Valarie Owusu, sister of Ghanaian singer Tiffany, and her boyfriend Emmanuel Addae have been sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment for the killing of her 5-year-old son.
The verdict was delivered in court on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, leaving Valerie in tears.
The couple, both 28 and residing in Corona, Queens, had been convicted in March of second-degree depraved indifference murder for the death of King Owusu.
Despite expressing their love for the child and pleading for leniency, they were given the maximum sentences by acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski.
During sentencing, Valerie Owusu, represented by her attorney seeking a minimum sentence, shifted the blame for the beatings onto Addae.
She claimed she was unaware of the extent of her son’s injuries until the evidence was presented at trial.
Valerie explained that she entered a relationship with Addae, with whom she has two more children (including one born while she was incarcerated), partly to find a father figure for her son.
She regretted not realizing the seriousness of the situation sooner, wishing her son “would be alive today.”
She emotionally expressed her love for her son, emphasizing that she had cherished moments with him that would sustain her during her time in prison.
In his brief remarks, Emmanuel Addae, stepfather to Valerie’s late son, expressed his love for King as well and hoped for a reunion in heaven one day. His attorney had requested a sentence of 20 years to life.
