RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A jury convicted a former New York Metropolis police officer on Friday of second-degree homicide within the loss of life of his 8-year-old son, who was compelled to sleep in a single day on the concrete flooring of a freezing storage.
Michael Valva was discovered responsible of 4 counts of kid endangerment and faces a most potential sentence of 25 years to life. Thomas Valva died in January 2020, the day after sleeping within the storage within the household’s Lengthy Island house in temperatures that dropped beneath 20 levels.
Friday’s verdict got here on the primary day of deliberations after a month’s price of testimony.
A medical expert dominated the boy’s loss of life a murder and located that hypothermia was a significant contributing issue. Prosecutors stated Thomas and his 10-year-old brother have been each on the autism spectrum and have been at instances compelled to sleep within the storage.
In accordance with prosecutors, the boys spent 16 consecutive hours within the freezing storage main as much as the 8-year-old’s loss of life, Newsday reported. Prosecutors additionally alleged Michael Valva did nothing to assist him because the boy died in entrance of him after which lied to police and first responders.
The kid endangerment counts stemmed from the beating and ravenous of each boys. Their lecturers testified the boys got here to high school with bruises and sometimes have been so hungry they ate crumbs off the ground, in response to the newspaper.
“Whereas there may be nothing that we will do to carry Thomas again, we’re glad with the jury’s determination,” Suffolk County District Lawyer Raymond A. Tierney stated in a press release. “Michael Valva subjected his sons to horrific abuse, neglect and cruelty. He’ll now pay for slicing brief the lifetime of a younger, harmless, defenseless boy who had a lifetime forward of him.”
Valva’s then-fiancee, Angela Pollina, additionally faces youngster endangerment and second-degree homicide counts and is awaiting trial. She has pleaded not responsible.
Tim Winton
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