Queens couple sentenced to prison after 'head to toe' deadly beating of 5-year-old, King Owusu

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Valerie Owusu and Emmanuel Addae of Queens were sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison for the 2021 beating death of Owusu’s five-year-old son, King Owusu, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced.

Owusu, 28, and Addae, 28, were found guilty of second-degree murder on March 22 following a two-and-a-half week jury trial.

Between March 30 and April 1, 2021, the defendants beat King with at least four different objects in their LeFrak City apartment, according to evidence established at trial. The couple watched the five-year-old’s physical condition deteriorate for three days until he lost consciousness.

Prosecutors said that neither Owusu nor Addae called 911, took King to the doctor or provided him any medical care. Instead, on April 1, the couple brought the unconcious child to a family member’s house on Long Island.

The family member called the Suffolk County Police Department after returning home to find King, who had succumbed to his injuries. He was rushed to Southside Hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

Prosecutors said that the medical examiner who conducted King’s autopsy testified that the five-year-old “was beaten from head to toe” and that his death was caused by his injuries, “which were too numerous to count.”

According to Newsday , the medical examiner said that King suffered internal bleeding, tissue injuries, lung and brain damage and sustained over 100 cuts and bruises.

“The jury has spoken, but unfortunately, that will not bring back this young boy,” Tierney said. “Notwithstanding such tragedy, this case highlights our resolve to protect the innocence of every child in Suffolk County and to bring accountability to those who would dare harm them.”