several minutes. His father moved to another part of the gym and is seen working out and talking on his cellphone. Eventually, Christopher returns and speeds up the treadmill, pushing Corey to keep up. Corey falls at least six times, with Christopher repeatedly placing him back on the moving treadmill. At one point, it appears Christopher leans over and bites Corey’s head.
March 22, 2021: David and Carolyn (Christopher’s mother) accompanied their son and grandchild to look at a couple of houses in the area. They described Corey as happy and energetic. The house hunting was followed by a family visit and dinner out at a local restaurant.
Both grandparents noticed a bruise on Corey’s forehead. The fact that Corey fell off a treadmill came up during a dinner discussion. David testified that he had not seen the treadmill video because he did not want to see Corey mistreated.
Carolyn was supposed to testify at her son’s trial but defense counsel decided against it after prosecutors produced evidence that Christopher called from jail on the weekend before her testimony and attempted to “coach” her.
March 23, 2021: Corey’s first grade teacher, Kim Peace, returned to Cecil S. Collins Elementary School after being absent on March 22. She noticed a bruise on Corey’s forehead and asked him about it. Corey was unusually quiet. Concerned, Peace spoke with her colleagues, who also noticed the mark, and subsequently made a report to Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP.)
Barnegat Police Officer Daniel Dugan testified about the welfare check he conducted at the request of Breanna’s mother. (Press Pool Photo By The Asbury Park Press)
At 4:30 p.m., Breanna was in Barnegat taking a walk with Corey. He appeared upset and scared.
March 25, 2021: Corey did not return to school. At 9:36 p.m., Christopher conducted an internet search, asking if red marks turn into bruises.
March 26, 2021: Breanna called DCPP about her concerns.
March 27, 2021: Christopher and Breanna were both present when Corey tried out for flag football. Breanna noticed extensive bruising on Corey’s arms and hip.
March 28, 2021: Breanna appeared at the Barnegat Police Department and asked for a child welfare check. Officers Daniel Dugan and Angel Roman went to the Atlantic Heights apartment complex and spoke with Christopher and Corey. They saw Corey’s bruises but did not feel he was in imminent danger and appeared to have a good relationship with his father. The officers reported their findings to DCPP.
March 31, 2021: Breanna filed an emergent order seeking full custody of Corey.
April 1, 2021: Breanna learned her emergency custody application was denied; a judge ordered a child abuse examination within seven days.
Breanna took Corey to Dr. Nancy Deacon, who noted 14 bruises and referred them to Jersey Shore Medical Center (JSMC). Due to time constraints, Breanna opted for Community Medical Center.
Christopher texted DCPP caseworker Mark, stating he couldn’t take off work the next day.
Community Medical Center offered to transport Corey, but Breanna decided to drive to JSMC herself to save time.
Breanna informed Christopher that she was heading to JSMC in response to a text message.
Christopher texted three women about Corey not being home on time.
Christopher demanded Breanna leave JSMC. Dr. Ye Kyaw Aung documented numerous bruises and scratches on Corey, including a significant bruise on his sternum.
April 2, 2021: Corey walked into his father’s home in Atlantic Heights at 9:03 a.m. At 10:04 a.m., Christopher was speaking to a DCPP screener and accused Breanna of telling Corey to lie.
At 3:08 p.m., Christopher conducted an internet search concerning “lost consciousness sleepy and nauseous.” He called Breanna at 3:30 p.m. to ask for insurance cards to take Corey to the hospital. They appeared at Southern Ocean Medical Center at 3:48 p.m.
Corey died at 5:03 p.m. without any family members by his side. Christopher was distraught when he told his parents he’d just lost his son. They drove to meet him at the hospital but he was gone by 5:20 p.m.
Christopher’s parents attempted to reach him and urged him to return but he didn’t answer. The phone was turned off between the evening of April 2 until the afternoon of April 3.
Among the internet searches conducted by Christopher were ones about his phone being tracked in airplane mode and whether his car could be tracked. The phone left New Jersey went into Pennsylvania, started traveling southwest and made it to the proximate southwest corner of Arkansas about 45 minutes from the Texas border by April 3.
April 3, 2021: Christopher conducted separate Google searches about blood sugar, white blood cell levels, internal bleeding and gastrointestinal issues. By 2:45 p.m., the phone changed direction and was traveling in the direction of Memphis, TN, stops by Nashville and then stopped in Gordonsville, TN until 11:45 p.m.
The change in direction was effectively seen as a U-turn and appeared related to a conversation Christopher had with his father.
April 4, 2021: Christopher searched for McGhee Tyson Airport, where he would ultimately pick up Lauren Powell, who was said to have flown down to take the ride back to NJ with him.
That morning, Christopher searched about the timeframe for filing murder charges after an autopsy.
Alcoa, TN Police pulled Christopher over for a traffic stop and discovered a search warrant was issued for the vehicle. Extensive bodycam footage of the motor vehicle stop has not yet been played for the jury and it remains uncertain if it will be introduced as evidence.
An arrest warrant was not issued for Christopher at that time, who subsequently rented a car and returned to NJ on the following day.
On July 9, 2021, Christopher voluntarily surrendered to Barnegat Police on charges of endangerment. Subsequently, in March 2022, he faced upgraded charges of murder. Since then, he has remained in custody.
August 2021: Charges were filed against Breanna for being part of a group that threw dead fish, stones and other items at the Gregors’ Monroe home. They have since moved out of state.
Dr. Thomas A. Andrew, a forensic pathologist has attributed Corey’s death to blunt-force trauma resulting in lacerations to his heart and liver and related contusions. The defense has hired Dr. Michael Baden as their expert, who asserts the child died from natural causes, including sepsis-related pneumonia.
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