Thomas Valva told school psychologist he and his brother were forced to sleep in garage, witness says in Angela Pollina trial
Thomas Valva’s school psychologist sobbed on a Riverhead witness stand Friday as she recalled how the 8-year-old boy told a Child Protective Services worker that he and his brother were forced to sleep in a garage and to go to the bathroom in the backyard of their Center Moriches home.
Thomas’ revelation came less than a year before he died from hypothermia, Renee Emin, a psychologist at the East Moriches Elementary School, testified Friday at the murder trial of Angela Pollina, who was the fiancee of Thomas' father, ex-NYPD officer Michael Valva.
“Thomas had said he and Anthony sleep in the garage,” said Emin, recalling the event on May 14, 2019, which she said “plays like a video in my head.”
Emin added: “He said it directly to Melissa Estrada, investigator of CPS. Thomas Valva was so brave that day because he said everything he needed to say. … He said it to the person who needed to hear it.”
Thomas died Jan. 17, 2020, after prosecutors said, his father and Pollina forced him to sleep in the unheated garage overnight in frigid temperatures. Pollina, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and child endangerment charges in Thomas' death, and the alleged abuse of Thomas and his older brother, Anthony.
Valva, 43, was convicted last year of murder in Thomas’ death and is serving 25 years to life at an upstate prison near the Canadian border.
Prosecutors have said the pair acted in concert in connection with Thomas’ death — forcing the boys to sleep in the garage in subfreezing temperatures and denying them food — and Pollina showed a depraved indifference to whether Thomas lived or died.
Pollina’s attorney, Matthew Tuohy, has argued it was Valva who killed his son after hosing him off with cold water from an outside spigot after putting him in the garage and then placing him in a warm bath. Prosecutors have said that Pollina correctly identified Thomas as “hypothermic” on the morning of his death but did “nothing” to help the dying child.
Thomas and Anthony’s mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, has filed a $200 million lawsuit against Suffolk County and Child Protective Services and several CPS workers, including Estrada, claiming among other things that CPS failed to properly train its employees. The suit is pending.
Suffolk County spokesperson Nicole Russo confirmed Friday that CPS still employs Estrada, who could not be reached for comment Friday.
According to Newsday’s payroll database, Estrada, who began working for the county on March 5, 2017, was paid $59,104 in 2021.
Emin, who worked with both Thomas and Anthony during their time at the school from about 2017 to the beginning of 2020, testified they appeared “emaciated” and looked “worn down” and “unkempt.”
When Thomas showed up to school one day in the 2018-19 school year wearing a Pull-Ups, which was visibly sticking out from his waist, Emin said she found it “extremely odd” because he hadn’t previously had bathroom issues.
Emin said she asked Thomas for an explanation. “Thomas told me, ‘because I’m a baby. I’m a baby. I need to sleep in a crib.’”
Emin said she called CPS, one of several times she sought help from the agency. But Thomas and Anthony were never removed from the Valva-Pollina home.
The jury also heard testimony from a plumber who was doing work at the Valva-Pollina home in July 2019 and witnessed Pollina throw either Thomas or Anthony — he said he can’t be sure which boy — down the stairs.
Ed Concilio, who was having a sexual relationship with Pollina according to testimony at Valva’s trial last year, and his wife Angela Concilio — Pollina’s cousin — also testified. Angela Concilio said Thomas and Anthony were “very sweet boys, well-mannered.”
Of the Pollina/Valva relationship, “What she said goes,” Angela Concilio said. “She was the boss in the relationship.”
Thomas’ third-grade teacher Kelli Wilson, who cried at times during her testimony, described how Thomas’ parents didn’t send cupcakes or other treats for his birthday or give him money for the schoolbook fair.
The jury saw a photo that Wilson took of Thomas in his Halloween costume that year — featuring the black and white stripes of an old-school prison uniform.
“He seemed sad,” Wilson said. “He was dressed as a convict that day.”
CORRECTION: Angela Pollina has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Thomas Valva, 8. A photo caption misstated Thomas' name in a previous version of this story.
Thomas Valva’s school psychologist sobbed on a Riverhead witness stand Friday as she recalled how the 8-year-old boy told a Child Protective Services worker that he and his brother were forced to sleep in a garage and to go to the bathroom in the backyard of their Center Moriches home.
Thomas’ revelation came less than a year before he died from hypothermia, Renee Emin, a psychologist at the East Moriches Elementary School, testified Friday at the murder trial of Angela Pollina, who was the fiancee of Thomas' father, ex-NYPD officer Michael Valva.
“Thomas had said he and Anthony sleep in the garage,” said Emin, recalling the event on May 14, 2019, which she said “plays like a video in my head.”
Emin added: “He said it directly to Melissa Estrada, investigator of CPS. Thomas Valva was so brave that day because he said everything he needed to say. … He said it to the person who needed to hear it.”
WHAT TO KNOW
- Thomas Valva said he and his brother were forced to sleep in a garage and go to the bathroom in the backyard of their Center Moriches home, a school psychologist testified Friday.
- Renee Emin, a psychologist at the East Moriches Elementary School, told jurors at Angela Pollina's murder trial that the boys appeared “emaciated” and looked “worn down” and “unkempt.”
- The jurors saw a photo that third-grade teacher Kelli Wilson took of Thomas in his Halloween costume in 2019 — the black and white stripes of an old-school prison uniform.
Thomas died Jan. 17, 2020, after prosecutors said, his father and Pollina forced him to sleep in the unheated garage overnight in frigid temperatures. Pollina, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and child endangerment charges in Thomas' death, and the alleged abuse of Thomas and his older brother, Anthony.
Thomas Valva, who died of hypothermia on Jan. 17, 2020, appears in an undated photograph. Credit: Courtesy Justyna Zubko-Valva
Valva, 43, was convicted last year of murder in Thomas’ death and is serving 25 years to life at an upstate prison near the Canadian border.
Prosecutors have said the pair acted in concert in connection with Thomas’ death — forcing the boys to sleep in the garage in subfreezing temperatures and denying them food — and Pollina showed a depraved indifference to whether Thomas lived or died.
Pollina’s attorney, Matthew Tuohy, has argued it was Valva who killed his son after hosing him off with cold water from an outside spigot after putting him in the garage and then placing him in a warm bath. Prosecutors have said that Pollina correctly identified Thomas as “hypothermic” on the morning of his death but did “nothing” to help the dying child.
Thomas and Anthony’s mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, has filed a $200 million lawsuit against Suffolk County and Child Protective Services and several CPS workers, including Estrada, claiming among other things that CPS failed to properly train its employees. The suit is pending.
Suffolk County spokesperson Nicole Russo confirmed Friday that CPS still employs Estrada, who could not be reached for comment Friday.
According to Newsday’s payroll database, Estrada, who began working for the county on March 5, 2017, was paid $59,104 in 2021.
Emin, who worked with both Thomas and Anthony during their time at the school from about 2017 to the beginning of 2020, testified they appeared “emaciated” and looked “worn down” and “unkempt.”
When Thomas showed up to school one day in the 2018-19 school year wearing a Pull-Ups, which was visibly sticking out from his waist, Emin said she found it “extremely odd” because he hadn’t previously had bathroom issues.
Emin said she asked Thomas for an explanation. “Thomas told me, ‘because I’m a baby. I’m a baby. I need to sleep in a crib.’”
Emin said she called CPS, one of several times she sought help from the agency. But Thomas and Anthony were never removed from the Valva-Pollina home.
Angela Pollina listens to opening statements on Monday at her murder trial in the death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva. Credit: James Carbone
The jury also heard testimony from a plumber who was doing work at the Valva-Pollina home in July 2019 and witnessed Pollina throw either Thomas or Anthony — he said he can’t be sure which boy — down the stairs.
Ed Concilio, who was having a sexual relationship with Pollina according to testimony at Valva’s trial last year, and his wife Angela Concilio — Pollina’s cousin — also testified. Angela Concilio said Thomas and Anthony were “very sweet boys, well-mannered.”
Of the Pollina/Valva relationship, “What she said goes,” Angela Concilio said. “She was the boss in the relationship.”
Thomas’ third-grade teacher Kelli Wilson, who cried at times during her testimony, described how Thomas’ parents didn’t send cupcakes or other treats for his birthday or give him money for the schoolbook fair.
The jury saw a photo that Wilson took of Thomas in his Halloween costume that year — featuring the black and white stripes of an old-school prison uniform.
“He seemed sad,” Wilson said. “He was dressed as a convict that day.”
CORRECTION: Angela Pollina has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Thomas Valva, 8. A photo caption misstated Thomas' name in a previous version of this story.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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