A 36-year-old Nigerian woman living in Texas, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been arrested and charged with felony murder following the death of her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi, who was left inside a parked car for several hours in extreme heat.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest, with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez disclosing that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia, severe overheating of the body.
“Today, our Homicide Detectives and Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Gbemisola G. Akayinode for the murder of her nine-year-old daughter,” Sheriff Gonzalez announced on X (formerly Twitter).
“The child’s death has been ruled a homicide as a result of hyperthermia. She is charged with felony murder and booked into the Harris County Jail.”
According to court filings, emergency responders were called to an industrial complex on Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park, near Houston, on July 1, after reports that a child had been left unattended inside a vehicle.
The girl was rushed to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators say Akayinode arrived at work around 5:45 a.m., leaving her daughter in the car with food, bottled water, a rechargeable fan, and ice cubes.
She reportedly gave the child melatonin to help her sleep and lowered the rear windows halfway before heading to her job at a nearby manufacturing plant.
When Akayinode returned to her car at about 1:53 p.m., she found her daughter unresponsive and called for help. Paramedics attempted CPR, but the girl was later confirmed dead.
Court documents indicate that the child was left inside the vehicle for more than eight hours on a 99°F (37°C) day.
The mother allegedly told investigators that she had brought her daughter to work several times before because she couldn’t afford childcare until her next paycheck.
However, authorities discovered that her supervisor had been assisting her financially with daycare payments, contradicting her claim.
Local outlet KHOU 11 reported that Akayinode initially blamed her daughter’s death on prescribed ADHD medication but later admitted to giving her melatonin both the night before and on the morning of her death.
Investigators also noted that Akayinode had placed a sunshade on the car’s front windshield, which made it difficult for anyone passing by to notice the child inside.
The case has drawn renewed attention to the growing number of child deaths linked to overheated vehicles in Texas.
According to state authorities, four children died under similar circumstances during the first two weeks of July alone.
In one separate case, a mother claimed her two children died in a hot car after wandering out of their home while she slept.
Another woman was charged in August after allegedly leaving her 15-month-old baby in a car while she went to work.
Akayinode remains in custody at the Harris County Jail, awaiting her next court appearance.
