NYPD Officer Charged In Death Of Son Resigns

LONG ISLAND, NY — An NYPD officer charged with murder in the death of his son resigned from his job Wednesday, according to his attorney.

Michael Valva, 40, and his fiancee, Angela Pollina, 42 were arrested after authorities said 8-year-old Thomas Valva froze to death in his father's Center Moriches garage Jan. 17.

Valva and Pollina were charged with second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, they face 25 years to life in prison.

Valva had been suspended from his job without pay, according to his attorney, John LoTurco.

The resignation means there will be no attempt to take away any of Valva's pension, LoTurco said.

LoTurco on Wednesday said he asked for an extension to file motions, now due November 18, based on the fact that he had just completed discovery based on the voluminous amount of information he's received, which he said took "hours and hours" to read.

A hearing will be held to determine the admissibility of statements Valva made to law enforcement during his arrest, LoTurco said.

Also, LoTurco said, motions will be filed for suppression of "certain evidence ruled inadmissible by the court," including the recovery of some physical evidence.

He will also make a motion for severance of Valva and Pollina, who are currently joined in the same indictment and who have "antagonistic" defenses, LoTurco said.

Next steps involve preparing for motions, a pre-trial hearing and ultimately, preparing for a trial which "hopefully, can take place post-COVID," as finding a jury during the pandemic is "extremely complex," LoTurco said.

In June, Justyna Zubko-Valva, Thomas' mother, filed a $200 million wrongful death lawsuit against Suffolk County officials and school representatives.

According to Zubko-Valva's attorney, "the tragedy started on September 6, 2017, when Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Hope Schwartz Zimmerman unlawfully, and without due process, a hearing or supporting evidence against Ms. Zubko-Valva, gave custody of her three children, including Tommy, to Michael Valva, even though a prior judge in the case had barred Valva from overnight visits."

Zubko-Valva provided evidence to the court, Child Protective Services, the police and the children's attorneys several times that showed the "severe abuse" of her children by Valva and Pollina, the complaint said.

Zubko-Valva repeatedly warned those named in the suit for three years that the boys were being "tortured, beaten, starved," as well as suffering abuse, the complaint said.

In August, a special legislative committee convened to investigate Thomas' death.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the members of a new internal review committee that he said would be "performing a top to bottom review of the Thomas Valva case in the Department of Social Services."

In February, Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Kerriann Kelly painted a grim depiction of the day Thomas died. According to police, he was left overnight in a frigid garage in his father's Center Moriches home, where Pollina also lived.

Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini unsealed five-count indictments against Valva and Pollina.

Thomas and his brother Anthony, 10, were undernourished, begging for food, and foraging through the garbage at school because they were so hungry, Kelly said. Teachers asked Pollina and Valva to send more food to school with the boys, but that did not happen, she said.

Videos taken in the house a day and a half before Thomas died showed both boys in the garage, with Thomas shaking from the cold, saying he needed to use the bathroom, and looking at the camera "with pleading eyes for someone to help him," Kelly said.

On the night Thomas died, it was 19 degrees outside, and he was left in the freezing garage with no blankets, she said.

"Tommy's death was not only foreseeable, but completely preventable," according to the complaint.