Babatope Owoseni, 36, of East Orange, is expected to receive a 16-year state prison sentence
NEWARK — Nearly a year after pleading guilty to strangling his pregnant wife to death, Babatope Owoseni stood up on Friday in a Newark courtroom and claimed he was innocent.
"I am, indeed, innocent," Owoseni told Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler.
But the judge rejected Owoseni's claims and denied his motion to withdraw the guilty plea.
Wigler noted that Owoseni was placed under oath when he pleaded guilty and agreed to tell the truth before he then gave a detailed account of how he killed his wife.
Given how Owoseni acknowledged during the plea hearing that he reviewed an autopsy report, the judge dismissed Owoseni's assertion as part of his motion that he had not seen the report before pleading guilty.
"Sir, I'm not buying it," Wigler told Owoseni.
Owoseni, 36, of East Orange, pleaded guilty on March 19, 2015 to an aggravated manslaughter charge in connection with the Dec. 27, 2013 killing of 26-year-old Fatoumata Owoseni, who was nine months pregnant at the time. The unborn child died as a result of the attack, authorities said.
Wigler scheduled Owoseni's sentencing for Feb. 19. He is expected to receive the 16-year state prison term that prosecutors agreed to recommend under a plea agreement. Owoseni would have to serve nearly 14 years before becoming eligible for parole and he will receive credit for time served.
In denying the motion, the judge stressed that while one of the factors in considering such motions is whether a defendant has asserted "a colorable claim of innocence," Owoseni made no such claim in his motion papers.
"He's never alleged....that he did not kill his wife," Wigler said.
Wigler also said he remains satisfied that Owoseni understood the terms of the plea agreement and that his guilty plea was "knowing and voluntary."
When Owoseni pleaded guilty, he said that in the days leading up to the incident, he picked up his wife and their children in Maryland and ultimately returned to his East Orange home, according to Wigler, who read from the transcript of Owoseni's plea hearing on Friday.
At the time of the incident, Owoseni said he and his wife were having an argument in the residence during which she claimed he was not the father of the unborn child, Wigler said. Owoseni said the dispute escalated into a physical altercation, Wigler said.
During the fight, Owoseni said his wife struck him and he ultimately strangled her to death, according to Wigler.
During Friday's hearing, Owoseni's attorney, John Haggerty, said Owoseni is looking to withdraw his guilty plea, because Owoseni claims he was not provided with certain materials by his former attorney before pleading guilty. A different defense attorney was representing Owoseni when he pleaded guilty.
Those materials were the autopsy report, crime scene photos, autopsy photos and a transcript of the grand jury proceedings leading to his indictment, Haggerty said.
Without those materials, "he really could not make a knowing, intelligent decision," Haggerty said.
Haggerty also said Owoseni is alleging he was pressured by his former attorney to accept the plea deal. He said that while Owoseni is an educated man with a master's degree, he is new to the criminal justice system.
Being new to the system, Owoseni was "a babe in the woods" and may not have been aware of what materials he needed to see, Haggerty said.
But Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Ralph Amirata, who is handling the case, said calling Owoseni "a babe in the woods" is "offensive."
Amirata argued Owoseni had ample time to discuss the case with his former attorney before pleading guilty. When he pleaded guilty, Owoseni said he had had ample time to speak with his attorney and he indicated he was not being pressured to enter the guilty plea, Amirata said.
Amirata also noted that although Owoseni claims he was not provided with the autopsy report, he acknowledged during the plea hearing that he reviewed the report.
"There's no question that this is just a whimsical change of mind by this defendant," said Amirata, adding that the wife's family "has been tortured through this whole incident and deserve closure."
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.