A New Jersey father has been arrested for beating his six-year-old son to death one day after a court rejected the mother’s emergency request for custody.
Christopher Gregor, 29, is accused of killing his son, identified as C.M., in Ocean County in the US state of New Jersey on 2nd April 2021.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on 9th March: “Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Barnegat Township Police Chief Keith A. Germain announced that on March 9, 2022, Christopher Gregor, 29, of Monroe Township, was charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1), in connection with the death of a six-year-old male on April 2, 2021, at Southern Ocean Medical Center in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township.”
The boy was reportedly killed one day after his mother filed an emergency request for custody.
She had been in contact with the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) for nearly a year when she filed the request.
The Prosecutor’s Office said: “On April 2, 2021, Officers from the Stafford Township Police Department responded to Southern Ocean Medical Center in reference to the death of a six-year-old male, identified as C.M.
“On April 3, 2021, a post-mortem examination was performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, and it was determined that C.M. sustained injuries due to blunt force trauma.
“In the course of investigating the child’s death, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad and Barnegat Township Police Department discovered evidence that revealed that Gregor had committed acts of abuse against the child in Barnegat Township on March 20, 2021.
“As such, Gregor was charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(2) on July 7, 2021. Though initially lodged in the Ocean County Jail, Gregor was subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
“On March 3, 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office received a report from the State’s expert witness which indicated that C.M. died as a result of blunt force impact of the chest and abdomen, and determined the manner of the child’s death to be homicide.”
An “extensive investigation” concluded that the suspect was looking after the victim when he “sustained his life-ending injuries” and that “Gregor is the individual responsible for the child’s death”.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said: “On March 9, 2022, Gregor was taken into custody by Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Sea Bright Police Department, and Barnegat Township Police Department.”
Gregor is currently being held at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer said: “I’m thankful for the collective effort of all of the law enforcement officers that participated in this very thorough and comprehensive investigation over the past 11 months.
“Today is the first step in bringing the person we believe is responsible for this young boy’s death to justice.”
