40-year-old Michael Valva, an NYPD transit officer and his fiancée, 42-year-old Angela Pollina, have been arrested in connection with the death of his eight-year-old autistic son, Thomas Valva.
Eight-year-old victim, Thomas Valva, was pronounced dead at the hospital this past Friday with a reported body temperature of just 76°.
ABC-6 reports that Valva and Pollina forced their children to sleep in an unheated garage without pillows or blankets.
Police were called by Valva, who reported a fall by Thomas in the driveway while waiting for the school bus. Upon police arrival, Valva was seen trying to resuscitate Thomas. The authorities noticed the injuries Thomas sustained were inconsistent with that of the dad’s claim. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
They also found the couples home set up with video surveillance cameras for each room, with the garage being labeled as “the kid’s room.”
School nurses and school district reports say Thomas Valva and his brother appeared at school “hungry” and in “urine-soaked clothing.” It is also reported that child protective services were called to the home, but a welfare check was never investigated.
Justyna Zuubko-Valva says, “Nobody did anything. I tried, I fought so hard to, you know, fight for justice for my children… It shouldn’t get to that point that, you know, my son lost his life for somebody to do something.” Thomas’s two brothers are now in Zuubko-Valva’s custody.
Valva’s fiancée, Angela Pollina’s other three children are also currently staying with relatives.
A GoFundMe page was created by Valva for funeral expenses. $14,000 was contributed. Donators worried that Valva would use the donations to secure his legal fees. Since then, the GoFundMe account has been deactivated.
Both Valva & Pollina are being charged with second-degree murder.
Valva is being held without bail.
