Texas Mother Charged With Murder After Leaving 9-Year-Old Daughter in Hot Car for Entire Workday, Sheriff Says

GALENA PARK, TEXAS — A Texas mother has been arrested and charged with felony murder after allegedly leaving her 9-year-old daughter in a hot car for the entirety of her workday, resulting in the child’s death, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities say 36-year-old Gbemisola Akayinode arrived for her job at a mineral plant on Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park around 6 a.m. on July 1, bringing her daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode, along. Instead of dropping her off elsewhere or arranging care, Akayinode reportedly left the girl inside the car with the back windows partially rolled down and a bottle of water.
By the time the mother returned to check on her child after her eight-hour shift, the 9-year-old was unresponsive.
Child Left Alone in 97-Degree Heat for 8 Hours
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said Akayinode found her daughter unconscious around 2 p.m., at which point emergency services were called. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead from hyperthermia — an overheating condition caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures.
According to AccuWeather, the temperature that day reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and the location offered little to no shade. Deputies noted that Akayinode had placed a window shade across the front windshield, which blocked visibility into the vehicle and may have prevented anyone from noticing the child inside.
“The child was left inside the car with the windows partially down,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a public statement. “It’s tragic — a completely preventable loss of life.”
Investigation Reveals Conscious Decision
Experts say the case falls into a rare but particularly tragic category — when a parent knowingly leaves a child inside a vehicle, assuming they will be fine.
“It’s not to do them harm,” said Jan Null, a professor and researcher who tracks child hot car deaths nationwide. “But they make a conscious decision — ‘I’ll just be gone for a while,’ — and that can turn deadly fast.”
Police say Akayinode’s decision to leave her daughter for a full eight-hour shift showed clear reckless disregard for human life, leading to the felony murder charge.
Public Outrage and Legal Consequences
Akayinode was taken into custody this week and booked into the Harris County Jail, where she remains held on felony murder charges.
The case has drawn widespread outrage across Texas, especially because the victim was old enough to have survived under supervision but too young to escape the locked car or recognize the danger.
“It’s heartbreaking,” one Galena Park resident told KHOU 11 News. “That little girl suffered in the heat while her mother worked just yards away. No job is worth a child’s life.”
Under Texas law, felony murder applies when someone causes another person’s death while committing a felony — even unintentionally. Prosecutors say Akayinode’s criminal negligence fits that definition.
Authorities continue to remind parents that car interiors can heat up by more than 20 degrees within 10 minutes, even with windows cracked. The tragedy marks yet another preventable hot-car death in Texas, a state that consistently leads the nation in such cases.
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