An 8-year-old boy tragically died after his ex-policeman father force him to sleep on the concrete floor of a freezing garage.
Thomas Valva spent the night inside the garage of their Long Island home as temperatures dropped to -6C in January 2020.
His father Michael Valva, a former New York police officer, was found guilty of four counts of child endangerment and faces up to 25 years behind bars.
The verdict came after a month’s worth of testimony, with a medical examiner ruling Thomas’ death a homicide.
Prosecutors said that the victim and his younger brother were both on the autism spectrum and the incident wasn’t the first time they had to sleep in the garage.
The children reportedly spent 16 consecutive hours in the freezing garage leading up to Thomas’ death, according to Newsday.
Prosecutors also said the father didn’t do anything to help his son as the boy died in front of him. He also lied to first responders and police.
The child endangerment counts stemmed from starving and beating the children.
During the trial, school staff said they were worried about the safety of the siblings and had made complaints to the Child Protective Services.
Teachers testified the boys came to school hungry and with bruises.
In a statement, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said: “While there is nothing that we can do to bring Thomas back, we are satisfied with the jury’s decision.”
“He will now pay for cutting short the life of a young, innocent, defenseless boy who had a lifetime ahead of him,” he added.
Valva’s ex, Angela Polina, also faces second-degree murder and child endangerment counts.
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