Ex-NYPD cop is jailed for 25 years to life for the murder of his son trends now
A former New York city cop has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing his eight year old son when he forced him to sleep on the concrete floor of a garage as temperatures dipped below freezing.
Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice William Condon handed down the sentence to Michael Valva, 43, on Thursday — one month after he was found guilty of murder and four counts of child endangerment for the death of his son, Thomas Valva, 8, in January 2020.
Prosecutors have revealed over the course of a month-long trial Valva and his then-fiancée forced Thomas and his older brother, Anthony, to sleep in the garage of their Long Island home as temperatures plummeted below 20-degrees.
They claimed in court that the boys were forced to endure 16 hours inside the cold garage without blankets or access to a bathroom as punishment for urinating and defecating inside the Center Moriches home.
A medical examiner later ruled that Thomas died of hypothermia, as authorities said Michael refused to call 911 for at least an hour after he became unconscious.
Michael Valva, an ex-NYPD officer, was sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars for killing his eight year old son when he forced him to sleep on the concrete floor of a garage as temperatures dipped below freezing
Valva, 43, tried to apologize for his actions before his sentencing on Thursday at the Suffolk County Supreme Court on Long Island
Thomas Valva, 8, died after he was forced to sleep inside the garage of his father's home in Center Moriches and was told to hose himself off after he soiled himself the next morning
Valva's defense attorneys had tried to paint Michael as a loving father who was being manipulated by his then-fiancée Angelina Pollina, with whom he shared the two-story Long Island home.
They said it was Pollina who had the idea to force the brothers to sleep in the garage, as Michael tearfully apologized for his actions in court and said Thomas' death was an accident.
At the sentencing on Thursday, Newsday reports, Justice Condon told Valva that he believes he is truly sorry for what happened to his young son.
'I don't think you intended to kill Thomas, but there is no getting around that Thomas and Anthony lived their lives in constant duress,' Condon said, adding that the fact that he was a NYPD officer at the time 'makes your actions that much more unimaginable.'
The veteran judge who is planning to retire at the end of the year then got choked up as he said: 'We can never let this happen again.'
He then handed down the verdict, as Valva could be seen tearing up as his bottom lip trembled.
Following the announcement, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said justice had been served in the 'heartbreaking' case.
'Thanks to the great work of my prosecutors and the SCPD there is a small measure of justice in Michael Valva receiving the maximum sentence,' he said at an ensuing news conference.
'However, no prison sentence is adequate for the cruel treatment this defendant inflicted on his own children. The torture that killed Thomas and endnagered Anthony's welfare was nothing short of evil.
'Thankfully the story of this defendant ends here, but the pursuit of justice for Thomas and Anthony continues.
'We will continue to do everything in our power to hold those responsible accountable for the torture and abuse of these children and also to ensure that Suffolk County has proper safeguards in place to prevent a case like this from ever happening again,' he added.
Valva's defense attorneys had tried to shift the blame on his former fiancée Angela Pollina, 42, (right), saying Valva was being manipulated by her and it was her idea to force Thomas and his older brother Anthony into the garage that day
Angelina Pollina allegedly participated in the abuse and spayed Thomas with cold water during the ordeal at the home in Center Moriches. Pictured: Pollina and Valva
Authorities have said they were first dispatched to the Long Island home where the boy had lived at around 9.40am after his father said the boy had fallen in the driveway and lost consciousness while running for the school bus.
Responding officers found Valva performing CPR on Thomas in the basement. The young boy was then rushed to Long Island Community Hospital, where nurses recorded his body temperature as just 76.1 degrees.
He was later pronounced dead from complications of hypothermia.
An ensuing investigation found that cameras and microphones that had been set up in Michael Valva's home following a string of calls to Child Protective Services recorded him ordering Thomas outside to hose himself down in subfreezing temperatures after he woke up inside the garage and soiled himself.
Prosecutors have said that may have been an early sign that he was suffering from hypothermia.
After he started hosing himself down, authorities say, Thomas lost consciousness and fell face first, several times, into the backyard concrete patio.
Audio files, meanwhile, recorded the couple discussing the fact that Thomas was suffering from hypothermia, had been washed with cold water, couldn't walk, and was 'face-planting' on the concrete.
They laughed as they
