Authorities arrested a New York City police officer and his girlfriend following the death of his 8-year-old son with autism who was forced to sleep in the couple’s unheated, unfinished garage in frigid temperatures.
In a statement, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said that Michael Valva and his fiancée, Angela Pollina, are both facing second-degree murder charges over the death of Thomas Valva that is being investigated as a homicide.
Michael Valva told police that Thomas became unresponsive after falling in the driveway of the family home in Center Moriches when he was waiting for the school bus.
The boy was “subjected to punishment including food deprivations and exposure to extremely frigid temperatures.” When he was rushed to the hospital, he was only 76 degrees.
