Texas authorities have arrested a 36-year-old U.S.-based Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode for the murder of her 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode, after being left inside a hot car.

The Nigerian immigrant working at a USG Corporation plant in Galena Park, Texas, left Oluwasekemi unattended in a parked car for over eight hours on July 1, 2025, amid 95-degree heat, leading to the child’s death from hyperthermia with a body temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit.

Court records indicate Akayinode had repeated this practice four times prior, including the night before, and admitted not checking on her daughter during the shift despite providing items like water, a fan, and melatonin.

According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the child’s death was ruled a homicide, Court documents said the girl’s body temperature was 108 degrees and that the deceased mother never checked on her daughter while working her shift.

When she returned to the car around 2 p.m., she thought the girl was pretending to be asleep. She shook her before realizing her daughter had turned blue and was unresponsive. The victim was given CPR and pronounced dead at the hospital.

The mother told investigators that she couldn’t afford daycare until her next paycheck, so she also took the girl to work with her the previous day, but checked on her during her lunch hour, court documents say.

However, her supervisor countered her claim revealing he’d been giving her money to help make ends meet. 

While a witness told investigators that she asked Akayinode why the girl wasn’t in daycare since her boss had paid for it, and she said, “I’m sorry, I know what I did.”

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a window shade was in the front window of the car, which would have made it hard for people in the parking lot to see the child inside.

She was arrested on October 17 and charged with felony murder, with bond reduced from $1 million to $500,000.