165: The Treadmill Murder Case: Corey Micciolo 6-Year-Old Boy Murdered By His Father

Cory's life began in challenging circumstances, born to a young single mother. Despite the struggles, his family dynamic reveals a story of love, struggle, and resilience.

Cory was a happy, artistic child born to a teenage single mother, Brianna.

Brianna struggled with drug addiction after Cory's birth, which eventually led to her losing custody to Cory's father, Christopher.

Cory was born on May 1st, 2014, to Brianna Michello, who was only 17 years old and still in high school. Brianna started using drugs to cope with the difficulties she faced in life, ultimately becoming dependent on them. By the time Cory was four years old, Brianna's substance abuse had escalated, and she wasn't working, leading to financial instability. They lived in a basement akin to a studio apartment, a sign of potential housing instability. Brianna applied for food stamps and health insurance, which required a paternity test. The resulting test identified Christopher Gregory as Cory's father.

Despite their precarious situation, in the time Cory was in Brianna's care, he appeared well-cared for and happy.

Despite Brianna's substance abuse issues, Cory seemed well-cared for and happy during his time with her.

Brianna loved Cory deeply and was a devoted mother, even as she battled her personal demons.

Christopher was 21 years old when he had an encounter with 16-year-old Brianna, resulting in Cory's birth. When Christopher and his parents learned of his paternity, they fought for custody and visitati ...

The podcast transcript details how the child welfare system repeatedly failed to protect young Cory from alleged abuse by his father, Christopher, despite multiple reports and signs of physical harm.

Brianna immediately raised concerns about Cory being abused by Christopher after he gained custody.

Brianna (Bree) Micciolo began to suspect that Christopher was abusing their son Cory the first time he was alone with him. She meticulously documented every injury she noticed on her son after visits with his father—bruises, swollen body parts, scratches—and faithfully reported them to the Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP). Despite following the custody order and reporting her concerns, her alarms were disregarded.

Brianna notified DCPP multiple times about injuries Cory returned with, but their response was lackluster. In one instance, Cory came home with bruises, scrapes, and what appeared to be bite marks. Despite Brianna raising concerns more than 100 times, the DCPP did not earnestly investigate the potential signs of abuse.

DCPP repeatedly ignored Brianna's reports and failed to properly investigate.

A critical instance of the system’s negligence was when Brianna filed another report to the DCPP after noticing fresh bruises and scrapes on Cory. She adamantly pursued medical tests and exams for Cory to confirm her suspicions of abuse. Brianna recalled an episode in October of 2019 where Cory returned from a visit with Christopher with a split lip and a swollen face. Christopher attributed these injuries to an accident while playing soccer—an explanation that did not convince Brianna, especially since Cory was reticent about the incident.

Throughout this period, Brianna documented the incidents and submitted evidence to DCPP, including photos and even a video that she believed was incontrovertible proof of abuse. Despite her persistence and evidence, the DCPP's response remained inadequate.

The court system denied Brianna's emergency custody request to remove Cory from Christopher's care, despite evidence of abuse.

Breanna Micciolo knew that her son Cory was being hurt by his father Christopher and did everything in her power to protect him. This included taking Cory to the hospital for tests, directly against Christopher's wishes but per a DCPP caseworker's advice. She understood the stakes were high and even filed an emergency custody order out of f ...

In a heartbreaking incident of child abuse, Cory tragically lost his life following a series of abusive actions by his father, Christopher. Despite surveillance footage capturing the abuse, Cory remained in Christopher's care until his untimely death.

Surveillance footage captured Christopher forcing Cory to run on a treadmill at a dangerous speed, leading to Cory's repeated falls and injuries.

It was inside a gym that surveillance cameras caught the disturbing footage of Christopher forcing his six-year-old son Cory to run on a treadmill set at dangerous speeds. Cory's small frame could not keep up, causing him to fall multiple times. Christopher's response was to appear angry, yank Cory up from the floor, throw him back onto the treadmill, and even bite him on top of his head while forcing him to continue running.

Despite this clear evidence of abuse, Annie Elise, the custodial judge, watched the disturbing surveillance video but still ruled that Cory was safe in Christopher's care. The footage showed Cory suffering falls at least five or six times as Christopher sped the treadmill to a point well beyond his capacity.

Cory died shortly after this treadmill incident, with the medical examiner initially ruling his death as "undetermined."

The aftermath of the abuse was catastrophic. Cory told his pediatrician that he had been forced to run on the tread ...

Christopher faced trial after being charged with the murder of Cory, but was ultimately convicted of aggravated manslaughter, leading to mixed reactions about the justice served.

Prosecutors argued that Christopher's Google searches and demeanor after Cory's death demonstrated his guilt.

The prosecution presented Google searches from Christopher's phone as evidence, which ranged from inquiring about bruises, tracking phones in airplane mode, and searches relating to medical conditions and emergencies. The searches included looking up information on internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeds, and the time to die from such conditions, alongside a search about how long it takes to file charges after a murder is determined from an autopsy. These searches were used to paint a picture of Christopher's knowledge and involvement in the events leading to Cory's death.

Christopher's demeanor was also scrutinized as he appeared calm and casual at the hospital despite Cory's critical condition. He left Cory alone in the hospital room where the child later died, an action the prosecution argued no normal parent would take.

The defense attempted to discredit Brianna's testimony by highlighting her previous drug relapses, but this strategy backfired.

During cross-examination, the defense focused on discrediting Brianna, Cory's mother, by questioning her about her [restricted term] use and loss of custody due to her addiction. Despite admissions of past relapses, her testimony seemed to backfire against the defense as it drew attention to her efforts toward sobriety and her distress about her son's abuse.

Christopher was ultimately convicted of aggravated manslaughter, rather than the more serious charge of murder.

The jury found Christopher not guilty of murde ...