RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A jury convicted a former New York Metropolis police officer on Friday of second-degree homicide within the demise of his 8-year-old son, who was compelled to sleep in a single day on the concrete flooring of a freezing storage.
Michael Valva was discovered responsible of 4 counts of kid endangerment and faces a most potential sentence of 25 years to life. Thomas Valva died in January 2020, the day after sleeping within the storage within the household’s Lengthy Island residence in temperatures that dropped beneath 20 levels.
Friday’s verdict got here on the primary day of deliberations after a month’s value of testimony.
A medical expert dominated the boy’s demise a murder and located that hypothermia was a significant contributing issue. Prosecutors mentioned Thomas and his 10-year-old brother had been each on the autism spectrum and had been at occasions compelled to sleep within the storage.
In keeping with prosecutors, the boys spent 16 consecutive hours within the freezing storage main as much as the 8-year-old’s demise, Newsday reported. Prosecutors additionally alleged Michael Valva did nothing to assist him because the boy died in entrance of him after which lied to police and first responders.
The kid endangerment counts stemmed from the beating and ravenous of each boys. Their lecturers testified the boys got here to high school with bruises and sometimes had been so hungry they ate crumbs off the ground, based on the newspaper.
“Whereas there may be nothing that we will do to deliver Thomas again, we’re glad with the jury’s choice,” Suffolk County District Lawyer Raymond A. Tierney mentioned in a press release. “Michael Valva subjected his sons to horrific abuse, neglect and cruelty. He’ll now pay for chopping brief the lifetime of a younger, harmless, defenseless boy who had a lifetime forward of him.”
Valva’s then-fiancee, Angela Pollina, additionally faces youngster endangerment and second-degree homicide counts and is awaiting trial. She has pleaded not responsible.
