Older Valva Brother Was 'Looking For Any Crumb Of Food', Teacher Says

LONG ISLAND, NY — A special education teacher cried on the witness stand Friday at the murder trial of ex-NYPD officer Michael Valva, as she described watching the steady decline of her fourth grade student, the older brother of Thomas Valva, 8, while both boys were enrolled in the East Moriches Elementary School — and before Thomas froze to death in his father's garage in 2020.

The brothers, who had autism, were forced to sleep in the frigid garage as temperature outside plummeted to 19 degrees, prosecutors said. When he died, Thomas' body temperature was 76.1 degrees, 20 degrees lower than it should have been, prosecutors added.

Valva, along with his then-fiancee Angela Pollina, who will have a separate trial, were arrested Jan. 24, 2020, and charged with second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, each faces 25 years to life in prison. Both have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed without bail.

On her second day of testimony Friday, special education teacher Katelyn Edwards described Thomas' older brother's strengths; he was a good leader and writer, she said.

Questioned by defense attorney Anthony La Pinta, Edwards said the older Valva boy was a student with autism, but that autism didn't define him.

La Pinta referred often to Edwards' log, which she said was a "well-being log," something she keeps for all of her students.

Describing a phone call with Valva and Pollina, which Edwards said was "not normal," she said the phone was passed back and forth between the two, with much discussion of family information and yelling. "I was not able to get a word in," she said.

At one point, she reached out to Michael Valva because the boy had been limping in class. Valva, she said, told her that the child ran up and down the stairs at home, and was "fine."

Referring to the log, La Pinta asked Edwards about "small injuries" she'd noted on his face.

"Is that similar to minor injuries?" he asked.

"No," Edwards said. "A child's face is small." Also, she said, at one point she saw what appeared to be a "small fingerprint" on the boy's hand.

At one point, La Pinta asked if it were true that she'd sent home a note to parents asking them to contribute to a holiday gift; Valva, he said, responded that he couldn't, because he was "in a bind."

The defense has maintained that Valva was under stress due to his financial situation and due to the anger Pollina had shown over the urination and defecation in the house by both boys.

Thomas' older brother, Edwards said, was allowed to use the bathroom at school whenever he wanted due to the fact that there were incontinence issues; he had one accident in school that she could recall, she said. Both Thomas and his brother had been forced to wear pullups to school due to their incontinence, and had clothes and shoes soaked in urine, prosecutors have said.

When asked about food — prior witnesses have also said both boys were starving, losing weight, with the older boy losing 20 pounds in a year — Edwards said that while lunch may have been sent in, it was not enough. The quantity was a problem, she said.

She told Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcombe that the older boy was "eating from the floor under the bleachers. He was looking for any crumb of food."

Edwards said she was told by Valva and Pollina that the boys were responsible for packing their own lunches; when she asked the older Valva boy if he did pack his lunch daily, he said he did not. Prosecutors have said at past court dates that the boys were not allowed to have breakfast unless they called Pollina "Mommy" and "used their words."

Describing the boy's hands, which she said were red, chapped, and purple, Edwards said at first she thought he might have circulatory problems. She then told Newcombe that she had no idea that the boys had been sleeping in the frigid garage and if she had, she would have changed her opinion.

Also, she said, the older Valva boy was sleeping in class, "slumped over" at the back table, and "lethargic." Edwards sent an email to Valva, informing him of her concerns, saying that the flu and a stomach bug were going around and that she wanted to be sure he continued to thrive, La Pinta said.

"So on Jan. 9, he was thriving?" La Pinta said.

"No," Edwards said emphatically.

La Pinta then said Valva responded "kindly" to that email, thanking her for informing him.

"Responding to an email doesn't make him a good father," Edwards said.

La Pinta referred to Edwards' testimony Thursday, during which she said before classes were dismissed for school breaks and weekends, she was worried about the older Valva boy, because"she was afraid he might die."

"I did say that," Edwards said. "I thought he was going to die." She also said she told the principal about her fears.

Asked about the day Thomas, her student's younger brother, died, Edwards broke down in tears.

The older Valva child was in her class that day, Jan. 17, 2020, Edwards said. She never saw him in her classroom again, she said.

Testimony continues Monday in Riverhead.