A New Jersey father accused of killing his 6-year-old son by forcing him to do grueling treadmill workouts asked the mother for guidance before he was scheduled to testify, a court heard on the seventh day of the murder trial.
Christopher Greger, 31, called his mother, Carolyn Greger, on May 10. There is less than a week left until her mother is scheduled to take the stand to testify at her trial. According to the Asbury Park Press.
Instead of hearing her testimony Wednesday, the court spent the day listening to phone calls made from Gregor’s current home in the Ocean County Jail and debating whether to allow her mother to testify.
In a phone call recorded inside the prison, Gregor’s parents can be heard repeatedly telling their son to stop talking.
“This is the end of the phone call, it’s over, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it,” my parents said, and finally hung up.
Ocean County Prosecutor Jamie Schron said he would cross-examine the mother about the phone call if she testified, and Gregor’s attorney, Mario Gallucci, decided not to call her mother.
Gallucci even acknowledged that his client appeared to be trying to coach his mother over the phone.
The Asbury Park Press reported that Judge Guy Ryan ruled that the call should be admitted, citing potential evidence of knowledge of Gregor’s guilt.
Gregor was charged with murder and child abuse after his young son Corey died in a fall on April 2. It had been less than a week since he had forced the boy to run at high speeds on a treadmill until he was thrown from the machine.
Heartbreaking footage showed Gregor picking up the boy and putting him back into the machine after he was repeatedly thrown off.
On April 2, the boy became confused and slurred, and after being taken to hospital, he suffered a seizure and died.
A subsequent autopsy revealed that the boy had suffered blunt force trauma to his chest and abdomen, as well as lacerations to his liver and heart.
Later testimony indicated that these injuries occurred while Corey was in the care of his father.
If convicted, Gregor could face 30 years in prison.
