A $500K bond has been set for a woman accused of murder after her daughter was found dead in an extremely hot car in July. The mother’s bond was lowered from $1 million.
Gbemisola G. Akayinode, 36, was arrested and charged with the murder of her 9-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the death a homicide, as a result of hyperthermia. The girl’s body temperature was 108 degrees when she was discovered.
Court documents claimed that Akayinode left her daughter in the sweltering conditions for more than eight hours.
What happened
On July 1, 2025, police responded to the incident at 2:06 p.m. at the USG Corporation industrial complex, located in the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road in the Galena Park area.
Officers reportedly arrived at the scene at 2:18 p.m.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the child was rushed to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The girl was reportedly left unattended in the hot vehicle by her mother while she went to work for the day. Gbemisola reportedly left Oluwasikemi with a bottle of water, a cup of ice, an electric fan, and the car’s windows were partially rolled down.
Gbemisola also told investigators she gave her daughter melatonin, which she knew would make her tired and sleepy in the car.
Gbemisola’s shift was believed to have started at 6 a.m., with outdoor temperatures reaching as high as 99 degrees that day. The temperature inside the vehicle was measured at 97.4 degrees. She told investigators that she stayed inside her office and didn’t check on her daughter during her lunch break.
After returning to the car shortly before 2 p.m., Gbemisola said she found her daughter to be unresponsive and “a shade of blue.” She began screaming for help from her coworkers and called 911.
Investigators asked Gbemisola if she had left her daughter in her vehicle during work before, to which she said “sometimes, but it was during the nightshift.” When asked to estimate how many times, she said “about four times in total.”
She also said she was unable to afford daycare until she received her paycheck later in the week.