Justice For Thomas Valva: Lawmakers, Public Demand Answers

LONG ISLAND, NY — Just days after Thomas Valva, 8, was laid to rest, lawmakers and members of the public are pushing for an investigation into a system many say failed the boy, who authorities said died of hypothermia after being forced to spend a frigid night in his father's unheated garage in Center Moriches.

Many are demanding to know how Thomas appeared to slip through the cracks, despite reported warnings. According to the New York Post, the state's child abuse hotline received at least 17 emergency calls about Michael Valva's children in the months before Thomas died. One call, the New York Post said, centered on an black eye that Thomas reportedly sustained in 2019.

A report by CBS New York said that, according reports obtained, from 2018 to 2019, there were 20 calls from teachers in Thomas' East Moriches school district to child protection hotlines in New York State and Suffolk County, regarding issues such as absences, "a black eye, lacerations, hunger, visible dirt on the body, and urine-soaked clothing." Valva, the report said, blamed it on playground incidents.

This week, the Nassau County Legislature's Health Committee will hold a special public hearing to ensure that the county’s Departments of Social Services and Health have proper staffing, processes and procedures in place to prevent a similar tragedy in the county.

The hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Peter J. Schmitt legislative chambers at the Theodore Roosevelt Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Ave. in Mineola. Representatives of social services and health agencies as well as Child Protective Services are slated to be present; the hearing is open to the public.

Since Thomas' death, calls for reform have come from a variety of people and organizations. A "March For Change (Honoring the Life Of Thomas Valva)" will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Heckscher State Park in East Islip.

After Thomas' death Jan. 17, Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested his father NYPD officer Michael Valva, 40, and his fiancee Angela Pollina, 42, and charged them with second-degree murder, police said.

Both Valva and Pollina were being held without bail, authorities said.

Matthew Tuohy, a Huntington-based attorney, represents Pollina and represented Valva just for the arraignment: "She's saying she's innocent and is not the cause of the child's death. She maintains her innocence 100 percent," he said.

Valva, according to court records, now appears to be represented by a legal aid attorney. He is due back in court on Thursday.

Although his father initially reported that Thomas died after a fall in the driveway, new details emerged at a news conference Jan. 24 by Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart.

Thomas Valva officially died of hypothermia, according to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner, Hart said. "We believe that he was kept in the garage overnight preceding his death," Hart said.

When the boy was found, she said, his body temperature was 76 degrees and he had head and facial injuries inconsistent with his father's account of what had happened.

Last week, Thomas' mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, had her temporary custody arrangement extended.

According to Newsday, Suffolk County Family Court Judge Frank Tantone continued the custody arrangement for Zubko-Valva's two sons, Anthony, 10 and Andrew, 6, who have been at home with their mother since she was awarded emergency temporary custody the previous week.

On Jan. 27, according to Newsday, Valva and Pollina also appeared in Suffolk County Family Court regarding allegations of "severe abuse" to their six children; Pollina has three daughters.

The pair "issued denials," according to Newsday; Tantone granted custody of Pollina's daughters to their biological fathers, Newsday said, including Gino Cali, father of Gia Cali, 8, and Michael Ichkhan, who has twins, 11, with Pollina.

Since Thomas' death, hundreds have taken to social media to call for the removal of the judge who ruled in the Valva case. On Wednesday, a "Rally to Remove Judges — Justice for Thomas," took place in Mineola.

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

Bellone also announced the establishment of an external task force to review all Child Protective Services policies and procedures as they relate to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Deputy Presiding Officer Kara Hahn and Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman will co-chair the task force.

"As a parent, I am horrified by what happened to this beautiful boy," Bellone said. "As county executive, I want to know if there's anything else that could have been done under existing law to prevent this from happening. Beyond that, I want to know if anything in this case suggests that changes should be made to existing policy or law."

Questions of how the system could have failed Thomas have arisen since his death.

Amid pleas by Zubko-Valva on her Twitter page, the Suffolk County Department of Social Services stated that CPS was notified about abuse more than a year before his death, News 12 said.

For years, Zubko-Valva begged for help in a string of frantic Tweets.

"The Child Protective Services and the Court are protecting the abusers of my children and swipe everything under the rug. I am heartbroken because my children are being purposely hidden from me, and unlawfully I am not being allowed to even see my children on Thanksgiving," she wrote in 2018.

Zubko-Valva, embroiled in a contentious divorce, has said she lost custody of her three boys because of false allegations, according to News 12. On Twitter, she said she was kept from the boys for 11 months and that her two oldest were put in "diapers/pullups by their father."

It is unclear what allegations led to Zubko-Valva's loss of custody.

Zubko-Valva wrote a Thanksgiving wish on her Twitter page, "Stand Against Child Abuse," in 2018: "Praying to receive justice for my three little children who are being severely abused mentally and physically by their father and his woman. My children cannot receive any protection, help, and justice."

That post also included a photo of documents, which indicated they were sent from the East Moriches School District, where her boys were enrolled. The documents appear to paint a picture of neglect; however, the school district was unable to speak about or even confirm were official, according to Syntax, the agency that handles the district's communications.

The documents, which indicated they were written by Nicole Papa, special education teacher in East Moriches Elementary School, state that Thomas and his brother Anthony "were not allowed to eat breakfast because they did not use their manners, say good morning to Angela, or were doing nothing." The documents added that the children were hungry and were not allowed to go to the nurse: "They have stated that Angela said do not go to the nurse," the report said. Anthony, the report said, lost 11 lbs. in 9 months; Thomas gained 1 lb. in 20 months; both came to school "with visible dirt on their bodies," the documents stated.

The school nurse, the 2018 report said, got involved in a CPS case because "Thomas had multiple bruises on his bottom from Dad."

The East Moriches School District released a statement from Superintendent Charles Russo: "We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Thomas Valva. Thomas was a tender, loving boy who made tremendous gains during the short time he was a student in East Moriches," the statement said. "While the district legally cannot comment on any specific case, it aggressively reports to the proper authorities child abuse when it is suspected. The district will continue to cooperate with the Suffolk County Police Department as they continue with their investigation."

Despite child abuse allegations, nothing was done to remove the children from the home where Thomas died, reports said.

NBC News reported that Frances Pierre, commissioner of Suffolk County's Department of Social Services, said an allegation of child neglect was made in 2018, which sparked child supervision, including orders of protection, for a year. After that, the post said, "CPS investigated additional complaints" connected to the family, Pierre said.

The New York Post reported that a complaint was lodged with New York State's Office of Children and Family Services about a child being forced to sleep in the garage Valva's house,"but Suffolk County's Office of Child Protective Services determined it to be 'unfounded.'"

The report added that the record came from a call in Feb. 27, 2019, which said that "Valva's son Anthony was forced to sleep in the garage because he was urinating in his bed." Anthony, the OCFS said, had been coming to school with his clothes and backpack soaked in urine, according the report.

On the day Thomas died, authorities arrived at the Center Moriches home to find Michael Valva conducting CPR on his son in the basement. Authorities were examining calls to police at the house, Hart said in the Jan. 24 news conference. Some calls related to the custody arrangement during his divorce from the boy's mother, Hart said. And one call was a welfare check, although no one was home and a neighbor told police the family was in Queens, Hart said. Police were working with the Suffolk County Social Services Department to make sure every avenue is explored, Hart said.

"An event of this magnitude, the death of a child, is unimaginable, as parents, as a mother," she said. "We are going to look at every interaction this child had with the system and make sure we investigate every avenue."

When asked if Thomas was "malnourished," Hart said that was being investigated.

Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini made a statement. "This crime evinces the depravity of these defendants. They evinced no regard for this child's human life." Not only was he forced to sleep in the garage in frigid temperatures, but "they failed to do anything to help him as he died right in front of their eyes," Sini said. "Not only did they fail to render any meaningful aid, they lied to the police, they lied to the EMTs. This is one of the worst crimes I've ever seen. We will make sure that we seek justice in this case."

Sini confirmed that CPS has been involved with the case. The DA's office has an audio tape made on the morning that the child was found. "I've heard it for myself and I can't describe it with words," Sini said. "The depravity of these defendants is shocking," he said.

Detectives began investigating after Seventh Precinct police responded at 9:40 a.m. Jan. 17 to a report of a boy who fell in the driveway of a residence on Bittersweet Lane. The child was taken to Long Island Community Hospital, where he was declared dead, police said.

According to News12, after the boy was found dead, Valva released a statement through an 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 Valva. We mourn his death with family and friends. Since Thomas' parents are in a divorce we are unable to make any further comments at this time."

A report by CBSlocal.com. said the boy's mother, Zubko-Valva, had said that her children were in the custody of their father and that she "worried" about them. "Thomas was this little 8-year-old boy, my baby, who always was joyful, always stands for the truth, play his cars, read books, loved songs," she said in the report.