US-based Nigerian woman arrested after 9-Year-Old daughter dies in hot car
Tawheed Yakub, Abuja
A 36-year-old Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been arrested in Texas, USA, and charged with felony murder following the tragic death of her 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi, who reportedly died from heat exposure after being left inside a parked car for several hours.
The Harris County Sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, confirmed the arrest on X (formerly Twitter) on October 17, stating that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia extreme body temperature due to excessive heat.
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“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 booked into the Harris County Jail.”
According to the Sheriff’s earlier report, deputies responded to a distress call on July 1 at an industrial complex along Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park, near Houston, where the young girl was found unconscious in a vehicle. She was rushed to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Court documents obtained by ABC News revealed that Akayinode left her daughter inside the car for more than eight hours on a scorching 99-degree Fahrenheit day while she worked at a nearby manufacturing plant.
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Investigators said the mother arrived at work around 5:45 a.m., leaving the child in the car with food, a rechargeable fan, ice cubes, water, and the windows partially rolled down. She allegedly gave her daughter melatonin to help her sleep before starting her shift.
When Akayinode returned to the vehicle around 1:53 p.m., she found Oluwasikemi unresponsive and blue, prompting her to scream for help.
Further investigation revealed that this was not the first time Akayinode had brought her daughter to work. She reportedly told detectives she had no money for daycare until her next paycheck. However, investigators later discovered that her workplace foreman had been paying for daycare on her behalf.
Local news outlet KHOU11 also reported that Akayinode blamed her daughter’s death on prescription medication for ADHD but later admitted to giving her melatonin both the night before and on the morning of the incident.
According to the Daily Mail, Sheriff Gonzalez added that Akayinode had placed a sunshade in the car’s front window, making it difficult for passersby to notice the child inside. Despite CPR attempts, the girl was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Officials confirmed that Oluwasikemi’s death was among four child fatalities involving hot cars reported in Texas within the first two weeks of July alone.
In recent months, Texas authorities have recorded several similar tragedies, including cases where parents either forgot or intentionally left their children in vehicles during extreme heat, underscoring the growing concern over hot-car deaths in the state
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