Thomas Valva's Death Was 'Nightmarish, Accidental': New Lawyer

RIVERHEAD, NY — A new court-appointed attorney for Michael Valva — the NYPD officer charged with second degree murder after police said his son Thomas Valva, 8, froze to death in a frigid garage — said the boy's death was "nightmarish" but "accidental."

Dressed in a suit and cleanly shaven, Valva appeared at the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Court Complex before Judge William Condon Thursday and the matter of whether or not he could afford private representation was discussed. After an investigation, according to Newsday, Valva was deemed "indigent," attorney John LoTurco of Garden City, appointed to represent him, said.

Thomas' mother Justyna Zubko-Valva sat in the courtroom Monday; according to a report by News 12, she said Valva can afford his own attorney and taxpayers should not have to fund court-appointed representation.

LoTurco said, in a statement to Patch, that Thomas had actually been in an unlocked garage with a large, electric space heater that was attached to the family home. "The boys had access to the interior of the home," he said.

On Jan. 24, Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested Michael Valva, 40, and Valva's fiancée, Angela Pollina, 42, of Bittersweet Lane in Center Moriches. Both were charged with second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

They pleaded not guilty; both are being held without bail. If convicted, the couple faces 25 years to life in prison.

Although his father initially reported that Thomas died after a fall in the driveway, gruesome details emerged at a press conference 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, adding that when he was found, the boy's body temperature was 76 degrees and he had head and facial injuries that did not align with Valva's account of what had happened.

Thomas and Anthony were undernourished, begging for food, and foraging through the garbage at school and for crumbs because they were "so hungry," Assistant District Attorney Keriann Kelly said, as she painted a verbal image in court of the house where Thomas died. The boys, she said, were physically abused; during one incident, Pollina "dragged Thomas and threw him down the stairs," Kelly said. They were sent to school in urine-soaked soiled diapers, she said.

Attorney says Valva can't get a fair trial

On Thursday, LoTurco fired back: "First and foremost, Michael Valva is emotionally distraught over the death of his beloved son, Thomas Valva," he wrote in a statement. "However, we strongly contend that this was a nightmarish, accidental death and not a depraved indifference murder."

Valva, he said, is now being portrayed as a "monster, when in actuality he is a caring father of his three boys and his fiance's three daughters. The media, his estranged wife, and the Suffolk County District Attorney has vilified him and sensationalized the story," he said. LoTurco said it is "almost impossible" to obtain a fair trial, and would be seeking another location for the proceedings, but promised "zealous representation."

The Valva home in Center Moriches, which Suffolk Country District Attorney has described as a "house of horrors," was actually a four-bedroom home filled with "love, six children, toys, stuffed animals, games, closets filled with expensive clothing, family photos and mementos," LoTurco said.

On the night Thomas died, Kelly said, it was 19 degrees outside and he was left in the freezing garage with no blankets; he died of hypothermia when his organs failed, Kelly said.

When he was found, Thomas was naked except for a pair of sweatpants pulled down below his knees, Kelly said.

When asked about how he was, after authorities arrived, Valva reportedly said, "I've been through more stressful things than this," Kelly said.

LoTurco said, moving forward, additional facts and surveillance video will be released that will show that Thomas' death was "purely accidental and not caused by the alleged depraved indifference murderous actions of our client."

On Wednesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the results of an internal review of Department of Social Services' procedures and procedures sparked by Thomas' death and said the system did not protect autistic children. He outlined reforms to prevent future tragedy.

Thomas' death has been the catalyst for an outpouring of grief among those who knew him and complete strangers, with hundreds who have come together to honor him at vigils, fundraisers and at his funeral. Many have demanded change, questioning how his case fell through the cracks despite reported calls and complaints about suspected abuse.