NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A special grand jury on Long Island will investigate the case of an 8-year-old boy who died of hypothermia while in the custody of his New York City police officer father, prosecutors said.
Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said the panel will issue a special report on the circumstances of Thomas Valva's death.
Prosecutors have said the boy died Jan. 17 after he was forced to sleep in an unheated garage as temperatures dropped to under 20 degrees.
Michael Valva and his fiancee, Angela Pollina, have been charged with second-degree murder in Thomas' death.
"Immediately following the tragic death of Thomas Valva, I assembled a team of expert prosecutors in the area of child abuse and child fatalities to investigatethe circumstances surrounding the death of Thomas, which is ongoing and has since resulted in criminal indictments against two defendants, Michael Valva and Angela Pollina," Sini said in a statement Monday. "Based on our investigation to date, which has involved the review of voluminous records and the interview of numerous witnesses, it is clear that it is appropriate and in the public’s interest to convene a Special Grand Jury to conduct a thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the death of Thomas Valva, which will have thelegal ability to issue a Special Grand Jury Report at the culmination of that investigation. I have instructed my team to begin the process of working with the Court to convene such a grand jury."
Prosecutors have said audio files recovered from the couple's Center Moriches home recorded them discussing the fact that Thomas was suffering from hypothermia, had been washed with cold water, couldn't walk and was "face-planting" on the concrete.
The couple denies any wrongdoing.