The former fiancée of an ex-cop who was convicted of murdering his autistic son reportedly testified Wednesday that she was “comfortable” on the morning the child died.
Angela Pollina, 45, was previously engaged to ex-New York Police Department officer Michael Valva, who was sentenced in 2022 to 25 years to life in prison after his autistic 8-year-old son Thomas froze to death in the family’s garage, the New York Post reported. During cross-examination Wednesday, Pollina reportedly testified the temperature was “a little chilly” but that she was “comfortable” on the morning the child froze.
Pollina, charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment, testified Tuesday and Wednesday, and is expected to do so again Thursday, according to the NY Post.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office received inmates Michael Valva and Angela Pollina late yesterday following their arrest for the murder of Thomas Valva. (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/VYiDRKU7Q3
— Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office (@Suffolk_Sheriff) January 25, 2020
Jurors gasped at Pollina’s statements, the outlet reported. Prosecutors in the case allegedly accompanied the cross examination with videos of Thomas and his 10-year-old brother shivering on the cement floor of the garage. Pollina had reportedly demanded Valva remove all comforts from the garage weeks earlier.
In one of the videos taken shortly before Thomas died, the young boy took a dirty towel from a laundry basket for warmth, according to the NY Post. Upon discovering his alleged actions, Pollina reportedly texted the video to Valva, saying, “That SOB Thomas went in the dirty laundry basket to get a dirty towel. Look how he sneaks.”
Other text messages presented in the case included one that suggested the children had been bathed in the backyard, not in the family bathroom, according to the outlet. The boy’s mattresses had also been taken away, the NY Post noted. (RELATED: REVEALED: ‘Say Hi To Snow White’: JP Morgan Exec Emailed Jeffrey Epstein Post-Imprisonment)
“It was a tough environment,” Pollina reportedly told the jury. “I believe they had behavior issues.” Pollina allegedly refused Valva after he told her he wanted the boys back in the house, according to the NY Post.
“Try whatever you want but he is not coming back in this house,” she reportedly wrote.
During Tuesday’s testimony, Pollina admitted she “treated them bad” and “evil,” and that “Yes, I did … I exiled them,” the NY Post reported in another article.
Thomas was officially pronounced dead Jan 17, 2020, at 10:28 a.m. at Long Island Community Hospital, according to the outlet. Valva was said to have “no emotion” or “sense of concern” when his son died, the outlet reported in September 2022.