An NYPD transit officer and his fiancée have been arrested and charged with second degree murder in the death of the officer’s eight year old son, according to Suffolk County authorities. Michael, 40, and Angela, 42, lived together in Center Moriches, Long Island. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Police said they responded to the couple’s home on January 17 after a report that a boy had fallen in the driveway. Thomas, who was autistic, was taken to Long Island Community Hospital and pronounced dead. ABC 6 reported that his body temperature was just 76 degrees when he arrived. Authorities said the injuries did not match the account given at the scene.
According to ABC 6 and other local reports, investigators say Thomas and his brother were made to sleep in an unheated garage without proper bedding. Reports also said the home had video cameras in every room and that the garage was labeled “the kid’s room.”
Local reporting also cited school nurses and school district records describing Thomas and his brother arriving at school hungry and in soiled clothing. It was reported that child protective services had been contacted about the family, but that a welfare check was never completed.
Thomas’s mother, Justyna, told reporters she had fought for years to protect her children. “Nobody did anything,” she said. Thomas’s two brothers are now in her custody.
A GoFundMe page for funeral costs was reportedly created and raised about $14,000 before it was deactivated.
Michael is being held without bail. At the time of this report, it was not clear whether either defendant had hired an attorney, and neither had publicly responded to the charges.
