Former NYPD Officer Froze His Autistic Son To Death

In January 2020, former NYPD officer Michael Valva called 911 and reported that his son, Thomas, had fallen and hit his head. But after Thomas died, the horrifying truth came out. The 8-year-old had not fallen but had died after being forced to spend the night in a freezing garage at Valva’s Suffolk County, Long Island, home.

Now, Valva has been sentenced to 25 years to life for Thomas’ murder.

“This was the most stressful trial I’ve ever been a part of as either a lawyer or a judge,” Judge William Condon said after handing down Valva’s sentence at Suffolk Criminal Court in Riverhead, New York, according to the New York Post. “Everybody who took part in this trial lost sleep, didn’t eat, had nightmares — it was difficult for everyone.”

As established at Valva’s trial, he had routinely abused both Thomas and his 10-year-old brother, Anthony. Thomas was so emaciated that he ate crumbs off the ground at school, the New York Post reports, alarming school administrators who reached out to Child Protective Services multiple times.

According to CNN, both boys were forced to spend months sleeping in the family's chilly garage. Both Thomas and Anthony, who are on the autism spectrum, lacked heat, bathroom access, blankets, and mattresses.

Thomas soiled himself while sleeping in the garage on January 17, 2020. Valva hauled his son outdoors, hosed him down despite the harsh winter weather, and did not offer aid when Thomas fainted and fell over the concrete patio many times, according to CCTV evidence.

He contacted 911 after an hour and lied about what had happened.

“My name is Michael,” Michael Valva said. “I’m a police officer with the City of New York. My son, I don’t know if he’s breathing or not. I don’t know if his heart stopped. He fell down on his way to the bus. He banged his head pretty good. I brought him in. I’m doing CPR right now.”

At the hospital, Thomas’ body temperature was 76 degrees — 20 degrees lower than normal. He died, and an emergency worker who tried to save his life later testified that Valva had “no emotion, no sense of concern.”

 Michael Valva and his ex-fiancée Angela Polina, who lived with him and his sons at the time, were both arrested.

Valva expressed remorse for what he did during his sentencing.

Some jurors, however, were not as charitable. They believed that Valva seemed unremorseful — and believed he’d gotten what he deserved.

“I think a lot of those tears was the fact that he knows he’s going to be in prison for the rest of his life. He showed no emotion at all at the trial,” juror Scott Krusen told the New York Post.

A fellow juror, Thomas Malloy, seconded Krusen’s feelings.

“We all came to see closure. We wanted to make sure that this man got the absolute biggest sentence that he could under the law,” Malloy told the New York Post, adding: “He convicted him. We didn’t convict him.”

Valva told the judge he accepted receiving the maximum sentence.

"Your honor, I accept your sentence as I already sentenced myself to a lifetime filled of extremely regret, remorse and grief," Valva said.

In an unusual show of emotion he said he "loved Thomas with all my heart", adding: "I terribly failed my boys, instead of providing them with unconditional love and support."

Valva said he did not want his son to die and never imagined placing him in the garage would cause him to.

But he said he lost his way by thinking "punishments were temporary" and that everything would simply go back to normal.

With Michael Valva in custody, the spotlight will shift to his ex-fiancée. According to CBS News, Angela Polina will stand trial in February 2023 for her role in Thomas' death.