A Texas mother has been charged after her 9-year-old daughter died in July when she was left alone in a hot car for several hours while her mother went to work.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced that 36-year-old Gbemisola G. Akayinod was arrested and charged with felony murder following the death of her daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode. The Harris County medical examiner ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia, or extreme overheating.
According to investigators, Akayinod brought her daughter to her workplace, a plant in Galena Park, on July 1. She allegedly left the 9-year-old in the car around 6 a.m. with a bottle of water and the windows slightly cracked while she worked her shift. When Akayinod returned to the car around 2 p.m., she found her daughter unresponsive.
Sheriff Gonzalez said the mother had placed a window shade across the windshield, making it difficult for anyone passing by to see the child inside. CPR was performed before the girl was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
“This case is heartbreaking,” Gonzalez said. “No one should ever leave a child alone in a vehicle, not even for a short time.” Experts say the tragedy could have unfolded within minutes. Dr. Anthony Arredondo of Texas Children’s Hospital explained, “Once you start getting to a body core temperature higher than 102, 104, or higher, that can cause significant damage to the brain, organs.
So it’s hard to say what time frame — the longer they are in there, the worse it is.” Meteorology professor Jan Null, an expert on hot car deaths at San Jose State University, said this case is particularly rare because of the child’s age and the deliberate decision involved.
“The scenario in the case in Galena Park is when the parent knowingly leaves a child in the car,” Null said. “Not to do them harm, but they make the conscious decision to leave the child in the car while they do something else. While I go to work, while I go to the casino, while I meet up with somebody.”
Null added that such cases make up only about 20% of all hot car deaths. Despite advances in technology and awareness campaigns, the number of children who die in hot cars has remained steady — about 38 each year, according to the National Safety Council.
Authorities continue to urge the public: if you see a child or pet alone in a car, call 911 immediately. Even with the windows cracked, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise by 19 degrees in just 10 minutes, turning a simple mistake into a fatal one.