‘Treadmill abuse’ trial: Dad accused of murder won’t testify in trial

(NewsNation) — The New Jersey dad charged with murdering his 6-year-old by forcing him to do abusive treadmill workouts is not planning on testifying in the trial.

Corey Micciolo died from blunt force trauma and lacerations to his heart and liver, according to autopsy reports. His father, Christopher Gregor, forced his son to run on a treadmill in March 2021. The workout was captured on surveillance video, which shows Gregor continually increasing the treadmill’s speed, causing his son to fall off it face-first about six times.

Gregor says he took Micciolo to the hospital after he woke up from a nap incoherent. Ultimately, Micciolo had a seizure and died at the hospital. Gregor is now on trial for the endangerment of the welfare of a child and first-degree murder.

Famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden testified Tuesday that Micciolo’s death was due to sepsis caused by pneumonia. That testimony contradicts the prosecution’s expert testimony.

Former prosecutor Matt Murphy told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo that the trial is a “microcosm of every child abuse case in America.”

“This is the way it always goes,” Murphy said on “CUOMO.” “You’ve got a child who is abused. The defense will almost every time call in experts to say that this was a part of resuscitation efforts. This is happening all across America.”

Corey’s mother Breanna Micciolo said she reported suspected abuse over 100 times in 18 months, but no action was taken before the child’s death.

Two days after Corey’s death, Gregor was pulled over by Alcoa, Tennessee, police for speeding in a construction zone. In bodycam footage of the interaction, Gregor can be seen blaming Corey’s mother for his death.

“If he (Corey Micciolo) didn’t have a drug addict mother, then he’d still be alive. That’s been going through my head this whole drive. She’s a special kind of dirtbag,” Gregor said, referring to Corey’s mother, Breanna.

Jessica Pryce, author of “Broken: Transforming Child Protective Services,” told “CUOMO” last week that CPS has “to take accountability for what happened in this case.”

“When I was in the field, there was this line between the family court and CPS … But I want CPS to realize that we can’t do child safety alone … We’ve got to be the leader because we’re the experts in (keeping) kids safe.”