A 36-year-old Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been arrested and charged with the murder of her 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode, after the child was found dead inside a sweltering car in Harris County, Texas.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the young girl’s death was ruled a homicide caused by hyperthermia, commonly known as heat stroke. Preliminary investigations revealed that Oluwasikemi was left unattended inside a locked vehicle for more than eight hours on July 1, while her mother went to work at a manufacturing plant in Galena Park, near Houston.
Authorities said the temperature on the day reached 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37°C), creating deadly conditions inside the vehicle.
“This is a heartbreaking case,” Sheriff Gonzalez said, noting that investigators found sufficient evidence to classify the incident as a criminally negligent homicide.
Court documents show that Akayinode allegedly left home with her daughter that morning but never dropped the child off at daycare. The girl’s body was discovered later that evening when the mother returned to the vehicle after her shift.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has since filed a murder charge against Akayinode. She is being held in custody pending further court proceedings.
Authorities have reminded parents and guardians about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles, especially during extreme heat.
“Even a few minutes in such temperatures can be fatal,” a police statement warned.
