A 36-year-old mother, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been charged with felony murder after allegedly leaving her 9-year-old daughter in a hot car while she went to work in Galena Park, near Houston, Texas, United States of America. She was arrested on Friday, according to law enforcement authorities.
Court documents revealed that Akayinode admitted to leaving her daughter inside her car in the gated employee parking lot of USG, a manufacturer of industrial and building materials, during her work shift in July. She reportedly left the child with food, a small fan, water, and ice cubes, and gave her melatonin to help her sleep.
Investigators said Akayinode confessed that she lowered the back windows halfway before going into the office but did not check on her daughter throughout her eight-hour shift, claiming she was too busy. When she returned to the car at the end of her shift, she found the child unresponsive and screamed for help. The girl was rushed to a hospital but was later pronounced dead.
According to the medical examiner’s report, the child’s body temperature reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and her cause of death was determined to be hyperthermia (heat stroke).
Further investigation revealed that this was not the first time Akayinode had left her daughter alone in the car. Court documents stated that she had done so about four times, including the day before the tragedy. She reportedly told investigators she could not afford day care until receiving her next paycheck.
However, a coworker told police that he had been helping her financially, knowing she was struggling to make ends meet. When asked if she had checked the weather forecast, Akayinode reportedly said she hadn’t and that “it slipped her mind.”
Akayinode appeared in court for the first time on Sunday morning. According to online jail records, she is due back in court on Monday, and her bond has been set at $500,000.
