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A former NYPD cop on trial for allegedly killing his 8-year-old son reportedly showed “no emotion” as first responders tried to save the child from dying, a paramedic told the court Thursday.
“He had no emotion, no sense of concern,” paramedic Erin Lambert told the jury on Thursday, at the Riverhead courtroom, adding that murder suspect Michael Valva “kind of stood in the background the entire time.”
“There was no crying. Most parents panic and freak out in a situation like that. There was nothing like that. Most of the time parents are screaming, crying, jumping on me, begging me to save their child.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 43-year-old Valva told a 911 dispatcher on January 17, 2020, that his son, Thomas Valva, had fallen on his face and lost consciousness.
Valva, however, allegedly forced Thomas, who’s autistic, to sleep in an unheated garage in sub-freezing temperatures at their Long Island home, ultimately leading to the child’s death.
Thomas was pronounced dead at the Long Island Community Hospital on January 17, 2020, at around 10:28 a.m., New York Post reports.
Prosecutors told the jury that Thomas and his 10-year-old brother Anthony suffered years of abuse at the hands of their father, often arriving at school with bruises and scratching — and hungry.
“They were observed at school literally eating crumbs off the floor,” assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Laura Newcombe said.
Newcombe also related a text Valva sent to his now ex-fiancée, 45-year-old Angela Pollina.
“I will beat them until they bleed,” he wrote, according to Newcombe. “It is the only thing that works.”
Valva’s attorney laid the blame at Pollina’s feet, saying she constantly told him he was being too lenient with the boys and that Valva was desperate to make things work. He painted her as the wicked stepmother.
“You are making it too comfortable for them,” she allegedly told Valva, according to attorney Anthony La Pinta. “Let them be uncomfortable. That will teach them to control themselves.”
Valva, La Pinta said during his opening statement, “never ever thought that either of his boys could die from being in that garage,” WCBS reported.
When Valva arrived at the hospital to see his son, he had no emotion, again, Lambert continued during testimony Thursday.
“There were no tears. There was no emotion,” Lamber continued, recalling when the suspect saw his son in a bed at a Long Island hospital.
“Somebody, a staff member came into the room and asked him if he needed a drink, a chair, to make a phone call. He turned and said, ‘No, I’ve been in more stressful situations.’”
The trial continues and should last around three more weeks.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Thomas Valva/Handout]
Additional reporting by Ellen Killoran and KC Wildmoon
