Valva 'House Of Horrors' Appears Sold At Auction: Report

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 in 2020, appears to have been sold.

According to xome.com, a "second chance" foreclosure auction for the property, located at 11 Bittersweet Lane, resulted in a final bid of $600,700; the reserve was not met, but the house was "sold", the site said.

The property is not listed under any upcoming auctions.

The reported sale comes after there were no bidders at an earlier foreclosure auction in September. The property was then transferred back to M&T Bank.

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.

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 on 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..

The jury reached a unanimous verdict in April, 2023 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.

Last 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 was later deleted, the Valva/Pollina home, located at 11 Bittersweet Lane, was initially slated to "sold through the applicable foreclosure auction process," in April, 2023. 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.

Next, in April, 2023, the Center Moriches home had a potential buyer. The sale was listed as "pending." But that sale never materialized and the property 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.

Last week, lawmakers rallied for change after a grand jury report revealed the explosive news that, due to a "backwards law," no charges could be filed against Child Protective Services in Thomas' death.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, District Attorney Ray Tierney and members of the Suffolk County Legislature, at a monthly meeting of the legislature, agreed to send a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and New York State Attorney General Letitia James requesting the State Legislature reform the New York State Social Services Laws to enable investigators to have access to "unfounded" reports in CPS cases.

The request comes after the results of a special grand jury report were revealed.

There were 11 reports made to Suffolk County's Child Protective Services department about the abuse Thomas and his brother were enduring at home, Tierney said at a press conference unveiling the grand jury report.

CPS received 11 reports of the boys coming to school soaked in urine, freezing cold, so starved that they scoured the floors and the garbage cans at school for crumbs, he added.

But, despite the repeated and urgent "flood of calls" and cries for help, no help ever came for Thomas and his brother — and, due to what he deemed broken New York State laws, the CPS records of Thomas' reported abuse remain sealed, with no criminal charges filed against CPS workers, no firings, no disciplinary action, Tierney said — and even some promotions reported.