CENTER MORICHES, N.Y. (1010 WINS) – An NYPD officer and his fiancee have been charged with murder in the death of the officer's 8-year-old son on Long Island, officials said Friday.
Michael Valva, 40, and Angelina Pollina, 42, were charged with second-degree murder in Valva's death, Suffolk County police said.
The child was allegedly in a garage overnight as temperatures dropped to under 20 degrees, Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said at a briefing.
When police arrived the boy's body temperature was 72 degrees , Hart said, and Valva was performing CPR, according to Newsday.
The child, Thomas Valva, was pronounced dead at a hospital on Jan. 17 after police responded to a report that he had fallen in the driveway of a home in Center Moriches. An autopsy was ordered to determine how he died.
The child's mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, told Newsday that the second-grader was a ``loving, happy boy, always looking for adventure, loving playing outside.''
Zubko-Valva, 36, a correction officer on Rikers Island who lives in Valley Stream, said Thomas had a mild form of autism.
He "had such an amazing good heart," she said. "Everybody who knew him, they instantly fell in love with him. He was just a joy of everybody's life.''
Valva, who joined the NYPD in 2005 and is assigned to transit, has been suspended without pay, the department said.
In an earlier statement through his lawyer, the father said: “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 GoFundMe page was set up by a man named Michael Gerard, who claimed to be the boy's father.
“It is with great sadness that I must bury my 8 year old son. He passed recently due to a tragic accident,” Gerard wrote on the GoFundMe page.
It's unclear why the name on the GoFundMe page differs from Valva's.
Justyna Valva, told WCBS that her son's death "is not going to be in vain."
“I miss him so much,” she said. “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.”