A Young Boy's Tragic Death - Justice For Thomas

Eight-year-old Thomas Valva froze to death alone on a concrete floor in the family garage on a bitter winter night. Now, his cop father is charged with murder

- Johnny Dodd

Little Thomas at a birthday party. Below: His mum Justyna Zubko Valva breaks down at a Feb. 6 press conference.

Zooming through Long Island’s Arthur J. Hendrickson Park on his beloved scooter, Thomas Valva loved observing ripples in the park’s Valley Stream pond. The 8-year-old had overcome a fear of water and relished his aquatic bravery, playing in the ocean whenever he got the chance to visit nearby beaches. “He loved jumping in the waves,” says his mum, Justyna Zubko-Valva. “The beach was his favourite place.” Diagnosed with autism at 3, Thomas sometimes had trouble socialising with others, but he was making progress there as well. He learnt to share the toy cars that he delighted in lining up and carrying around with him everywhere he went. “Once he got to know someone,” his mother says, “he shared his love.”

But the little boy who had come so far in his short life tragically couldn’t survive the alleged abuse that took place on January 17. Thomas was living with his father, Michael Valva, a New York Police Department transit officer, and his father’s fiancée, Angela Pollina. Zubko-Valva had temporarily lost custody of Thomas and his siblings, Anthony, 10, and Andrew, 6, in an ongoing divorce.