Christopher Gregor trial: Ex-wife of man accused of killing boy, 6, breaks down in court as she watches video of son on treadmill

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BARNEGAT, NEW JERSEY: Breanna Micciolo, mother of 6-year-old, Corey Micciolo, claimed she was afraid for her young son's life when she noticed bruises on his body in late March 2021.

She immediately applied to a family court for sole custody of the child. According to Micciolo, she found out that her application was rejected on April 1, 2021. The following day, shortly after 5 pm, 6-year-old Corey Micciolo died.

The boy's father, Barnegat resident Christopher Gregor, 31, is currently facing murder and child welfare endangerment charges.

Breanna Micciolo applied for sole custody of her son

The boy was fine when his mother dropped him off at his father's Barnegat apartment on April 2, 2021, assistant Ocean County prosecutor Jamie Schron told the jury during her opening remarks on Tuesday, April 30, during Gregor's trial.

Schron said, Breanna Micciolo had taken her son to the pediatrician and hospitals the day before, and the examinations had shown no issues other than a few bruises.

However, by April 2, 2021, at 4 pm, Corey's body had become limp. His father took him to Southern Ocean County Medical Center in Stafford, where the child died at 5.03 pm after attempts at life support were unsuccessful, according to Schron.

When Micciolo went on the witness stand, she informed the jury that late March of that year was when she first saw bruises on her child. "He had a bruise on his forehead,'' she testified.

"It was very odd-shaped. It looked like an impression. He had one on his chest. It looked like a scrape.'' Assistant Ocean County prosecutor Christine Lento questioned Micciolo about her decision to submit an urgent application for sole custody of her son.

"I was in fear for Corey's life,'' she responded. He informed the jury that both the state's medical experts and Gregor's attorney, Mario Gallucci, contest the child's cause of death.

He said that the experts for the defense would testify that Corey died from sepsis brought on by a pneumonia attack.

Corey Micciolo was captured on camera using a treadmill

Gallucci testified in front of the jury that Breanna Micciolo left Community Medical Center without consulting a doctor after they suggested her son might have sepsis.

Only when Corey's mother took him to see a child abuse specialist at the hospital did he divulge an incident that happened on March 20, 2021, in the gym of the Atlantic Heights apartment building where he and his father resided.

The youngster was captured on camera in the gym using a treadmill while his father was lifting weights. However, it also showed Gregor eventually approaching the treadmill and accelerating it repeatedly, which led to Corey falling off of it roughly six times, landing face-first.

Corey's bruises came from playing football and the treadmill incident, according to Gallucci. However, he maintained that the child's death was not related to the treadmill incident.

"When you see that video, you're going to be horrified, you're going to be mortified,'' Gallucci told the jury. "Corey's death had absolutely nothing to do with that treadmill.''

Breanna Micciolo acknowledges tossing dead fish at defendant's parents' house

On the witness stand, Breanna Micciolo wiped away tears as the prosecutor showed the jury the video. She claimed to have given birth to Corey when she was seventeen, and a paternity test at four years old established Gregor's paternity.

She testified that at the time, it was her mother's idea to ask Gregor for child support. 

Gallucci, on the other hand, claimed that after Gregor learned that he was the boy's father, he and his family accepted the boy into their home and raised him as their own. He asserted that Breanna Micciolo had previously lost her visitation rights as a result of her drug use.

On the witness stand, Breanna Micciolo admitted to having a drug addiction, but she claimed that after obtaining treatment to become sober, her visitation privileges were reinstated.

Nevertheless, Gallucci revealed during cross-examination that Micciolo texted her ex-boyfriend to ask him to get her methamphetamine the day her son died. Micciolo claimed that day she had not used drugs.

"But you wanted to?'' Gallucci asked. "Oh, yeah, I was very upset about my son being abused,'' she responded.

Under cross-examination, Micciolo acknowledged that she and a few friends had damaged Gregor's parents' house following the death of her son. When Gallucci questioned her about whether she and her friends had thrown dead goldfish and eggs at the house, Micciolo replied that she thought the fish were fish that had been bought at a supermarket. 

"So you were throwing rocks, dead fish, bones and eggs at Christopher's parents' house?'' Gallucci asked her. She gave a yes response. It was anticipated that Micciolo would return to the witness stand on May 1.