Police killed his 8-year-old autistic son by mistreating him at home: dramatic trial in New York
At just 8 years old, the autistic boy Thomas Valva suffered abuse caused by his father, the then NYPD police officer Michael Valva, and his girlfriend Angela Pollina, until he finally died of hypothermia, the prosecution denounced yesterday at the start of the dramatic trial on Long Island .
The latest mistreatment occurred when the then-cop forced the boy to sleep in an unheated garage at his home as the temperature dropped to 19 degrees F (-7C) and then doused him with ice water, causing hypothermia, prosecutors told the jury.
The boy’s death on January 17, 2020 was reportedly the culmination of years of relentless abuse suffered by Thomas and his brothers, including spending hunger, cold and tortureaccording to opening statements at Valva’s murder trial in Riverhead.
“I’ll beat them until they bleed… It’s the only thing that works”
Michael Valva on his children
Valva and his girlfriend were arrested and accused of second degree murder and child endangerment for allegedly killing Thomas by acting with “depraved indifference to human life.” Both have pleaded “not guilty” and are being tried separately. The father faces life in prison if he is convicted, he said. Daily News.
“I’ll beat them until they bleed” Valva texted Polina about the children, Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Laura Newcombe told jurors, according to Newsday. “It’s the only thing that works.”
The prosecutor said that Thomas and his 10-year-old older brother were students with special needs. that they were so neglected that their school officials said they they came to class with dirty clothes and looked for food in the garbage.
Justyna Zubko Valva, biological mother de Thomas, had denounced the abuse of her three children at the hands of the police and in June 2020 filed a $200 million federal lawsuit. She had also lost custody of her three children due to alleged abuse of power by her ex-husband. Three daughters also lived in the home where Thomas died. from Pollina.
The mother alleged in the lawsuit that Long Island courts, school officials and social service agencies failed to protect the boy from his abusive police fatherdespite the many signs before he froze to death.
“Zubko-Valva had presented evidence to the court, CPS (child protective services), the police and the children’s attorneys (Family Court) multiple times that showed the serious physical, mental and sexual abuse of their children by Valva and Pollina,” their plaintiff lawyer said then.
Days after Thomas’s death, his mother regained custody of her two surviving children.
Several children died in the last months of 2021 in NYC victims of alleged abuse in their homes. Other cases have also been reported in 2022. If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly person:
- Call 911 or 1.888.NYCWELL (1.888.692.9355).
- Send the text message “WELL” a 65173.
- Check information in https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/es/
