GUILTY NY - Thomas Valva, 8, autistic, killed, NYPD father & fiancee arrested, Suffolk Co, 17 Jan 2020 *arrests*

[sleuther0192837465]

What are the chances MV gets locked up with people he arrested??? Will other inmates know why he is in the clink??

 

[Wild Rose]

Why can't all judges ask children in private which parent they want to go with for every custody case???? My friend was in a custody hearing when the judge talked to the children. My friend said the judge told him that his daughter really wanted to go with Mom. My friend really wanted custody but this is what he said. Whatever makes my daughter happy is what I want. He was a good father. She ended up with him later but he was always glad that he let her go when she wanted to go with her mom.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

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Suffolk AME

 

[Charlot123]

I hadn't cried until now. This poor little boy.

His "father" needs to suffer greatly. This would be justice.

His father just needs to be placed with the regular prison population. As an ex-actor, not an ex-policeman.

 

[Charlot123]

(snipped by me)

Documents indicate Valva and his fiancée had a long history with Child Protective Services in Suffolk County and also reveal Michael Valva changed his story about the night of Jan. 16 into the early hours of Jan. 17.

I am asking myself a blunt question. Could it be so that the CPS was afraid of being too harsh with a Suffolk County cop, who had been working there for 15 years? Not to condone the CPS, but trying to understand why such obvious signs as black eye, for example, were neglected. And the school, obviously, was much more courageous in this situation, and made multiple reports.

(And now Suffolk County is reviewing the case. To me, it calls for an outside reviewer.)

 

[Charlot123]

Why can't all judges ask children in private which parent they want to go with for every custody case???? My friend was in a custody hearing when the judge talked to the children. My friend said the judge told him that his daughter really wanted to go with Mom. My friend really wanted custody but this is what he said. Whatever makes my daughter happy is what I want. He was a good father. She ended up with him later but he was always glad that he let her go when she wanted to go with her mom.

It makes sense to ask children why they don't want to go with a certain parent, because they might mention abuse.

However, children are immature, and more forgiving than adults. The parent that is well-off shows the kid a newly decorated room, or buys an X-box, promises that he will be nice, and they will all have a trip to Disneyland, and the kid chooses to stay with the abusive one versus the poor one.

Even beaten wives forgive abusers who promise to change, so what can one expect from a kid? Plus, Stockholm syndrome holds true not only for adults, but for the kids as well.

 

[CherylE]

Abuse of a wife doesn’t mean the dad loses unsupervised visitation with the kids. That was my situation. I don’t want to say too much as some of my kids are minors still and we aren’t totally out of dealing with things. The courts want to see proof the Dad abuses the kids first and that can have tragic consequences. In this case - even abuse reports and documented abuse of those poor boys wasn’t enough - tragic

 

[DropthePuck]

I am asking myself a blunt question. Could it be so that the CPS was afraid of being too harsh with a Suffolk County cop, who had been working there for 15 years? Not to condone the CPS, but trying to understand why such obvious signs as black eye, for example, were neglected. And the school, obviously, was much more courageous in this situation, and made multiple reports.

(And now Suffolk County is reviewing the case. To me, it calls for an outside reviewer.)

Valva worked for the NYPD, not Suffolk County.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Today there's a rally by child welfare activists and community members at state Supreme Court in Mineola. The group is demanding several judges be removed from the bench, claiming they ignored reports that Thomas was abused.

Meanwhile, later this afternoon, wakes begin for Thomas. The first one is from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then again from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Mangano funeral home in Deer Park.

Thomas’ funeral is tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. at Saint Elizabeth Church in Melville.

Thomas will be laid to rest at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale.

Rally expected for removal of judges related to Thomas Valva case

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Click here to share your condolences or send flowers.

Wake Today For 8-Year-Old Thomas Valva; Mother Says His 'Death Was Preventable'

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[wonderme12]

Lawmakers question county review of 8-year-old boy's death


Suffolk County legislators expressed concern Tuesday about whether the county can independently review how its own social services department handled the death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva, allegedly at the hands of his father and his fiancee.

Thomas' father, Michael Valva, 40, who is an NYPD officer, and Angela Pollina, 42, are facing second-degree murder charges in the death of Thomas, who died Jan. 17 from hypothermia after allegedly being forced to sleep in an unheated garage.

Minority Leader Tom Cilmi (R-East Islip) said in an interview that if he doesn't get answers quickly about the circumstances surrounding the boy's death, he'll demand an outside investigation.

"Is it appropriate for a group of county employees and one former employee to lead an investigation into what happened here?" Cilmi asked. "I’m interested in seeing what their plan is for this investigation, how long they expect it to take ... and I think it should become clear pretty quickly whether or not we should ask for an outside agency."


County Executive Steve Bellone on Monday night announced the members of an internal review committee assigned to conduct a "top to bottom" review of the Department of Social Services' actions in the case. DSS filed a petition alleging the two severely abused the six children in their custody, including Thomas, after they were charged criminally. The couple has pleaded not guity to the charges and denied the allegations.

The state office of Children and Family Services, which is also conducting an independent review of the case, will work with the committee doing the internal probe, as well as the Suffolk District Attorney's Office, officials said.

The internal review committee is composed of county employees and one former county employee: Frances Pierre, the commissioner of DSS; Mike Heiser, the chief of the Family Court Bureau at the Suffolk DA's office; Mark Clavin, the division administrator for Family and Children Services Administration; Dennis Nowak, the former DSS acting commissioner; and Karlesha Hewitt, the principal attorney for DSS.

Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Solonga) also questioned whether the probe would be independent enough, saying in a text message: "Forgive me if I am somewhat skeptical that politicians and political appointees will be investigating themselves.”

But Bellone, in an interview Tuesday, said it's important for DSS to review its own actions in the case to determine if they complied with their procedures. “There is not a lack of independent scrutiny on this," said Bellone, adding that the district attorney and the state are also providing independent oversight.

A separate task force, chaired by Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman and Deputy Presiding Officer Kara Hahn, will examine how Child Protective Services handles cases involving children with autism. Thomas had autism, officials said.

Bellone said cases concerning kids with autism and other developmental disabilities are especially troubling.

“We’ve seen an explosion of autism diagnoses in the last decade or more. I’m not sure the system has adjusted to this dramatic shift," he said, "I want to make sure we are both doing everything we can to protect these vulnerable kids and provide the support these families need.”

Suffolk prosecutors said the boy was forced to sleep on the floor of an unheated garage without blankets or a pillow when air temperatures outside were just 19 degrees. The boy's body temperature was just 76 degrees on the morning he died, police officials said.

Matthew Tuohy, Valva's Huntington-based defense attorney, did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.

Prosecutors have said they have audio and video evidence of the abuse, including an audio recording hours before Thomas died, in which his father says the boy is "face planting" and mocks him for being cold.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday that Valva "should burn in hell" for allegedly killing his son. "I don't understand how any human being does that to a child," said de Blasio. "I especially don't understand how a sworn officer does that...I think this is someone, when all the facts are proven, this is someone who should burn in hell from my point of view."

 

[cass523]

I removed what I posted (did not belong here) and put it in Crime Spotlight on Children

 

[Charlot123]

Valva worked for the NYPD, not Suffolk County.

Thank you very much for correcting. I think it is the perception of the power that the police had. Also, the brothers were scared of the dad and probably trained not to complain. And being an ex-actor, Valva could probably put on a nice mine- poor dad, straddled with two autistic kids, etc. Again, I am not condoning the CPS, just thinking where this system error might have come from. How did it all come across to them. Remember, per the judge, the mother had no custody, no rights, so Valva could have explained something by prior “abuse” by the mom.

 

[Charlot123]

Interesting
‘Amazing’ Mom Lost Her Special Boy to a House of Horrors

(the article, mostly talks about the mom. But they do mention that Pollinna’s daughters were treated like stepsisters in Cinderella in Valva’s house).

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Elsewhere, there were protests, with residents demanding family court judges be removed for not protecting Thomas.

“Shame on all of them. They all should be fired and put in jail,” said resident Gayelynn Defillipis.

They also called for a review of anyone who placed the three Valva children in the custody of their father.

“Thomas is just the beacon for all the other kids that have gone unheard,” resident Inger Molina said.

Some have raised concerns that CPS is spearheaded the internal investigation.

“I’d like to get the baseline facts, certainly no later than next week. Then we can determine how much further we need to go, in terms of an investigation,” said Suffolk County Legislator Tim Cilmi.
Funeral Today For 8-Year-Old Thomas Valva, Whose Death Sparked Demands For Change On Long Island

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A grand jury has indicted Valva and Pollina on additional charges. They will be arraigned on those charges next week.

Thomas' funeral is at 9:30 a.m. at Saint Elizabeth Church in Melville. He will be laid to rest at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale.
Funeral to be held for 8-year-old Thomas Valva who died of hypothermia

 

[ShHolmz]

IMO. What an evil disgusting pair.
She was concerned with who was watching but not the act itself?!?!
Not to mention the account.

Rest with the angels Thomas.

ETA... Im so happy that his brothers were returned to Mom and not placed into foster care.

 

[momsof3]

I am asking myself a blunt question. Could it be so that the CPS was afraid of being too harsh with a Suffolk County cop, who had been working there for 15 years? Not to condone the CPS, but trying to understand why such obvious signs as black eye, for example, were neglected. And the school, obviously, was much more courageous in this situation, and made multiple reports.

(And now Suffolk County is reviewing the case. To me, it calls for an outside reviewer.)

Looks like you are not the only one asking this! And with good reason. I've followed the Spota/Burke fiasco so the fact that it is Suffolk County, in addition to the "policing themselves" issue, adds another layer.

I truly agree with many of the posters here - the "dad" must have gotten passes from LE/CPS based on deference to his job (even if he was NYC). What a travesty. How courageous that the school system repeatedly tried to intervene. "Dad" seems like a very scary person to take on. Kudos to those with courage to take action.

Lawmakers question county review of 8-year-old boy's death

Suffolk County legislators expressed concern Tuesday about whether the county can independently review how its own social services department handled the death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva, allegedly at the hands of his father and his fiancee."

ETA - The only thing I like about this case is that they taped themselves. What idiots. And that "dad" might end up in genpop. Wouldn't that be nice.

 

[DesertChildAZ]

According to the article, he the father of this boy is the one who set up the fund for the funeral and he was making over $80k/year! Unbelievable

And after they made their goal, he reposted the and said they needed even MORE money than they thought and increased the goal amount.