Angela Pollina gets maximum 25 years to life sentence in Thomas Valva's 2020 death

Angela Pollina was sentenced by a judge in Suffolk County to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison, with the possibility of life, for the murder of 8-year-old Thomas Valva. The judge expressed his only disappointment as being that she would not be spending the remainder of her life in a cold garage. Pollina, a 45-year-old medical biller, received the maximum sentence for her crime.

On Jan. 17, 2020, Thomas died of hypothermia as Pollina had sent him to sleep in the Center Moriches garage without proper bedding in extremely cold weather.

Judge Timothy Mazzei, from Suffolk Supreme Court, stated that he had visited Bedford Hills Correctional Facility - the prison where the accused would be sent - which is where all women residing in New York are taken. He then expressed his remorse, claiming that the facility didn't possess a garage with insufficient heating nor any bedroom amenities like pillows or blankets. He believed that Miss Pollina deserved to be imprisoned for the rest of her life.

The law imposed the highest sentence possible for a second-degree murder conviction on Pollina.

Before Pollina's sentencing, the prosecution suggested that she be given a sentence ranging from 25 years to life. Kerriann Kelly, the lead prosecutor, asserted that on the day Thomas passed away, he was not encircled by love, but by "pure evil."

Matthew Tuohy, the attorney for Pollina, appealed to the judge for leniency by stating that his client had led a decent life and hadn't committed any offenses before connecting with Michael Valva, Thomas' father, and her former partner, who was also found guilty and is currently serving an identical sentence in an upstate prison for the child's demise.

At her sentencing, Pollina chose not to address the court.

Pollina was declared guilty of murder along with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child due to the abuse inflicted on Thomas and his older brother, Anthony, who were both on the autism spectrum, by the Suffolk jury after a two-week-long trial held on March 10.

The defendant received a direct stare from Judge Timothy Mazzei of the Suffolk Supreme Court as he stated, "You inflicted torment on those boys, you inflicted torment on them."

The judge informed Pollina that he had visited the correctional facility for women that she will be held in during her time in custody.

Mazzei mentioned that he had visited Bedford Hills Correctional Facility which is where all women in New York state go. He expressed regret to Miss Pollina that the facility does not have a garage with basic amenities like heat, mattress, pillows or blankets, which are essential for bedrooms. He believed that Miss Pollina deserved to spend the rest of her natural life in such a facility.

"The sentence awarded to the defendant was just and appropriate," remarked Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney in a subsequent statement.

Tierney stressed the vital significance of the indoor surveillance footage.

Tierney stated that if it wasn't for the Nest camera, the activities that occurred in the house would not have been believable.

Thomas died from hypothermia on Jan. 17, 2020, three years after Pollina and Valva conducted one of their inhuman punishments on him. He was forced to spend the night on the garage floor when the temperature was at 19 degrees.

Last year, Valva, who is 44 years old, faced trial and received a guilty verdict. He was sentenced to serve 25 years to life, which is the harshest possible punishment. Currently, he is imprisoned in a facility located upstate, close to the border with Canada.

During both trials, proof was provided, such as text conversations between them, showing Pollina as the main instigator of the retribution.

At both trials, the jurors agreed that Pollina and Valva collaborated to cause the death of Thomas.

During her trial, Pollina confessed to her actions by stating, "I accept responsibility for my behavior. I acknowledge that I was mistaken and acted maliciously," and added, "I am not trying to defend my actions or suggest that they were defensible. They were wicked, and I confess to placing them in the garage."

However, the Franklin Square resident, who had given birth to three daughters from two past relationships before getting together with Valva, tried to highlight Valva's responsibility for placing Thomas in the garage the night before his death. Both the prosecutors and Pollina's defense team acknowledged that it was Valva who took Thomas outside the following morning and exposed the naked child to cold water from a spigot, resulting in severe hypothermia.

Thomas had a body temperature of 76.1 degrees when he was declared deceased at the hospital in the morning.

According to Tuohy, his client was feeling distressed and confused about her conviction as she firmly believes that she is innocent, in the period preceding her sentencing.

Valva gained custody of his three sons due to his contentious divorce with their mother, and the boys initially shared a bedroom situated on the second-floor of the ample Center Moriches home.

Pollina was found to have confined her sons to their room and preventing them from using the bathroom at home, as revealed by text messages and testimony during the trial, as their father worked lengthy shifts as an NYPD transit officer in Brooklyn.

Thomas and Anthony were compelled to sleep outside on the backyard patio, and then they were relocated to the garage, which lacked insulation. Initially, they were provided with a crib mattress to sleep on, but Pollina felt they were too comfortable and demanded Valva to implement her "methods" to discipline them harshly, according to testimonies in the trial. As a result, the boys were coerced to sleep on the unyielding concrete floor of the garage with no blankets or pillows.

Evidence presented during the trials included footage from a home surveillance system that was under Pollina's control. The video depicted the boys in freezing temperatures, and Pollina would regularly send video clips of them behaving badly in the garage to Valva via text while Valva worked overnight shifts as an NYPD transit officer. Pollina would urge Valva to take action against the boys.

Valva occasionally expressed to Pollina his desire for their sons to return home, but Pollina declined and advised Valva to relocate elsewhere if he disapproved. Valva's legal representatives claimed that he was facing monetary difficulties arising from the ongoing divorce and custody dispute, which made him reluctant to depart.

According to their schoolteachers, Thomas and Anthony seemed very hungry while attending East Moriches Elementary School. They often arrived at school mentioning their hunger and were seen eating crumbs from the ground and taking food from other kids. In fact, one of the teachers reported that Thomas informed her of not having breakfast since he didn't use certain words or call Pollina "Mommy."

According to the teachers, the boys arrived at school having bruises, cuts, and other injuries. They expressed feeling cold and had red cheeks and hands.

During the trial, testimony revealed that despite multiple calls made by teachers and school officials, even an attempt to overwhelm a CPS reporting line, Valva and Pollina continued to have custody of the boys.

During both trials, prosecutors presented video and audio evidence obtained from a comprehensive home surveillance system operated by Pollina, giving the jury an opportunity to listen to the sequence of events that occurred prior to Thomas' passing.

According to the morning's surveillance footage, Pollina explained to her daughter that Thomas couldn't walk because he was suffering from hypothermia.

According to Tuohy, Pollina's actions that morning were an attempt to rescue Thomas by fetching blankets and a heater.

Prosecutors contended that Pollina and Valva were already aware of Thomas' death and subsequently engaged in concealing the facts from law enforcement and other officials by providing an explanation for his disappearance.

Based on evidence, it was discovered that both Valva and Pollina fabricated a story and informed law enforcement that Thomas sustained head injuries after slipping and falling on the driveway while rushing to catch the school bus in the morning.

It was evident that Thomas sustained head injuries from multiple falls while he battled late-stage hypothermia.

The jurors at the trial observed video surveillance from a nearby residence, which indicated that Thomas did not reach the bus stop on that morning.

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