Christopher Gregor trial: Parents of NJ dad claim grandson was 'not traumatized’ by running on treadmill

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BARNEGAT, NEW JERSEY: This week's proceedings in a New Jersey father's trial for the alleged murder of his 6-year-old son Corey Micciolo featured testimony from Christopher Gregor's parents who supported their son.

David Gregor, a "highly decorated'" former state trooper, and his wife Carolyn Gregor testified in court on Tuesday, May 7, answering questions regarding the bruises Micciolo got on the day of his death, and the controversial treadmill video that served as the trial's focal point.

David Gregor said his grandson appeared 'excited and did a lot of running' 

Christopher Gregor has been charged with first-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child in relation to the death of his son.

The incident that gave rise to the endangerment charge occurred on March 20, 2021, when Christopher was seen compelling the boy to use a treadmill, which the victim was seen falling off of six times on camera.

The boy died in the hospital on April 2, the day his father took him there.

Christopher Gregor's father David took to the platform on Thursday, May 9, to say he has never seen the treadmill video and doesn't plan to, Independent reported.

He began to cry and said, "I don't want to see ... I don't want that to be my remembrance of Corey, that he was mistreated in that single instance on the treadmill."

In his testimony, he further stated that he saw Corey two days following the incident on the treadmill and inquired about a bruise on the child's forehead. He claimed the boy just said, "I fell on the treadmill" -- before saying the child appeared "excited" and "did a lot of running."

Then, according to David, on April 2, their son called to inform them that they were "going to the hospital and that was bad." They received word of the child's death via another phone call shortly after.

He claimed that after that, the two went to the hospital, but when he got there, Christopher had already left, even though they had told him not to go.

Carolyn Gregor claimed her grandson Corey Micciolo 'was not traumatized'

Christopher Gregor was not present in the room when his son was declared dead, and he left the hospital within less than twenty minutes, according to a previous testimony from a nurse.

Corey allegedly told them he had bruises from falling on the treadmill, Carolyn added during her testimony.

She mentioned that upon seeing the boy, he appeared well, actively running about, and "in my opinion, he was not traumatized by falling off the treadmill." Similar to her husband, she has not viewed the video.

Carolyn recalled their son's purported outburst following Micciolo's death, describing him as "hysterical" on the phone and asking, "What did she do to him?" in reference to the boy's mother.

"He's screaming on the phone," she testified, before adding, "I was so worried because he just was so adamant that something happened when [Corey] was with his mother, something happened to him. I said, 'Chris, don't go there, don’t go to their house, please wait for us.'"

She added that she didn't tell the police about the treadmill incident because, at the time, she didn't think it was significant.

Breanna Micciolo took Corey Micciolo to a pediatrician

In his opening statement, prosecutor Jamie Schron stated that on April 1, 2021, Corey Micciolo had a visit to the doctor with his mother Breanna Micciolo. She brought the child to a pediatrician while she was with him, worried about bruises on his body, and the pediatrician sent them to a nearby hospital.

The boy was released later that night, according to the prosecution, and seemed to have "nothing wrong" with him.

Breanna took Corey to see his father the next morning. After being coded twice and placed into an artificial breathing tube, the child reportedly died in the hospital a few hours after his father rushed him there.

Following that, Christopher "left the hospital and he left Corey," according to Schron, and he was "found" in Tennessee two days later. The child's autopsy revealed that blunt force trauma was the cause of his death.

The defense said that the child's bruises were from playing football and the incident on the treadmill, but they also said that the child died from sepsis related to pneumonia.

Internet says Christopher Gregor's parents are 'as guilty as culprit'

After Christopher Gregor's parents' testimony, users on Facebook were outraged and said that they were "as guilty as the culprit."

"When people know and see the mistreatment and still don’t say anything, your just as guilty as the culprit," one social media user said.

Another added, "That piece of crap tried to put blame on the mother......thank god she had taken him to the hospital the night before and he had a full medical.....the child abusing murderer is sitting right there in front of you......amazing...neither parent watched the treadmill incident.......talk about putting your head in the sand."

One person wrote, "There’s a special place in hell for this MF!"

"They are part of the problem," another concluded.

One individual said, "I can't read this story, my heart hurts for that little boy. God Bless."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.