(NewsNation) — Corey Micciolo’s mother, Breanna, speculates that Christopher Gregor’s decision to make their son do abusive treadmill workouts stemmed from his own childhood trauma.
“Gregor “never admitted (the abuse) to me,” Micciolo said during an appearance Tuesday night on “CUOMO.” “But my theory is his (Gregor’s) father being a state trooper. Maybe he made him work out. … (Gregor) took it too far. He took his trauma and put it on Corey. Add the hatred he has for me, and this is what happened.”
Last week, a jury found the New Jersey father guilty of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of his 6-year-old son, Corey Micciolo.
The verdict came after a four-week trial, during which jurors heard from several witnesses over what could have led to the death of Corey Micciolo.
Gregor, 31, was initially charged with first-degree murder and endangerment of the welfare of a child stemming from surveillance video from the gym in his apartment complex that showed Gregor forcing his son to run at high speeds on a treadmill. The video shows Gregor continually increasing the speed on the treadmill, which forced his son to fall off the exercise equipment six times.
Breanna Micciolo has repeatedly said she reported suspected abuse more than 100 times in 18 months, but no action was taken before the child’s death.
“The video that everyone’s seen, the treadmill video that’s disgusting. … DCP&P (Division of Child Protection & Permanency) had that a week before Corey passed away,” Micciolo said on “CUOMO.” “I think they went to his house and documented his bruises. That’s as far as it went.”
Micciolo said she was met with several excuses from caseworkers.
“The hardest part is that it could have been prevented. It shouldn’t have happened. DCP&P has a hand in this. Corey would still be alive if they stepped in when they saw that video,” Micciolo added.
NewsNation’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.