No Bids For Valva 'House Of Horrors' At Public Auction

CENTER MORICHES, NY — The Center Moriches home — described by Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Kerriann Kelly as the "house of horrors" where Thomas Valva, 8, froze to death in his father's garage — had no bidders at foreclosure auction Wednesday.

The live auction for 11 Bittersweet Lane took place at Brookhaven Town Hall.

Brookhaven Town Councilman Dan Panico, an attorney appointed by the court to conduct the sale, served as the referee for the auction. He told Patch that there were "no bidders. The property has been transferred back to M&T Bank. That bank will ultimately decide the next steps."

In past months, many community members have said that the home where Thomas and his brother were left in a frigid garage without a mattress, forced to sleep on the cold floor, should be razed, with a public park or memorial created to honor Thomas' memory.

"There are no plans for a park, and from what I have seen the idea has been met with mixed reaction," Panico told Patch.

The auction was the most recent attempt to sell the home, which has stood empty for years.

Ex-NYPD Officer Michael Valva, the boys' father, and his ex-fiance Angela Pollina were arrested Jan. 24, 2020, and charged with second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

Valva was convicted of second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child in November; he was also sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars in December.

The jury reached a unanimous verdict in April in Pollina 's trial, finding her guilty of second-degree murder in Thomas's death. She was also found guilty of four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Pollina was sentenced to 25 years to life; she was also sentenced to a year each for the other four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Earlier this year, the property was listed for an auction scheduled for the same day that Pollina, who was found guilty in his death, was set for sentencing. According to a post by Xome.com that has since been deleted, the Valva/Pollina home, located at 11 Bittersweet Lane, was initially slated to "sold through the applicable foreclosure auction process," on April 11, at 11 a.m. The in-person auction was to be held at the April foreclosure sale at Brookhaven Town Hall, the site said.

However, that auction was not found online soon after — and the property was listed again as a short sale.

Later in April, the Center Moriches home had a potential buyer. The sale was listed as "pending." At the time, a representative of Floyd Harbor Real Estate in Mastic, who asked not to be identified, confirmed with Patch that a buyer had stepped up during a short sale; that the sale was pending. However, she said, there was "an issue" with the property and as soon as all is resolved, the sale could proceed.

The Floyd Harbor Real Estate representative who spoke with Patch said, of the proceeds from the sale, that Osborne was "trying to come up with something to help" the remaining children of Valva and Justyna Zubko-Valva

But that sale never materialized and the poperty was later placed back up for auction.

Teachers and the principal from East Moriches Elementary School offered emotional testimony during Pollina's trial, as they did in Valva's trial, describing the boys, who came to school bruised, soaked in urine, starving, and always cold. Detectives and others who responded to the home also testified.

There was also evidence shown of texts reflecting Pollina's frustration with the incontinence of Thomas and his older brother, with her stating that she did not want them in the house. Valva's defense team painted an image of Valva as a man stressed over finances, who had nowhere to go with his boys if he had to leave the home he shared with Pollina.

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.

Zubko-Valva has not responded to requests for comment.

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

September 14 marked what would have been Thomas Valva's birthday. He would have been 12 years old. A bench in his memory outside Thomas' elementary school was covered with baby's breath, balloons, and bows, in memory of a little boy who touched countless lives.