A Ghanaian couple residing in the US has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of their five-year-old son, who was fatally beaten nearly three years ago.
Valerie Owusu and Emmanuel Addae were convicted of brutally assaulting the child with “at least four different instruments” over a span of three days in 2021, as per the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors disclosed that neither Owusu, the biological mother, nor Addae called 911 or sought medical help as the boy’s condition deteriorated. Instead, they took him to a relative’s home, where he was later found dead.
“This little boy endured days of abuse at the hands of these defendants, one of whom was his own mother, until tragically succumbing to his severe injuries,” the District Attorney stated in a press release.
“Thanks to the thorough investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department and the unwavering efforts of the prosecutors, justice has been served in holding the defendants accountable for this heinous crime.”
The couple is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2024, and could face life imprisonment.