Far too often, we hear about infants and children dying in hot cars. Many times, it’s a mistake by a parent who will never forgive themselves. That was not the case, however, for one little girl in Texas. Gbemisola Akayinode’s 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode, died on July 1, 2025, after spending more than eight hours inside her mother’s car in the Texas heat. An investigation found this wasn’t the first time the mother had left the child alone. Now Akayinode is facing murder charges.
Akayinode arrived at her job at a manufacturing plant in Galena Park around 5:45 a.m., according to court documents obtained by ABC News. The mother told investigators she rolled the windows down halfway in the back of the car. She also claimed she gave her daughter food, a rechargeable fan, ice cubes, and water. Akayinode told police Oluwasikemi took melatonin, and she could see her beginning to doze off as she went into work.
Akayinode didn’t return to check on her daughter until it was time to go home, just before 2 p.m. She found the child “unresponsive and blue” and screamed for help. KPRC reported that police arrived at the USG Corporation industrial complex, located in the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road, at 2:18 p.m. Emergency crews took Oluwasikemi to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where staff declared her dead.
KPRC noted that, according to court documents, temperatures in the area rose to 99 degrees on July 1. The temperature inside the car when Oluwasikemi died was 97.4 degrees. When first responders found the girl, her body temperature was 108 degrees.
Akayinode reportedly admitted to investigators that she’d left the child in the car to go to work several times, including the day before. The mother claimed she didn’t have the money to pay for day care. ABC News reported that investigators uncovered that the foreman at Akayinode’s job paid for her daughter’s child care expenses.
Akayinode faces murder charges and is being held on a $500,000 bond in Harris County Jail. She was due in court on October 21.
Tragically, Oluwasikemi is dead, and her mother could spend up to 99 years in prison if a court convicts her of murder. No matter how desperate Akayinode was for help, there had to be a better way.
