Sophia Michaels
A US-based Ghanaian couple has been arrested in connection with the murder of their 5-year-old son who was badly beaten and succumbed to his injuries.
The couple, identified as Valerie Owusu and Emmanuel Addae, were convicted on March 22, 2024 nearly three years after Owusu’s son, King, was found dead in a home in Brentwood, New York City.
District Attorney Raymond Tierney in a press release said: “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.”
According to witnesses, prosecutors alleged Owusu and Addae beat the child with “at least four different instruments” over a three-day period in 2021. The boy’s condition deteriorated, and he eventually lost consciousness.
Neither Owusu nor Addae called 911 or provided medical care for King, prosecutors said.
On April 1, 2021, the boy was brought to a family member’s house, where Addae and Owusu left him. When the family member returned home, prosecutors said, King was found dead.
Authorities determined that the boy had suffered numerous injuries from “head to toe” as part of the beatings.
Owusu and Addae face up to life in prison and are scheduled to be sentenced on May
