Valva murder probe widens
Special grand jury convened
Prosecutors in Long Island will open a special grand jury into the death of 8year-old Thomas Valva, after child welfare workers, judges and lawyers ignored two years of warnings that the battered boy’s NYPD cop dad was abusing him.
The autistic boy froze to death Jan. 17. His father, NYPD officer Michael Valva, had beaten and forced the child to sleep in an unheated garage, prosecutors allege.
Valva and his fiancée, Angela Pollina, are charged with murder.
A recording captured the two mocking Thomas after a sibling asked why the boy couldn’t walk.
“Based on our investigation to date, which has involved the review of voluminous records and the interview of numerous witnesses, it is clear that it is appropriate and in the public’s interest to convene a special grand jury to conduct a thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the death of Thomas Valva,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini announced Monday.
A special grand jury has a wider investigatory scope than a conventional grand jury, whose sole task is to decide whether charges should be brought against a defendant.
Thomas’ mother, Justyna ZukboValva, who was entangled in a bitter divorce battle with Valva, lost custody of her sons in September 2017. Paperwork she shared with the Daily News last month shows how workers with Child Protective Services repeatedly ignored red flags, closed investigations, omitted details about past beatings and refused to read progress reports.
Over the course of two years, Valva’s estranged wife and educators at the East Moriches school where Thomas and his brothers were students lodged at least 20 child abuse or neglect complaints against Valva.
The boys were perpetually hungry at school and losing weight, while Thomas and his older brother, Anthony, arrived at school in urine-soaked clothes, wore diapers and suffered visible injuries from abuse, according to school memos.
Zubko-Valva also blasted lawyer Donna McCabe — the court-appointed attorney tasked with advocating for Thomas who reported to the court that Thomas and his brothers were treated well by their father.
Thomas’ death led county lawmakers to propose six sweeping child welfare reform bills, two of which were exclusively reported by The News last week.
“I recently unveiled the CPS Transformation Act to help reform a broken system that failed to protect Thomas Valva,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. “I applaud District Attorney Tim Sini for convening a special grand jury, and I am confident this action will be a catalyst to implement additional, necessary reforms.”