A 37-year-old Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been arrested and charged with felony murder after her 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode, died from hyperthermia after being left in a vehicle for several hours in sweltering heat.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed the arrest on October 18 via X, noting that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences had ruled the child’s death a homicide.
“Arrest update: today, #HCSOTexas Homicide Detectives and our Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) arrested Gbemisola G. Akayinode for the murder of her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the death a Homicide, as a result of hyperthermia. Gbemisola (11-17-88) is being charged with Felony Murder and being booked in the Harris County Jail,” Gonzalez wrote.
According to reports, investigators were called to an industrial complex on Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park, near Houston, on July 1, where the girl had been left unattended in a vehicle. She was transported to LBJ Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Court documents obtained by ABC News revealed that Oluwasikemi was left in the car for more than eight hours on a 99-degree day while her mother worked at a nearby manufacturing plant.
Gbemisola reportedly arrived at work around 5:45 a.m., leaving her daughter in the vehicle with food, water, ice, a rechargeable fan, and melatonin to help her sleep. The car’s back windows were lowered halfway, and a shade in the front window made it difficult for passersby to see inside.
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When Gbemisola returned to the car around 1:53 p.m., she found her daughter unresponsive and blue, prompting her to scream for help. CPR was initiated before the child was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide due to hyperthermia.
Investigators noted that Gbemisola had previously brought her daughter to work, including the day before, claiming she could not afford daycare until her next paycheck. However, court documents indicated that her job foreman had been paying for daycare.
The documents also revealed that Gbemisola initially blamed prescription ADHD medication for her daughter’s death but admitted to giving her melatonin both the night before and the morning of the incident.
Oluwasikemi’s death is part of a troubling trend in Texas, with four child fatalities involving hot cars reported in the state during the first two weeks of July.
Similar incidents included a case in September where a mother’s two children died in a hot car while she slept, and another in August where a 15-month-old was intentionally left in a vehicle by a parent and died.
Gbemisola Akayinode remains in Harris County Jail, facing felony murder charges as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s tragic death.
