Michael Valva left autistic son Thomas to freeze in garage while dog was kept in heated room, says housekeeper
RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK: Former New York cop Michael Valva, who has been charged along with his then-fiancee Angela Pollina in the murder of their 8-year-old child, allegedly left the autistic boy to freeze in a garage while the family dog stayed in a heated room inside. The outrageous revelations came on Monday, May 17, in a pre-trial testimony from the family's then housekeeper Tyrene Rodriguez.
Identified as Thomas Valva, the eight-year-old autistic boy was locked in a freezing garage by his parents on January 17, 2020. The parents have since been charged with murder and authorities accuse that the couple had locked their son overnight in a freezing garage while the temperature was 19 degrees outside. Valva has since quit his job at the New York Police department and was more recently seen breaking down in tears in court, at the same pre-trial hearing where Rodriguez testified about the boy's final moments.
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Thomas was forced to stay in 19 degrees
Rodriguez said in her testimony that she used to get her cleaning supplies at a 'mud room' inside the house where the family dog "Bella" also slept, reports WPIX 11. “And that’s a heated room?” the Suffolk County prosecutor asked Rodriguez, who then responded "Yes." Rodriguez also added that she had heard the boy crying when she arrived that morning to clean the house. She then saw the mother, Pollina, frantically emerging from the basement claiming the boy wasn't breathing, said Rodriguez.
The housekeeper then helped Pollina administer CPR to the dying boy, while Rodriguez leaned Thomas's head back to open his airways. “He was very cold,” she said, reports Newsday. “He was damp.” According to initial reports on the incident, Thomas's temperature had dropped to 76 degrees after spending the night in the freezing garage. His father allegedly called 911 to report that his son had fallen while waiting for his school bus outside their Long Island, New York home, and was unconscious.
Responding EMTs took Thomas to the Long Island Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and it emerged that he had not died of an accident. Police said he had suffered head and facial injuries that were "not consistent with his father's account," pointing out that his body temperature, which was 76 when he was found, indicated he had been dead for a few hours before Valva called 911.
17 emergency calls to child abuse hotline against Michael Valva
The hearing also saw the Valva's next-door neighbor Laura Lauretta who testified about seeing Pollina in a bed at the Long Island Community Hospital after Thomas's death. “She was groggy,” Lauretta said, the outlet reports. “She was sleeping. She was moaning.” The incident also happened after the child-abuse hotline received nearly 17 emergency calls about Valva's children in the months before the 8-year-old boy died. Reports state that despite multiple complaints, no action was taken against Valva and his fiancée and the three children continued to stay with them.
Both Valva and Pollina have pleaded not guilty to their second-degree murder charges. Defense attorneys have also argued if investigators had permission to search the family home and this pre-trial hearing was to determine whether or not some evidence should be admitted in the couple's murder trial. As reported previously by MEAWW, Valva had resigned after spending 15 years in the force. According to Valva’s lawyer John LoTurco the former cop voluntarily left the NYPD to save what he’d already contributed towards his pension.