New York-based Ghanaian couple accused of fatally beating 5-year-old son sentenced

A New York-based Ghanaian couple accused of fatally beating their 5-year-old son was on May 1 sentenced to 25 years in prison after they were found guilty of second-degree murder. 

According to Daily News, the punishment handed out to Valerie Owusu, 28, and Emmanuel Addae, 28, of Corona, Queens, comes after a jury in March convicted them of second-degree murder. The deceased minor, King Owusu, was Owusu’s son.

Owusu is said to have broken down in tears when they were sentenced. Acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski also handed the couple the maximum sentences although they begged for a less-harsher punishment. The convicted couple also told the court that they loved their deceased child.

“The jury has spoken, but unfortunately, that will not bring back this young boy,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said.

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in a statement said that Owusu and Addae physically assaulted King between March 30 and April 1, 2021, adding that they used at least four different instruments to beat the minor. The assault is said to have happened in their apartment in Queens. 

“The couple watched King’s physical condition deteriorate for approximately three days until King lost unconsciousness,” the statement added. “During that time, both Owusu and Addae did not call 911, take King to the doctor, or provide any medical care to the child.”

Authorities said Owusu and Addae on April 1 then took King to a family member’s home and left the minor to die. The family member later discovered King’s body after returning home that day, and the Suffolk County Police Department was ultimately notified. The 5-year-old was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The medical examiner who performed King’s autopsy informed the court that the 5-year-old was “beaten from head to toe, and that his injuries, which were too numerous to count, caused his death.”

“This little boy was beaten and suffered for days at the hands of these defendants, one of whom was his own mother, until he unfortunately succumbed to his severe and extensive injuries,” Tierney said in the statement. 

“Thanks to the thorough investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department, the relentless pursuit of justice by the prosecutors assigned to this case, and the jury’s careful consideration of the evidence presented, the defendants have been held accountable for this horrific crime.”