HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — One of the last things Beverly Mabson’s son, Joshua Emmanuel Owusu-Koramoah, told her was to not worry about worldly possessions. He’d called to let her know that his cousin had taken his car despite it not being registered. She was upset. Owusu-Koramoah was trying to calm her.
That cousin, Ronald Ivan Scott, had been crashing at his place, trying to make a fresh start after leaving Florida. On April 7, 2022 — three days after the call — he would be arrested in Orlando for arson and the murder of Owusu-Koramoah.
On Monday, Scott was sentenced to 40 years in prison, including time served, for second-degree murder. He also received a combined 55 years in suspended sentences for arson, grand larceny and animal cruelty charges.
He had pled guilty. None of the witnesses — all family members — who testified before the sentencing asked the court to show mercy.
After listening to them describe the man they’d lost, the judge told those present in the gallery and packed into an overflow courtroom next door that this was the first case of his that, when he tells others about it, will bring a sense of hope.
“It’s a testament to Josh’s life,” he said. “He loved unapologetically. That is motivating; that is inspiring.”
‘Nothing less than a saint’
Before the sentencing, Mabson testified that her son had given Scott money when he needed it and even his own bed to sleep in — opting for an air mattress himself. Others family members described Joshua Owusu-Koramoah as the kind of person who wouldn’t hurt a fly, who would give you the shirt off their back — an example of how to be a man, and to live on Earth.
“He was an honest friend, an honest confidant; faithful, dedicated,” Jerry Brooks, a brother, told the court. “When you look at the people whose lives he saved, he’s nothing less than a saint.”
He said Joshua Owusu-Koramoah would share the gospel with everyone who was willing to listen — and then some.
Mabson described how her son had talked over 40 people out of suicide.
She said he once helped an elderly woman who had fallen while trying to get off of a bus. The woman had had a leg amputated. He befriended her, and when her other leg was amputated, he came to her house to help clean the wound. The stories went on.
“He wanted to preach, write a book, have kids,” she said. He was a Bill Gates scholarship recipient, a William & Mary grad, a football player and a counselor.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a Cleveland Browns football player, testified that his brother’s life was a beacon of light and righteousness.
He acknowledged Scott and the familial ties and thanked him for being present, for breathing the same air. He said Scott was “one who would come to our house, who taught us the streets, he changed Josh’s diapers.”
He described how memory and events are passed down in the DNA of families — and how this, too, will be passed down for generations.
He said the impact on the family had been immeasurable.
‘Guilty from the jump’
Scott spoke briefly before the sentence was handed down, telling the court he just wanted to have accountability.
His lawyer, in closing arguments, said that in 12 years of working in the public defender’s office, she had never seen anyone so narrowly focused on pleading guilty for such a high-level crime.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone take responsibility like that — with the stakes that high,” she said, noting that he pled guilty to a life charge, without even attempting to amend it down to a lesser charge like manslaughter.
Scott’s attorney also said that her office had tried to track down her client’s mental health care documents but was unable to because of an unhelpful parent. She acknowledged that he had likely struggled with such issues, and would be able to get treatment while incarcerated.