New York: Ghanaian couple sentenced 25 years for beating 5-year-old boy to death

In Queens, New York, a Ghanaian couple has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of fatally beating a 5-year-old boy. Valerie Owusu, 28, and her boyfriend Emmanuel Addae, also 28, faced charges for assaulting King Owusu with multiple instruments in their Lefrak City apartment in late March of 2021.

A jury delivered a verdict of second-degree murder on March 22, leading to the sentencing pronounced by a judge on Wednesday. The judge emphasized that no one deserved a maximum sentence more than the defendants in this tragic case.

Despite the legal resolution, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney expressed somber sentiments. "The jury has spoken, but unfortunately, that will not bring back this young boy," he lamented.

According to prosecutors, after subjecting King Owusu to the brutal assault, the couple observed his deteriorating condition for about three days before dropping him off at Addae's parents' home in Long Island when the child lost consciousness. It was a relative who alerted authorities, prompting them to rush the victim to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Tierney underscored the severity of the ordeal, stating, "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."

During the trial, prosecutors revealed the harrowing extent of King's injuries, which covered his entire body and were too numerous to quantify, as attested by the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy.