Osa Alohaneke was sentenced to 40 years in prison on January 22, 2018 after a jury convicted him of Murder just days earlier. The 59-year-old Nigerian man was charged with stabbing and killing Evelyne Epiepang in her Southwest Houston home in 2015.Amanda Bolin, Fort Bend County’s Chief Family Violence Prosecutor, said Evelyne Epiepang called the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office on April 8, 2015 around 5:00 pm to report that her ex-boyfriend, Osa Alohaneke, had been threatening to kill her and she wanted him out of her house. Alohaneke left, but sheriff’s deputies took a report from Evelyne before she left to stay with her friend, Veronica. Around 7:00 pm, Evelyne learned that Alohaneke had returned to her home and was banging on the front door. Evelyne again called the sheriff’s office for their assistance. Before deputies arrived, Evelyne and Veronica went back to Evelyne’s home because they thought the defendant had left.
As Evelyne and Veronica entered the front door of the home, Alohaneke appeared behind them, came inside, and locked the front door. An argument ensued and the defendant pulled a knife from under his shirt. Alohaneke first attacked Veronica, cutting her face and stabbing her so hard on the arm that it fractured a bone. The defendant then turned his focus to Evelyne and stabbed her over 30 times. At some point, Evelyne managed to again call 911. That call recorded her screams and pleas as she died. After killing Evelyne, Alohaneke told Veronica to go ahead and call the sheriff because he had “completed his mission.”
Deputies arrived and located the defendant in the front yard with his hands covered in blood and on the phone with his attorney. A DNA expert testified at trial that the blood on the defendant’s hands contained a mixture of his own DNA and the DNA of Evelyne Epiepang. At the time of trial, Alohaneke had a pending prostitution charge in Harris County. An undercover HPD officer testified during the punishment phase that the defendant had offered to pay for sex in December 2014 while driving Evelyne Epiepang’s vehicle. Jurors also heard heart-breaking testimony from Evelyne’s younger brother, who showed them photographs of a beautiful home in Cameroon, Africa that Evelyne had been building for their aging parents.
“Alohaneke was on a mission of pain and devastation – a massacre,” said Bolin. “I cannot reinforce enough how important it is for victims to stay away and call the police because of how quickly things can escalate.”
Alohaneke was tried in the 400th District Court before Presiding Judge Maggie Jaramillo. Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by 5-99 years, or life, in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Under Texas law, Alohaneke must serve half of his sentence before he can be considered for parole.
Assistant District Attorneys Amanda Bolin and Lauren Valenti prosecuted the case. Attorney Eric Ashford represented the defendant.