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Suffolk County has reached a settlement with the mother of Thomas Valva, the 8-year-old boy who froze to death in January 2020 after being forced to sleep overnight in his father’s unheated garage, according to a Newsday report that cited a federal court filing.
The terms of the agreement with Justyna Zubko-Valva were not disclosed. Newsday’s Grant Parpan reported that the filing describes the deal as a “global settlement,” resolving a five-year lawsuit naming the county, several county employees, the local school district, and Thomas’ father and stepmother.
Mediation concluded after several days, and a mediation report is due by Oct. 8.
Five years of litigation
Zubko-Valva’s lawsuit accused county workers, school officials and the defendants of failing to protect her son despite repeated warnings of neglect and abuse. The settlement, reached after nearly five years of litigation, will bring the case to a close.
Thomas died of hypothermia on Jan. 17, 2020, in Center Moriches, after he and his older brother were made to spend nights in the garage without blankets, mattresses, or proper heat, prosecutors said.
In the years leading up to his death, teachers and others had raised concerns about signs of abuse, including malnutrition, soiled clothing and other troubling indicators that the children were living in unsafe conditions.
In November 2022, a Suffolk jury convicted Thomas’ father Michael Valva, an NYPD officer, of second-degree murder and child endangerment. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
The following year, his former fiancée and Thomas’ stepmother, Angela Pollina, was convicted of murder and received the same sentence.
Top: GLI file photo
