Guilty in kid freeze
Ex-cop left son, 8, to die in garage
Disgraced former NYPD officer Michael Valva on Friday was found guilty of murder in the freezing death of his autistic 8-year-old son, who was locked overnight in an unheated garage at the family’s Long Island home.
Jurors in Suffolk County deliberated for less than a day before returning a verdict of guilty on all counts, including second-degree murder, at around 6 p.m., according to reports.
The ex-cop’s conviction in the 2020 death of little Thomas Valva followed a trial that chronicled years of abuse and neglect — including being starved to the point that he ate crumbs off the ground at his school.
Thomas’ principal testified that the school was so concerned about the emaciated boy that they flooded Child Protective Services hotline with complaints in a desperate attempt to get them help, as his dad spurned their inquiries.
On Jan. 17, 2020, Thomas died of hypothermia after he was locked in the freezing garage for up to 16 hours when temperatures dropped to 19 degrees. His brother Anthony, then 10, survived the vicious punishment.
An emergency worker who fought to save Thomas’ life that day testified that Valva, 43, had “no emotion, no sense of concern,” for his son, whom he told responders he found unresponsive after hitting his head on a door frame. The former cop went on trial in September on charges of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child. He faces 25 years to life on the top charge at his sentencing. His then-fiancée, Angela Polina, with whom he lived at the time of Thomas’ death, has also been charged and is set to stand trial at a later date. Valva’s lawyer argued at trial that Polina, 45, was responsible for the fatal abuse and refused to let him provide Thomas with a blanket and other amenities prior to his death.