Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 6 Details of Accused Child Killer Christopher Gregor's Past Before Son's Death

Episode Date: May 11, 2024

Christopher Gregor is on trial for the murder of his son, Corey Micciolo. Corey was only 6 years old when Gregor showed up with him at an emergency room in Ocean County, New Jersey on April 2, 2021. Corey died a short time later. Little is known about Gregor beyond the charges he faces. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy takes a closer look at Gregor's history and how he came to gain custody of his son in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoAudio Editing - Brad MaybeGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@LawandCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. You're not going to like him. And I don't care if you like him. When you see that video, you're going to be horrified. You're going to be horrified. You're going to be mortified. But I'm telling you right now that the evidence you're going to see of Corey's death had absolutely nothing to do with that treadmill. Christopher Greger on trial in New Jersey for the murder of his six-year-old son, Corey Michelo. But what do we know about Christopher Greger on trial in New Jersey for the murder of his six-year-old son, Corey Michelo. But what do we know about Christopher Greger?

I take a closer look at the man accused of murdering his six-year-old little boy. Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Chris Greger faces two charges in the death of his son, Corey Michelo, child endangerment and, of course, the more serious charge of murder. Greger has pleaded not guilty to murdering Corey, and he's blamed his son's death on the boy's mother, Brianna Michelo, who testified at the trial. What does Brianna do? She leaves the hospital against medical advice. She leaves. She does at some point now take him by herself to Jersey

Shore Medical Center where he undergoes an evaluation. And you're going to hear that when he was at Jersey Shore Medical Center, they found that he had a possibility of something called sepsis, which you'll understand from a doctor. I'm not a doctor, I'm a lawyer. But doctors are going to testify here.

And you're going to understand that sepsis is your body's reaction to an infection. And it's a rapid response to that infection. And that rapid response you're going to hear from doctors will tell you can show a child is loopy, disoriented, nauseous, and Jersey Shore Medical Center told her, Brianna, leave the child here.

And she did not. She took Corey home, signed papers against medical advice. She took them home. Prosecutors in Ocean County, New Jersey say Christopher Greger is a murderer that inflicted unspeakable abuse onto his son, which ultimately led to Corey dying on April 2nd of 2021. We have to look at all the things the defendant was doing before,

during, and after those crimes. Now an expert in digital forensics will testify and he'll tell you that he examined the defendant's cell phone. And from the defendant's cell phone, he was able to learn that throughout the day on April 2nd, 2021, the defendant was texting with a female associate making plans for that night. On that same date, three hours before Corey died, he took a selfie with Corey on the couch. He also ordered McDonald's during that afternoon, and he did a search on his phone for loss of consciousness, sleepy, and nauseous. You're going to have information before you, and I'd ask you to consider it, about what this defendant was doing all day, at home, at the hospital, after he left.

What he was saying to the people at the hospital, to Corey's mom, and everyone else. His texts, his phone calls, his web searches, his selfie, even his garbage. There were a lot of people in Corey's life, and you'll hear about some of them. Some might be positive, and some might not. But don't let that derail you. You all came here to serve as jurors in this case with everything that you need, and those are your life experiences and your common sense. Use it. Corey was alive and well at 9 a.m. when he was with his mom,

and he was gone by 5.03 p.m. after only being with his father, this defendant. The state submits that after you've heard and seen all of the evidence in this case, you will be firmly convinced that this defendant is guilty of abuse and murder because healthy six-year-olds don't just die during the course of a business day, and neither did Corey Micheleau. Through testimony and some digging online, we've uncovered some information about Chris Greger. Who is this guy? He's now 31 years old. At the time that Corey died, Greger was 28. According to prosecutors, Greger didn't know he had a son until Corey was four or five years old.

You'll learn that on May 1st of 2014, Corey was born to Brianna Michelo when she was just 17 years old. This defendant didn't come into Corey's life and neither did the Greggers until Corey was four or five. Greggers' attorney, Mario Gallucci, explained how Chris Greger found out that he was indeed a father. In 2017, Christopher Greger was studying for his master's degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. And he was also employed by Urban Teachers, which was a company that employed people to teach in urban areas. When he found out, he was being sued for child support for a child he had never met, nor did he know he fathered. And that's where our story begins. So at the time, Chris Greger was working as a teacher in Baltimore. This information came from opening statements at the trial. Greger grew up in Monroe Township,

New Jersey. His dad, David Greger, worked for New Jersey State Police. He's now retired. His mother, Carolyn, worked in real estate. The New York Post reported that Greger was an all-star defensive lineman at Monroe Township High School and actually played for the school's state championship football team in 2009. Then in 2010, Greger attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut and played for the school's football team, according to the 2010 roster that you can see right there. But a new story from 2010 shows that Greger got into some trouble that fall in November. The Middletown Press reported that Gregor, appearing intoxicated, went into a woman's

dorm room and took something and then punched two men who tried to help her. The website reported that Gregor told police that he went into the woman's dorm room by mistake and when he realized his mistake, he tried to leave, but someone punched him in the face. Police didn't believe Greger, and he was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace. Greger's LinkedIn page says he eventually got a degree in psychology from Ashford University and then a master's in secondary education and teaching from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The Post reported that Greger was

charged with half a dozen criminal charges in Baltimore from August 27 through 2018. Those charges included assault, robbery, and destruction of property. At that time, Greger was working with urban teachers in Baltimore. You heard his lawyer mention that earlier. And that's when Greger found out he was a father to a child he didn't even know existed. In the years before that, Gregor had worked in Tampa, Florida as a coach and a sales associate for the Tampa Bay Lightning. That's a hockey team. He was also listed as a realtor and worked in real estate in New Jersey. That appears to be what he was doing at the time that he met Corey in 2019. Corey was actually born in 2014.

His mom, Brianna, who you heard from earlier, testified at the trial. So, Brianna, how old are you? I'm 27. And what is your birth date? November 7th, 1996. And where do you live? East Brunswick. And whom do you live with? My boyfriend and daughter. And do you live? East Brunswick. And whom do you live with?

My boyfriend and daughter. And do you work? Yes. And what is your occupation? Data entry. Who is Corey Michalow? My son. And when did you give birth to Corey?

May 1st, 2014. And how old were you when you gave birth to Corey? May 1st 2014. And how old were you when you gave birth to Corey? 17. What grade were you in when you gave birth to Corey? 11th grade. And who is Corey's biological father? The defendant. So who is Corey's biological father? The defendant. And what's his name? Christopher Greger. And how old were you when you first met Christopher Greger? 16. And do you know what the defendant's birth date is?

It's May 1992. Now, you're familiar with Christopher Greger, correct? Yes. And you've known him for many years, right? Yes And you see him located in the courtroom today? I do And can you please point to him and tell us where he's seated and what he's wearing? He's sitting over there wearing a suit

I'm going to find Mr. Greger, Your Honor So noted, thank you Now, is your son, Corey, no longer with us? No Well, yes. And can you tell the jury the day he passed? April 2, 2021. And how old was Corey when he passed?

He was six. And what types of things did your son, Corey, like to do as a six-year-old? He liked reading, coloring, painting, playing outside. And what type of demeanor did Corey have as a six-year-old? He was happy, silly, loving. Gregor's father, David, testified at a hearing outside the presence of the jury about Corey coming into their lives. Did there come a time when now Corey Mitchell became part of the Gregor family? There did. Okay.

And do you recall when that was? Corey's first visit was in the beginning of August of 2019. It was just a visit for a couple hours. I remember it because Christopher went to pick him up. It was a big day for us. It was my only grandson. He came for a couple-hour visit, and the preparation of everything at the house was about Corey. I remember going through all, I had four children, they all played sports.

So I was going through all the old equipment now that the children were older and pulling out all kinds of balls and baseballs and footballs. And we often jokingly said that, you know, we just had our fifth child. And it wasn't for a lack of commitment from Chris, but it was our game plan as a family to do the best that we could for him. For a time, Chris Greger and Corey were living with Chris's parents at their home. Greger's father, David, was very involved in raising Corey. Chris Greger was working. I was totally involved in his education. Monroe has a system by which you can go online, and much to my other children's chagrin during their careers in the school, I was on there every day.

And I was on there checking for assignments, checking for grades, checking for, in general, how he was doing. He had some classes that were more of a challenge in blocks of instruction than others. The teacher, in fact, would make notes and put it in his book bag every night about how he did that particular day, and I know that's one of the first things I did when I got him off the school bus. I brought him in and let him unwind, and I'd open that up because it was, did Corey have a good day or did Corey

have a bad day? And it seemed in Monroe that most of them were good days. There was an occasional bad day. And a bad day usually was defined by focus issues, being disruptive, things like that, that had manifested itself in a larger degree when he was stolen in Jamesburg from all the things that I had read. But then Chris and Corey moved to another area of New Jersey. On March 20th of 2021, about 12 days before Corey died, we saw that terrible treadmill video of Corey, Chris Greger, speeding up that treadmill. Prosecutors say he was making Corey run on it because Chris felt that Corey, a six-year-old boy, was too fat. After you dropped Corey off on March 20th, 2021, when is the next time that you saw Corey?

I believe it was Tuesday. Would that have been March 23rd, 2021? And on that particular day, did you drive to Barnegat? Yes. And did you drive there to visit Corey? Yes. And where did you visit with Corey that day? The defendant's home.

And about what time do you think did you arrive at the defendant's apartment to visit with Corey? Maybe 4.30. And that would have been your weekday visitation with Corey? Yes. So it would have been like after the school day? Yes, I'm sorry. And where was the defendant when you visited Corey? He was home. And did you stay over

the apartment that night? No. And what time did you leave the apartment? Um, I would say around 930. And while you were with Corey, did you see any bruises on him? I did, yes. And can you describe for the jurors the bruises that you saw? He had a bruise on his forehead, and it was very odd-shaped, and it kind of looked like an imprint of something. And besides that bruise, did you see another bruise? He had one on his chest. It looked like a scrape.

And where were you when you saw these bruises on Corey? Corey and I went on a walk in the neighborhood. And did you speak to Corey about the bruises that you saw? Yes. And where were you and Corey when you spoke? We were on the walk. And what was Corey's demeanor when you spoke to him about the bruises that you saw? He just seemed upset and scared. Brianna Michelo said that she made a report to Children's Services six days later about the injuries on Corey. Michelo described what happened before she

had dropped off Corey that day. And do you recognize those? I do. And can you tell the jurors what those are? They're text messages between me and the defendant. And you're familiar with those text messages? Yes. And are those text messages that were located in your cell phone? Yes. Okay. Now during the course of this investigation, did you provide your cellular phone to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office? Yes. And when did you provide your cell phone to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office? The day Corey passed. And you provided your cell phone to Detective Mitchell? Correct. And by doing this, you voluntarily agreed

that the Prosecutor's Office would search your phone? Yes. So calling your attention now to S5 in particular at approximately 3.04 what did the defendant text you in regard to you dropping off Corey on March 20th, 21 at approximately

3.04? He texted me when you get here please just drop him off. And what was your response? I said, okay. And then what did he say next? He said, you're almost two hours late, what the f***? And what did the defendant say next?

He said, this Friday, however long wait you are, is how long after 4.30 you can come. Can you continue, please? What did he say next? FYI, this is beyond f***ing me off. Now my entire plans for today are ruined. What did you respond? I'm driving as fast as I can. There was traffic. I'm sorry. And he said, I don't care. Whenever you get here, we will take the difference in time from two o'clock until then. And that is how long we will add on to 430 for when you come on Friday now.

Brianna Michelo said that Chris Greger was very upset. He was angry that day that they had showed up late, but she said it wasn't intentional. She had actually told Jersey Shore online that back in 2019, when Greger first met Corey, he returned from that visit with a, quote, busted lip. Michelo told the website that she didn't believe Gregor's explanation that he accidentally kicked her son while kicking a soccer ball. Michelo claimed she had notified Children's Services about her concerns that Chris Gregor was abusing Corey several times to no avail. Text messages showed a conversation between Gregor and Brianna Michelo in which she confronted him about how he treated Corey. Brianna wrote, Hey, not a big deal. I just wanted to let you know that Corey came upstairs upset and almost crying because he was trying to ask you about playing football in high school and you smacked the ball out of his hand and walked out. Gregor responded, That's a lie. I smacked the ball out of his hand and

he didn't say a word to me when I was leaving before or after that, but I did it as a joke and said bye. Tell him if you wanted to ask me a question, standing there and saying nothing is not the way to ask. Later in the exchange, Gregor said maybe he needs to be tougher. Gregor at one point called Corey over-emotional, to which Brianna Michelo responded, He's not over-emotional. You hurt his feelings. He got upset. He's six years old. We know now that Corey died on April 2nd, 2021. Days earlier, Brianna Michelo had tried to get full custody of Corey. Did you get an appointment with the pediatrician? Yes. And what day was the appointment scheduled for? April 1st.

And April 1st was a Thursday? And what time was the appointment scheduled for, Brianna? Around 5. And why did you make the appointment at 5? Because that's when my parenting time was. And who was the appointment made with? What pediatrician? Ivy Pediatrics.

And did you have a conversation with the DCP and the caseworker? Yes. Without telling us the conversation, what was the caseworker's name? Name? Yes. Mark Waltonowski. Calling your attention to March 31st of 2021, did you file an emergent application for full custody of Corey with the family court? Yes. And can you tell the jurors why you did this? I was in fear for Corey's life. And was DC PNP involved in this process? Yes. Chris Greger was charged with child endangerment in the summer of 2021. And the following March, prosecutors in Orange County charged Greger with murder. He denies he killed Corey and blames his death

on Brianna Micheleau. He's in custody at the Ocean County Jail as his trial moves forward. That's it for this edition of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.