Child services ignored complaints that cop made his kid sleep in garage before other son died in it

Protective services ignored complaints that an NYPD officer made his child sleep in the garage, one year before his other son died after being locked in it overnight in freezing temperatures.

New York state’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) received a complaint in February that the now 10-year-old son of suspected murderer Michael Valva, 40, was coming to school in soiled clothes after being forced to sleep in the garage.

The allegations were dismissed as ‘unfounded’ by child welfare and the case closed the following day.

Less than a year later, Valva and his fiancée Angela Pollina have been charged with murder for the hypothermia-induced death of his eight-year-old autistic son Thomas, who died on January 17 after allegedly being forced to sleep in the same garage of the family’s Long Island home.  

Eight-year-old Thomas (pictured) died on January 17 after being ‘starved, beaten and locked overnight in a garage in freezing temperatures’

Pictured: Michael Valva

Angela Pollina

Protective services ignored complaints that NYPD officer Michael Valva (left) and Angela Pollina (right) made his son Anthony sleep in the garage, one year before Thomas died after being locked in it overnight

In addition to hypothermia, Thomas also suffered head and face injuries.  

Valva and Pollina were charged with second-degree murder on Friday. 

Records have now emerged showing that authorities were aware of long-running child abuse in the home.

They show that a phone call was made to child services, by an unnamed caller, on February 27 stating that Valva’s son Anthony was forced to sleep in the garage because he was wetting the bed. 

‘For the past week, Anthony (9) has been coming to school with his clothes and backpack soaked in urine,’ states the OCFS record, seen by The Post.

Thomas' distraught mother Justyna Zubko-Valva (pictured) said she had raised the alarm about Valva abusing their children but child services did nothing

Thomas’ distraught mother Justyna Zubko-Valva (pictured) said she had raised the alarm about Valva abusing their children but child services did nothing

Records show a phone call was made to child services, by an unnamed caller, on February 27 stating that Anthony was forced to sleep in the garage because he was wetting the bed. Despite the severity of the allegations, the record shows the agency closed the investigation just one day later

Records show a phone call was made to child services, by an unnamed caller, on February 27 stating that Anthony was forced to sleep in the garage because he was wetting the bed. Despite the severity of the allegations, the record shows the agency closed the investigation just one day later

‘Anthony has been staying in the garage and is not allowed in his room due to him urinating in his bed … Step mother (Angela) and Father (Michael) are aware that the child is arriving at school soiled and fail to adequately address the concern.’ 

It adds: ‘The child’s feet and hands are bright red, but it unknown if this is as a result of the child being soaked in urine.’ 

Despite the severity of the allegations, the record shows the agency closed the investigation just one day later, citing it a ‘duplicate’.   

The record was sent to Anthony and Thomas’ mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, in May 2019 along with a letter which dismissed the allegations as ‘unfounded’.   

‘The investigating district/agency has determined the report to be unfounded and the subject (perpetrator) and other persons named in the report(s) have been notified,’ wrote Kristin Gleeson, the director of the state central register division of child welfare and community services, in the letter.  

The alleged murderers: Valva and Pollina (pictured with Thomas and their other children) were charged with second-degree murder on Friday

The alleged murderers: Valva and Pollina (pictured with Thomas and their other children) were charged with second-degree murder on Friday

Zubko-Valva had repeatedly voiced concerns that her ex-husband Valva was abusing their three children by starving, beating and locking them inside the garage for periods of time, she said. 

She says the children would go to school with soiled clothing and wear diapers, despite all of them being potty trained by age two. 

‘Every time, I kept telling the judge – ‘If you’re not going to remove the children, they are going to die under his care and custody,’ she told News 12 Long Island. 

‘There was evidence, hard evidence. Reports filed. Children were telling me, too, about the abuse.’

The heartbroken mother said she had documented the abuse on her Twitter.     

She said this whole time Child Protective Services did nothing to protect her kids.  

‘No one did anything,’ said Zubko-Valva, adding that the children allegedly scoured for food in the school garbage on the floor.

Authorities say eight-year-old Thomas Valva (pictured) died of hypothermia after he was kept inside a garage overnight in 'freezing temperatures'

Authorities say eight-year-old Thomas Valva (pictured) died of hypothermia after he was kept inside a garage overnight in ‘freezing temperatures’ 

She said she fought for justice for her children for five years, but was unable to gain custody before tragedy struck.

Zubko-Valva previously lost custody of her children and has not seen them in two years. It’s unclear why she initially lost custody.

‘I just really want justice for my son. He deserves it. This should never have happened,’ she said.

‘I just keep praying for this case to be fully resolved and my little angel Thomas to rest peacefully in heaven…I just wished somebody helped him’

In a Facebook post, Zubko-Valva shared a photo of the last time she saw her sons.

‘The last kiss from my youngest son before he was taken away from me … He always showed me so much love,’ she wrote.

‘My three loving children, whom two of them have special needs were taken away from me and deprived from any form of communication and contact with me. I was punished by the judge for loving my children unconditionally.’   

A 2018 East Moriches School District report obtained by New York Daily News showcases the depths of abuse Thomas and his siblings suffered.

‘Biggest concern is that Mr. Valva and his fiance Angela do not understand the depth of Anthony and Thomas’s disabilities,’ the report read, regarding Thomas’ brother.

‘Both Anthony and Thomas come into school hungry and frequently say they did not eat breakfast because they did not ask for breakfast or got in trouble.’

‘The boys were afraid to go to the nurses’s office for a while and they said it was because they were directed by Mr. Valva and Angela not to go to the nurse’s office.’

Pictured: The couple’s home at 11 Bittersweet Lane in the Center Moriches hamlet in Long Island where Thomas died on January 17

Medical staff say Thomas' body temperature was just 76 degrees when they attempted to revive him

Pictured: Thomas Valva

Thomas Valva (pictured) was a second-grader at East Moriches Elementary School and lived with his father

Anthony had allegedly dropped around 11 pounds over the course of nine months.

Police conducted a welfare check at the home in May 2019, but the family was not home at the time.    

Authorities were dispatched to the Long Island home around 9.40am last week following reports that Thomas had fallen in the driveway and lost consciousness.

Responding officers found Valva performing CPR on Thomas in the basement before he was rushed to Long Island Community Hospital and pronounced dead. 

Valva’s initial story – that Thomas was trying to catch the school bus and died after falling in the driveway – quickly came apart as homicide detectives investigated the death.   

‘The medical examiner has ruled it a homicide with a major contributing factor of hypothermia. We believe certainly that Thomas was kept in the garage overnight preceding his death,’ Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said, according to NBC News.    

The incident started when Valva beat Thomas at their Bittersweet Lane home in the Center Moriches hamlet in Long Island, New York Daily News reports.

Then, Valva forced Thomas outside into the garage when the area was a frigid 19 degrees that night.

Thomas’ body temperature was just 76 degrees – 21 degrees below a normal temperature – when doctors later attempted to revive him.

Before calling 911, Valva is said to have placed the boy’s cold body in a warm bath to raise his core temperature.    

Hart said Thomas Valva was kept in an unheated garage overnight last week, amid bitterly cold temperatures. Officials say at the time of his death, the boy’s body temperature was 76 degrees.   

In addition to hypothermia, Thomas also suffered head and face injuries that were not consistent with Valva’s story.

The couple ‘engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to this child,’ said Hart. 

Hart said: ‘As with any unattended death, homicide detectives conducted an investigation which revealed inconsistencies in the timing and the nature of the child’s injures as reported by his father.’

‘We have determined Thomas was never in the driveway that morning and he suffered head and facial injuries that were not consistent with the father’s account.’

In addition to Thomas, Valva’s six-year-old and 10-year-old brothers lived with the couple, as did Pollina’s 11-year-old twin daughters and her six-year-old son.

The couple reportedly had an extensive home security system and monitored the children closely.

Said footage helped investigators discovered that Valva’s other sons were punished with ‘food deprivation and exposure to extremely frigid temperatures.’

The remaining children have been placed in Child Protective Services.

‘We are still investigating the extent of the abuse and if it extended to all of the children,’ said Hart. 

Thomas' mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva (left), a correction's officer, said: 'I just keep praying for this case to be fully resolved and my little angel Thomas to rest peacefully in heaven…I just wished somebody helped him'

Thomas’ mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva (left), a correction’s officer, said: ‘I just keep praying for this case to be fully resolved and my little angel Thomas to rest peacefully in heaven…I just wished somebody helped him’

Zubko-Valva (left), who lost custody of her children, has not seen Thomas (right) or his siblings in two years

Zubko-Valva shared photos of herself and her three sons on Facebook in 2017, saying that was the last time she saw her children

Zubko-Valva (left), who lost custody of her children, has not seen Thomas (right) or his siblings in two years

Zubko-Valva said ex-husband Michael Valva (pictured) was abusive towards their three sons and had problems with his anger

Zubko-Valva said ex-husband Michael Valva (pictured) was abusive towards their three sons and had problems with his anger

Valva and Pollina will be arraigned Saturday morning. They both say they are innocent of any wrong doing.

‘Both of them maintain their innocence 100 per cent. We’ll see how the facts bear out,’ Matthew Tuohy, their lawyer, said.

Valva released a statement regarding his son’s death through his attorney.

‘As with any tragedy, our office and Mr. Valva are shocked and saddened to learn of the horrible accident that took the life of young Thomas,’ it read.

‘We mourn his death with family and friends. Since Thomas’ parents are in the midst of a divorce, we are unable to make any further comments at this time.’  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk