Former NYPD cop Michael Valva convicted of murdering his 8-year-old autistic son

A Long Island jury has convicted a former NYPD cop accused of killing his special-needs son by forcing him to sleep in a freezing garage.

Michael Valva was found guilty of second degree murder and child endangerment Friday in the 2020 death of his 8-year-old boy Thomas.

The jury made their decision on the first day of deliberation after six weeks of testimony in the Riverhead, L.I. courtroom.

“While there is nothing that we can do to bring Thomas back, we are satisfied with the jury’s decision,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement. “Michael Valva subjected his sons to horrific abuse, neglect and cruelty. He will now pay for cutting short the life of a young, innocent, defenseless boy who had a lifetime ahead of him.”

Valva is facing life in prison during his sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 8.

He’s accused of forcing young Thomas to sleep in an unheated garage at his Center Moriches home as temperatures dipped below 20 degrees. Then Valva hosed the child down with freezing water before the boy died from hypothermia on Jan. 17, 2020 prosecutors said.

The boy’s horrific death was the culmination of years of relentless abuse suffered by the boy and his 10-year-old brother, who are both on the autism spectrum.

Prosecutors said the 43-year-old NYPD veteran and his ex-fiancée, Angela Pollina. 45, were responsible for little Thomas’ death, telling them that the boy lost consciousness after falling on his face that morning.

All the while, the boy and his brother lived under abusive corporal punishment outlined in graphic detail by their father himself.

“I will beat them until they bleed,” Valva once texted Pollina about the boys, assistant Suffolk County DA Laura Newcombe told jurors at the beginning of the trial, according to Newsday. “It is the only thing that works.”

Prosecutors also alleged the former cop did nothing to help him as the boy died in front of him and then lied to police and first responders.

The child endangerment counts stemmed from the beating and starving of both boys. Their teachers testified the boys came to school with bruises and often were so hungry they ate crumbs off the floor.

Valva’s lawyer Anthony La Pinta pinned the child’s death on Pollina, who is also facing child endangerment charges. Pollina accused Valva of being too lenient with the boys, La Pinta told the jury.

“You are making it too comfortable for them,” Pollina, 45, told Valva, according to La Pinta. “Let them be uncomfortable. That will teach them to control themselves.”

Pollina is awaiting trial.

With News Wire Services