US man forces son, 6, to run on treadmill for being ‘too fat’ days before death

A man in US’s New Jersey forced his six-year-old son to run on a treadmill because he was “too fat”, days before the child died of “chronic abuse” in 2021. New footage of the incident was played in court on Tuesday that showed Christopher Gregor, 31, repeatedly forcing his son, Corey Micciolo, to run on the treadmill despite the child struggling to maintain his balance.

Christopher Gregor, if convicted, will face life in prison, Mail Online reported.

During Tuesday’s trial wherein Christopher Gregor appeared to face murder charges, surveillance footage from Atlantic Heights Clubhouse fitness centre dated March 20, 2021, was shown. It shows Corey running on the treadmill and continuously falling off the same, while Gregor keeps lifting him up and putting him back on it.

WARNING: DISTURBING VISUALS BELOW, WATCH AT OWN DISCRETION:

At one point, Christopher Gregor appeared to be biting his son on the back of his head before forcing him to run on the treadmill again.

The boy’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, was the first witness to take the stand during the trial, and broke down in tears as she watched the disturbing gym footage.

Days after the gym visit, Breanna Micciolo, who shared custody of Corey with Christopher Gregor, noticed the child’s injuries and reported them to a caseworker with the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency. She took Corey to a doctor on April 2, 2021, where he said his father forced him to run on the treadmill “because he was too fat”, according to Court TV.

Next day, Christopher Gregor rushed the six-year-old boy to a hospital because he woke up from a nap stumbling, slurring his words and experiencing shortness of breath and nausea. During an urgent CT scan, Corey suffered a seizure, and despite life-saving measures by medical staff, the boy died.

An initial autopsy revealed that Corey Micciolo died as a result of “blunt force injuries” with cardiac and liver contusions with acute inflammation and sepsis.

Christopher Gregor was arrested in July 2021 on child neglect charges. “Specifically by having (Corey) run on a treadmill and increasing the speed, causing (Corey) to fall, placing (him) back on the moving treadmill while appearing to bite his head, causing the said child to fall several more times,” an arrest warrant read.

Corey’s death was determined to be a homicide in September 2021 following a forensic pathologist’s finding that the six-year-old suffered from “chronic abuse” including blunt force wounds on his chest and abdomen with a laceration on his heart, left pulmonary contusion, and laceration and contusion of his liver.