By Sarah Sam Adda
A 36-year-old Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been charged with murder after her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi, died from heat exposure inside a parked car in Texas.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed that Akayinode was arrested after the medical examiner ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia.
Investigations revealed that on July 1, Akayinode left her daughter inside the car for over eight hours while she worked at a manufacturing plant in Galena Park, near Houston. Temperatures reportedly soared to 99°F.
Police said she left the child with food, water, a fan, and melatonin to induce sleep. When she returned, the girl was unresponsive and later confirmed dead at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.
Court records show Akayinode had taken her daughter to work several times despite her employer offering to cover daycare costs.
