Valva Trial: School Floods CPS Line After 'Suspicious Bruises, Abuse'

CENTER MORICHES, NY — The trial continued Tuesday for ex-NYPD officer Michael Valva, charged in the death of his 8-year-old son Thomas Valva, who froze to death in his Center Moriches garage in 2020. Thomas' elementary school principal took the stand, ultimately growing emotional as he described the day he learned that Thomas had died.

Valva, along with his then-fiance Angela Pollina, who will have a separate trial, were arrested Jan. 17, 2020, and charged with second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, each faces 25 years to life in prison. Both have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed without bail.

East Moriches Elementary School Principal Edward Schneyer said all six children living in the home at 11 Bittersweet Lane, with three boys belonging to Valva and Pollina's three daughters, attended the school — and in the months before Thomas died, a worsening situation evolved that had teachers and others at the district "flooding" the Child Protective Services hot line in Albany with cries for help.

During opening arguments, Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcomb said that that it was 19 degrees the night Thomas Valva and his brother were left in the garage. Thomas and his brother, who both have autism, were forced to sleep on a cold floor with no mattress, no pillow, no blankets, where they had lived for months.

"Just his body on the cold concrete all night long," she said.

Thomas died a few hours later of hypothermia, according to the Suffolk County Medical Office's determination. His body temperature was 76.1 degrees, 22 degrees lower than it should have been, prosecutors said.

Valva, Schneyer said Tuesday, had a temporary order of custody for his sons. Whenever he would call to speak about the children, Schneyer said he spoke with both Valva and Pollina on a three-way call.

Thomas, in first grade, and his brother, in second, began attending the East Moriches school district in September 2017.

"They were happy, healthy, and clean," he said. "They fit right in and were welcomed."

At the start of the year, there were no signs of anything amiss and he focused on updating their individualized education programs, he told Assistant District Attorney Kerriann Kelly.

But by the first week of school, the reports to Child Protective Services began, he said. As mandatory reporters, the mission of educators is to keep their students safe, he added.

The first CPS report was "based on something that was said against their biological dad," he said. Thomas, he said, "placed his backpack down and went to the teacher" and then, a call was made to CPS.

Around April 2018, Thomas' brother had lost 11 pounds since his first physical during the summer of 2017.

The boys, he said, were hungry. Although the children were supposed to be provided with a sandwich and three snacks a day, the boys were not. When they came in without breakfast one day, Schneyer said there were conflicting reports as to why, with Valva saying Pollina had laid out a variety of choices but the boys weren't hungry, he said. Pollina said the boys could take whatever they wanted, he added. At first, the district allowed the boys to charge breakfast, Schneyer said, but Valva told him that was not allowed.

As for the free lunch program, Valva refused to turn in the forms, Schneyer said.

In September, a CPS report was made about a statement the boys made about their biological mom, Schneyer said.

In January 2018, another CPS report was made about a bruise a nurse noticed on Thomas, he said, adding that he had not seen the bruise himself, but had seen the report.

Schneyer also discussed a history of protection orders, including one against Michael Valva, ordering him to refrain from corporal punishment and undergo a parenting skills class, which he took once for less than two hours before saying it wasn't needed, Schneyer said.

When the boys returned to school in September 2018, Schneyer said he had "very serious concerns." Thomas' older brother was "extremely emaciated, his face was bony, his arms; he was thin, frail," and had lost 20 pounds since the physical in the summer of 2017. Thomas had lost weight, too, but his brother's condition was more noticeably significant, he said.

Their demeanors had "absolutely changed," Schneyer said, with the boys more emotional. Valva told him that the boys had lost control of their bowels and were urinating and defacting all around the house — and now came to school in pullups. "That was a huge surprise," Schneyer said, since both boys had been potty-trained when they enrolled in the district.

"We had major, major concerns when the boys returned to schoool," he said.

Schneyer also said school officials had very serious concerns and filed another CPS report, this time about the weight loss, hunger, loss of bowel control and pull ups, and their emotional "instability."

At that point, Thomas was in the second grade and his brother, the third. After a CPS visit, the boys once again gained weight.

"When they started gaining weight, their emotions changed," Schneyer said, with temper tantrums lessening. With the boys' weight gain, the weight checks at the nurse's office were only done if new concerns emerged, he said.

In November, Valva sent a letter to the district from the family doctor, saying that only the doctor could do weight checks, and none should be done at school, Scheyer said. The principal directed his staff to perform the weight checks if they were worried because the directive to stop them was "not a court order."

After the winter break in January 2019, school officials "started to see a decline again," Schneyer said, especially in the older Valva boy.

"For me, it was in the face — you could see his bones coming out again. Both boys were always wearing their jackets. They said they were cold," he said.

The boys wore their jackets all the time, even in the classroom. Thomas' brother was given a red sweatshirt by a teacher that he wore in class, placing it back in its spot before going home, Schneyer said.

And the boys were still hungry, Schneyer said. In the school cafeteria, there was a table where children could leave items from their lunches that they weren't going to eat, including apples and milk. Scheyer said he saw both boys "continually go to that table."

Toileting issues arose, with the older Valva boy coming to school "with clothes soaking of urine. His dad said he had an accident at home." CPS was once again called in February 2019, Schneyer said.

In addition, concerns were raised to the school physician, he said.

Thomas, he said, came to school with bruises, and a swollen right eye; Valva said the boy had fallen at recess. Thomas, meanwhile said first he had fallen in gym the day before, despite the fact that there was no gym offered at school that day, Schneyer said. Next, Thomas said he fell Sunday, and then, in the kitchen Tuesday. "There were conflicting reports, suspicious bruises, and a history of abuse" he said, adding that another report was made to CPS.

Schneyer then detailed a day in January 2019, when the older Valva boy screamed whenever he was told to see the nurse for a stye on his eye.

"He screamed he was not allowed to see the nurse," Schnyer said. When Valva said, on a speaker phone, that the boy could see the nurse, he stood right up and went, he said.

There was a CPS call in February 2019 over issues of concern for both boys, including weight loss, urination, and behavioral issues.

An angered Valva called Schneyer about the weight checks, he said; that call was followed by an apologetic email.

"We decided to flood the CPS mandated hot line with calls"

In March 2019, the older Valva boy changed from a happy student to a child screaming on the school bus for an entire month, crying that he didn't want to go to school, Schneyer said. When Schnyer calmed him, he was told that he'd been told he'd be rewarded with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for that bad behavior by Pollina and Valva; both denied that charge, Schneyer said.

The district filed another CPS report about concerns including the boys coming to school in urine-soaked clothes, the amount of time spent in the garage, the school bus screaming for Thomas' brother, hunger issues, weight loss, and the toileting issues including the pull ups.

Schneyer said CPS reports were filed on Feb. 27, March 12, March 13, March 15, March 18, May 14 and June 7.

Educators and staff at the school were seriously concerned and held a meeting. "We decided to flood the CPS mandated hot line with calls," Schneyer said.

The calls, he said, came from different proffessionals about the district and centered on the urination, rewards for misbehavior, food issues, the unknown number of times the boys were kept in the garage, and the fact that the boys were coming to school cold, always cold, with bright red and chapped faces and hands. "They were cold to the touch," Schneyer said.

In April 2019, another CPS call was made when Thomas came to school with bruises on his forehead; once again, Schneyer said, there were conflicting reports about how he'd gotten them.

A photo of Thomas was shown to the courtroom. He was not smiling and had two bruises on his forehead. And, as described, he was bundled up, indoors, in his winter jacket.

"I think they looked worse in person," Schneyer said, of the bruises.

"I'm not a person to mess with"

In June, Valva called Schneyer, angry and said he'd humiliated his family with the weight checks; Schneyer said they would continue. Valva then threatened the district with a lawsuit and told him, "I"m not a person to mess with," he said.

During the 2019 to 2020 school year, the older son was in fourth grade, and Thomas, third.

In November, a new CPS report was filed after scrapes and cuts were found on the boys' foreheads and faces, Schneyer said, with malnutrition still a concern. Meanwhile, Schneyer said Valva accused him of "harrassing" his family and making "unnecessary report to CPS." Schneyer said he was told that CPS informed Valva that after five "unfounded reports," he could file a lawsuit against the district. Valva told Schneyer he planned to filed charges "and thanked me for ruining their dinner," Schneyer said.

When asked if the thought of litigation changed the way they reacted to what was unfolding at school, Schneyer said no.

"We do what's needed for the kids," he said. "Our job is to advocate for the kids."

Asked about Thomas, Schneyer said he was a "rule-follower. He wanted everyone to do the right thing and follow the rules," he said.

Describing Jan. 17, the day Thomas died, Scheyer said, as a volunteer fire department member, he got a page about a child in cardiac arrest at an address he knew very well, from the many CPS reports.

His voice filled with emotion, Schneyer said he called the district superintendent to tell him. All the other children had been marked present at school that day, except one — Thomas.

During his last phone call with Valva, Schneyer said he asked only two questions — how he could get Thomas' things — and if there were any media outside.

Valva's attorney John Lo Turco commented on Tuesday's proceedings: "We contend that Principal Schneyer’s testimony raised a number of questions that the prosecution must answer. First, why were the school CPS reports later deemed unfounded? Second, why is the prosecution not calling CPS investigators to explain their findings. Lastly, did the school district influence the prosecution’s decision to overcharge Mr Valva with depraved murder in order to insulate themselves from civil liability?"

Thomas' mother Justyna Zubko-Valva pleaded for help on her Twitter page before her son died. In 2020, Zubko-Valva filed a $200 million wrongful death suit.

During Tuesday's proceedings, Schneyer added that there was a stay-away order of protection against Justyna Zubko-Valva keeping her from the school.

Zubko-Valva has not responded to requests for comment.

In June, a judge ruled that portions of the $200 million lawsuit filed by Zubko-Valva after Thomas died can move forward, a judge ruled.

Lo Turco did not immediately return a request for comment.