The Misery Machine - The Story of Thomas Valva

Starting point is 00:00:00 Maritches is a cozy hamlet in Suffolk County on New York's Long Island. Technically a part of Brookhaven, the community is most well known for the Jergowitz Duck Farm, which raises over one million peaking ducks annually. The community west of the Hamptons has that small town feeling of what Long Island used to be. However, in 2020, this sleepy waterfront community was torn apart by a terrible crime. They were all left wondering, how could this have even happened in the first place? This is the story of Thomas Valva. On December 30th, 2015, NYPD Transit Officer Michael Valva filed for divorce from his then-wife,

Starting point is 00:00:38 Justina Zubko Valva. While the divorce was pending, Justina initially retained custody of their three children, Thomas, Anthony, and Andrew. But after the representative for the Valva kids in the divorce action informed New York Supreme Court Judge Hope Schwartz Zimmerman that Justina had been interfering with her access to the three boys, the judge awarded temporary custody to their father, Michael. The judge did, however, allow Justina unsupervised visitation with her boys. However, things were far from amicable.

Starting point is 00:01:11 After Michael was awarded temporary custody of his kids, he filed CA allegations against Justina with CPS. The father alleged that his ex-wife was hitting the boys and poisoning them with a toxic brown medicine. He also accused Justina of suffering from a detainee. deteriorating mental illness that rented her incapable of caring for their kids. A day after these filings, CPS investigator Michelle Clark visited Thomas and Anthony at their school. Both boys denied their father's allegations.

Starting point is 00:01:44 Furthermore, they advised the investigator that they had no concerns about visiting their mother. They insisted that Justina did not use physical punishment, nor were they afraid of her. Meanwhile, Justina filed allegations of her own. She informed CPS that her sons were starving and suffering from severe weight loss while living at their father's house. She noted that in one month, 8-year-old Anthony had lost over 13 pounds. Six-year-old Thomas had lost over 4 pounds, and 4-year-old Andrew had lost nearly 4 pounds. Additionally, the mother alleged that Michael, in his significant other and later fiancé, Angela Polina, were beating the boys. She claimed the couple beat them on their heads, their hands, and their backs.

Starting point is 00:02:29 She also claimed that they were put in extremely long timeouts without food or water and were forced to stay outside in the backyard without shoes. Justina tried unsuccessfully to follow up on her report by calling CPS on November 13th in December 1st, 2017. She later learned that CPS investigator Clark closed the complaint against Michael on November 9th, two days after Justina filed her report. There's never been a concrete reason for the closure of this complaint, but one could speculate that Michael's status as an NYPD officer could have influenced this decision. On December 17th of the same year, Justina met with Investigator Clark and her supervisors Edward Heap and Robert Lido.

Starting point is 00:03:13 She told them that the boys were losing weight while living with their father, that their educational needs were not being met, that their father was leaving them outside in the cold without shoes as a form of discipline. According to Justina, she provided CPS with a flash drive containing 320 files of direct evidence that Michael and Angela were hurting these boys. The flash drive also contained letters from a pediatrician and a neuropsychologist who specializes in treating kids with autism as both Thomas and Anthony were diagnosed as autistic. Moreover, the flash drive contained a letter from Dr. Kimberly Barron's who supervised Anthony's intensive behavior treatment, which predicted that Judge Zimmerman's order to remove the boys

Starting point is 00:03:57 from Justina's custody would cause regression in Anthony's developmental progress, as well as psychological and emotional distress for the boys. Justina also provided CPS with certified transcripts of audio recordings showing Michael and Angela trying to brainwash the kids against their mother by forcing them to repeat phrases like, I don't love mommy. Mommy is mean. And I don't want to stay with Mommy. On January 2nd, 2018, Justina filed another report against Michael with Suffolk County CPS.

Starting point is 00:04:29 The complaint alleged that CPS closed out the report a day later without conducting any investigation. On January 14th, she filed a third report after she noticed injuries on Thomas's backside, which included coagulated blood spots, bruises, and broken blood vessels. Thomas told his mother that his father hit him 12 times the day before. After investigating the injuries, CPS filed a neglect petition against Michael for his excessive corporal punishment. His case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal on March 7th, and an order of protection was issued directing him, and it literally said this, to refrain from DV and the use of

Starting point is 00:05:09 corporal punishment and to take classes at a local library. On January 16th, Justina threatened to file a complaint against CPS investigation. Michelle Clark for conducting CPS's investigation in a biased and unfair manner, and that she was responsible for Michael's January 13th attack on Thomas. The next day, Ms. Clark filed the neglect pre-petition against Justina under Section 1029 of New York's Family Court Act. For those unaware, this is a temporary order of protection. If law enforcement or a social services agency has reason to believe that your son or daughter has been abused, or neglected, then the law allows them to remove your kids from your custody.

Starting point is 00:05:54 Soon after, CPS filed the neglect petition against the mother. Justina alleged that CPS filed the neglect petition as retaliation for her threat to file a complaint against Ms. Clark. CPS removed Ms. Clark from the case and in February of 2018 replaced her with investigators Jennifer Lance and Melissa Estrada. However, the drama would continue from here. Justina alleged that CPS investigators Lance and Estrada repeatedly lied to ensure that the neglect petition against her would continue. Specifically, she claimed that Ms. Lance and Ms. Estrada fabricated allegations that the mother had mental health problems that had deteriorated since losing custody of her sons in September of 2017,

Starting point is 00:06:40 that her behavior had become increasingly erratic and concerning, that she had exhibited a recent history of violence and that she had exhibited a recent history of violence and that she was, was out of control, that she was consistently uncooperative and unmanageable when dealing with authority. And finally, they alleged she had a drinking problem. Justina contended that Ms. Estrada and Ms. Lance made these allegations without any evidence, and that the two CPS investigators never even spoke to her directly. She also alleged that Ms. Estrada and Ms. Lance misrepresented the situation in the Valva Home by stating that the Valva Home was stable and provided excellent living conditions, that Michael was affectionate towards all of the kids, that Michael used discipline appropriate for the boys' age development and conduct, that Michael provided age appropriate

Starting point is 00:07:30 care and supervision of the boys, and that Michael accepted responsibility for past problematic behavior and had taken appropriate steps to initiate change. Unlike Michael, who had his case adjourned in contemplation of dismissal after beating his son's backside bloody, CPS decided to prosecute the neglect case against Justina. Because CPS chose to proceed with the neglect proceedings, Michael and Justina's divorce was halted pending the resolution of the neglect petition. The neglect proceedings began with an emergency hearing on January 17, 2018, which Family Court Judge Cheng issued a temporary order of protection, suspending Justina's rights

Starting point is 00:08:13 to unsupervised visitation with her kids. She then requested a hearing on the temporary order of protection, which culminated in Judge Chang modifying the order two months later to allow for unsupervised visitation. Judge Chang proceeded to hold a full fact-finding hearing on the neglect petition. On April 12, 2019, Judge Chang concluded that the county had produced insufficient credible evidence to support a finding of neglect against Justina. Judge Chang held that many of the county's allegations, did not even rise to the level of neglect behavior.

Starting point is 00:08:51 Moreover, the judge rejected the county's claims that Justina's mental health was impaired. Indeed, he observed that Justina, who worked as a corrections officer, had submitted a pre-employment psychological evaluation report from the Department of Corrections that concluded there was no evidence of psychopathology. Judge Scheng also stated that he had the opportunity to observe the mother. He found that, although Justina expressed her belief that CPS, the county attorney and the attorney for her sons were all working against her. She was focused, goal directed, and clear, and did not appear to suffer from any mental illness. Thus, Judge Chang

Starting point is 00:09:29 dismissed the county's neglect petition against Justina. Based on multiple complaints from the boys' school about Michael's mistreatment of his sons, Judge Chang ordered CPS to investigate. As a result, CPS generated reports on October 2, 2018, October 15th, 2018, and March 5th, 2019, which contained statements from the boys' teachers and doctors about Michael and Angela. For example, the October 15th report contained the following troubling claims from the boys' teachers at East Moritz's Elementary School. School psychologist Renee Eamon reported that she and the teachers were concerned as Anthony and Thomas had lost a noticeable amount of weight. They were both very thin and they constantly asked for food. Anthony's special education teacher told CPS that she had

Starting point is 00:10:16 concerns for Anthony. He looked emaciated, shoved food in his mouth as fast as he could. Thomas's teacher said that she had witnessed Thomas eating crumbs off the floor and out of the garbage. She also expressed concern that he had been sent to school in a wet pull-up and was not allowed to go to the nurse's office to take it off. According to reports, the boys wore pull-ups as they were incontinent due to stress and due to long bouts of not using the bathroom while at home. Anthony's teacher indicated that she was concerned as Anthony had little to know emotion and had been observed snatching food off of desks and off the floor. Even before these investigations took place,

Starting point is 00:10:57 the principals and teachers at East Moritz's elementary school had placed over three dozen calls to CPS on their own, and nothing had been done about it. In the same report, the boys' doctor expressed concerns that Anthony and Thomas were malnourished and underweight, with their BMI being in the first percentile. So why was it that CPS's concern was with Justina and not their father, Michael? Meanwhile, the boys remained in Michael in Angela's custody. On January 8th, 2020, CPS investigator Lydia Sebasto and her supervisor, Jean Montague, closed out the last report that had been filed on the CPS hotline.

Starting point is 00:11:37 Justina spoke to supervisor Montague on the phone twice and begged her not to close the investigation, but they did anyway. and less than 10 days after CPS closed out its final investigation until Michael Valva and Angela Polina, the unthinkable happened. On January 17, 2020, Thomas Valva went into cardiac arrest after contracting hypothermia. According to text messages between Michael and Angela, the couple had for months repeatedly locked Thomas and Anthony

Starting point is 00:12:09 in an unheeded garage at their home at 11 Bitter Sweet Lane. While being kept in the garage, Thomas had urinated and defecated on himself just after 8 a.m., according to an audio recording from the security camera in the home. Michael told Angela that he should make the boy eat his own feces. He berated his son using expletives as he screamed at him for soiling his pants before school. He then ordered Thomas to strip down, which can be heard on the recording. The unclothed third grader then went into the backyard so his father could douse him with cold. cold water. Thomas fell as he walked, striking his head on the concrete, which was seen on the

Starting point is 00:12:48 video footage from a neighbor's security camera. At about 8.50 a.m., Michael, who had brought his son back into the garage, can be heard on the audio recording from the security camera swearing as he tells Angela that Thomas is catatonic. He repeatedly yells, wake up, are you alive? And then slaps Thomas each time. After submerging Thomas in a warm bath, Michael called 911 at about 9.40 a.m. an hour later before even attempting CPR. 11 Bittersweet Lane, Senator Richards, New York, 11934. 11 bittersweet, nearest street on the corner? Yes.

Starting point is 00:13:25 Are you also Barberry? Sure. What's your name? My name is Michael. I'm a police officer with the city of New York. My son, I think he's... I don't know if he's breathing or not. I don't know if his heart stopped.

Starting point is 00:13:37 He fell down on his way to the bus. He banged his head pretty good. I brought him in. and I'm doing CPR right now. All right. How old is he? Eight years old. Okay.

Starting point is 00:13:47 Do you need any instructions, sir? Um, I just leave somebody to get here quick. Listen, I already sent them, okay? Help is already on the way. Do you need any other kind of help? Not a few time, I believe. All right, is your front door unlocked for them? Um, all right, keep on doing CPR.

Starting point is 00:14:12 We already sent help, okay? Okay. Okay. 30. All right. I'm going to hang up now. Was that all right? Do you need me for anything?

Starting point is 00:14:22 No, just please get somebody here. Okay. We're going to get somebody right there, okay? E.C. We're getting one right now. They're on the road. Yeah, he's not breathing. Keep going until someone takes over.

Starting point is 00:14:42 It tells you to stop. They're less than a minute out, sir. According to responding officers, Michael had called 911 and claimed his son had fallen in the driveway while waiting a minute out, sir. According to responding officers, Michael had called 911 and claimed his son had fallen in the driveway while waiting for the school bus and that he was unconscious. When they arrived, he was performing CPR on Thomas in the basement. The little boy was rushed to the Long Island Community Hospital, where his temperature was ultimately taken.

Starting point is 00:15:08 It was only 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Soon after, Thomas passed away at about 10.30 a.m. However, the officers quickly figured out that the father was lying. According to police commissioner of Geraldine Hart, quote, We determined Thomas was never in the driveway that morning. He suffered head and facial injuries that were not consistent with the father's account, end quote. Michael Valva and Angela Polina were arrested and charged with second-degree homicide and depraved indifference to human life.

Starting point is 00:15:43 Both pled not guilty. Although this goes without saying the NYPD suspended Michael without pay. Police made the arrest after reviewing the home surveillance video. Each room of that house had a camera that was labeled. The camera in the garage was low to the ground and pointed towards the floor with the label that read, the kid's room. The two previous nights showed Thomas and Anthony sleeping on the garage floor shivering. Audio files recovered from the home,

Starting point is 00:16:13 recorded the couple discussing the fact that Thomas was suffering from hypothermia, had been washed with cold water, could not walk, and was face-planning on the concrete on the morning he was killed. After the arrest of Michael and Angela, Justina regained temporary custody of sons Anthony and Andrew. Angela also had three daughters, a set of 11-year-old twins and a six-year-old. The girls had been staying with their maternal grandmother but were released into the custody of their respective fathers. According to Father Gino Callie, quote, I knew this would happen. I've been trying to tell people for a long time, end quote.

Starting point is 00:16:50 He stated that he hadn't seen his daughter in three years because Anna. Angela prevented him from doing so. He added, quote, I've always wanted to be in my daughter's life. There's not been one day that I didn't want to be in my daughter's life, end quote. Michael Etkin, the father of the 11-year-old twins, told the judge that he hadn't seen his daughters in three years for similar reasons. On January 30th, 2020,

Starting point is 00:17:15 family, friends, and strangers heartbroken over a tragedy gathered on Long Island to bid a final farewell to Thomas. His funeral began at 9.30 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Church with burial to follow at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale. Bishop Skaevsky, who gave the sermon, had strong words for elected officials and those in social services. He said that Thomas's story should prompt everyone to take a hard look at our social services system, said, quote, I hope that the message of this tragedy will teach so many hearts and so many lives to simply because we have to do something about this. Another beautiful life was lost because of our human negligence.

Starting point is 00:18:03 And in so many ways, I feel that we failed this little boy, end quote. On November 4, 2022, three years after causing the death of his son, Michael's case went to trial. About 70 people packed the small courtroom, taking up nearly every seat. About a dozen residents from the community who had been there almost every day of the trial had also come to watch. Michael's lawyer, John Lauturco, conceded to the jury that his client was guilty of all four counts of child endangerment. But he asked jurors to consider lesser homicide and manslaughter charges that carry significantly less prison time. He argued that for prosecutors to prove that Michael had committed second-degree homicide, they would have to show that he exhibited depraved indifference toward his son.

Starting point is 00:18:55 Prosecutors, his lawyer said, wanted to paint Michael as a cold-blooded monster, a werewolf with no love in his heart, who do not shed its tear over the death of his son. He added, quote, you'd have to believe that he had utter disregard for Thomas's life, that he simply did not care whether Thomas would die, And that's absolutely not true. However, Suffolk County prosecutor Carrie Ann Kelly had a word for the defense. She said, quote, You can't throw an eight-year-old into 19-degree weather naked

Starting point is 00:19:26 after having him sleep on a cold garage floor and not expect that the child is going to be hypothermic. This is depraved indifference murder by a man who had utter complete disregard for the life of his child. And he did nothing that day, but lie and treat his child in a cruel, inhumane way." End quote. She followed her statements up by showing the jury the last known photo of Thomas,

Starting point is 00:19:52 taken by his teacher on January 16th, 2020. Thomas, who wore a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, was smiling as he gave a thumbs up. Ms. Callie showed a photo from the next day. It was the one taken from the morgue. Thomas was pale and his lips were blue, his dark eyelashes standing out against his snow-white skin. Michael showed little emotion during closing arguments.

Starting point is 00:20:17 He looked away when a photo of his son in the morgue was shown on a small screen at the defense table. After about seven hours of deliberations, the jury returned its unanimous verdict. Michael Valva was found guilty of second-degree homicide and four counts of child endangerment. On December 8, 2022, Michael Valva returned to court for his sentencing. Tearful, he read a statement to the judge prior to learning his fate. which read, my actions were neglectful and abusive to my boys, resulting in the tragic death of Thomas. The defense asked for a lesser sentence

Starting point is 00:20:53 and highlighted Michael's career in law enforcement. But the judge threw the book at him and gave him the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. An equally emotional, Judge William Condon asked out loud to the courtroom, quote, how did all of us as a community allow this to happen? I don't think you intended to kill Thomas, but there is no getting around that Thomas and Anthony lived their lives in constant duress in the place they should have felt safest, their own home. An eight-year-old boy who right now should be getting excited for Christmas is dead.

Starting point is 00:21:31 I speak for everybody out there. We can never let this happen again, end quote. Still crying, Michael told the judge that he accepted receiving the maximum sentence, quote, Your Honor, I accept your sentence as I already sentenced myself to a lifetime filled with extreme regret, remorse, and grief, end quote. On April 11, 2023, Michael Valva's co-defendant and former fiancé, Angela Polina, received the same sentence of 25 years to life in prison for her role in Thomas's death. Suffolk County Court Judge Timothy P. Mazai called her evil and said she tortured the eight-year-old and his brother. He said, My only regret, Ms. Pena, is they don't have a garage there with no heath and no mattress and no blankets and no pillows.

Starting point is 00:22:23 It's been theorized that Anthony and Thomas were the targets for Michael and Angela's mistreatment due to the fact that both brothers were autistic and that the other four kids reside in the Valva household were not. During the course of the investigation, it was found that the other kids were unharmed. According to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, 18.5% of autistic kids have been harmed physically by their caregivers, and 16.5% had been assayed. These numbers go up to nearly 60% as those same kids reach adulthood. Additionally, studies show that DV is rampant in police officer families.

Starting point is 00:23:05 The National Center for Women in Policing noted that two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experienced DV in contrast to 10% of families in the general population. A third study of older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24% indicating that DV is two to four times more common among police families than among American families in general. Additionally, police typically handle cases of DV involving officers informally, often without an official report or investigation or even a check of the victim's safety. This informal method is often in direct contradiction with departmental policies. Lastly, even officers found guilty of DV are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or even referred

Starting point is 00:23:55 for prosecution. So what do you think? Is a sentence of 25 years to life appropriate from Michael and Angelus crimes? As of the date of this recording, Michael is 43 years old. It is possible that he could make it out of prison in his lifetime? Is this justice? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.

The Misery Machine - The Story of Thomas Valva

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.