6-year-old boy dies after being forced by his father to run on a treadmill because he was “too fat”

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The city of Barnegat, located in New Jersey, United States, is reeling from the shocking case of six-year-old Corey Micciolo, who died after his father forced him to run on a treadmill because he was deemed “too fat.”

Christopher Gregor, a 31-year-old former crisis hotline worker and nursing home caregiver, is currently on trial for the murder of his son Corey, who tragically passed away in 2021. According to the prosecution, Corey suffered mistreatment and abuse at the hands of his father for several months leading up to his death from “blunt force trauma,” as reported by the British newspaper Daily Mail.

The abuse was captured on security cameras at the gym where much of the mistreatment occurred. The footage shows Gregor increasing the speed of the treadmill, causing Corey to struggle and eventually fall. Instead of helping his son, Gregor forces him back onto the machine, showing a callous disregard for the child’s well-being.

Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, had been fighting for custody of her son due to her concerns about Gregor’s mistreatment. She testified during the trial, recalling the bruises and cuts she noticed on Corey’s body after returning from the gym. Corey had also confided in a pediatrician, telling them that his father made him run on the treadmill because he was “too fat.”

A forensic pathologist ruled Corey’s cause of death as homicide due to chronic child abuse, including blunt force injuries to the abdomen and chest, as well as a laceration to the heart. The child was also found to be suffering from heart and liver bruises with inflammation and sepsis.

Gregor has pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming that Corey died of pneumonia. However, the medical evidence does not support his claims, and the charges against him have been amended to murder almost a year after Corey’s tragic passing.

The community is shocked and saddened by the senseless death of Corey Micciolo, and the trial continues to uncover the heartbreaking details of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.