NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A $200 million lawsuit has been filed in the death of an 8-year-old Long Island boy who prosecutors say froze to death after allegedly being forced to sleep in his NYPD father's unheated garage.
According to prosecutors, Thomas Valva died of hypothermia after he was starved, beaten and locked inside the garage at the home in Center Moriches in January when temperatures dropped below freezing.
Attorney Jon Norinsberg filed the lawsuit on behalf of Valva's mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, against Child Protective Services, the school district and others who he says ignored the abuse and neglect and left the boy with his father.
"If nothing else, it's to hold these people accountable and to ultimately have a jury recognize and decide that it's not any one of them, all of them were involved in this process. All of them have blood on their hands," Norinsberg said.
Most involved in the lawsuit do not comment on pending litigation.
The attorney tells WCBS 880 the lawsuit is also for Valva’s two brothers, who were also allegedly abused for years.
RELATED: Nixzmary’s Law Could Apply To Thomas Valva Case
“You can't possibly put a value on the life of a child. The number is not intended to mean that this would in any way be fair compensation for what my client had to go through,” he said. “You could choose a number, double that or triple that.”
An attorney for the boys’ father, who is accused of abusing and killing the 8-year-old, says the death was “purely accidental.”
The former NYPD officer and his fiancée, 42-year-old Angela Pollina, face charges of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.