Background: The Galena Park plant on the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road in Harris County, Texas (Google Maps). Inset: Gbemisola Akayinode (Harris County Sheriff”s Office).
A Texas mother is accused of leaving her 9-year-old daughter alone in a hot car during a summer day while she went to work, leading to the child’s death.
Gbemisola Akayinode, 36, has been charged with felony murder and booked into the Harris County Jail, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced on Friday. The charges were brought more than three months after the incident in question.
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On July 1, the defendant drove to work at a mineral plant in Galena Park on Mayo Shell Road with her daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode in tow. The mother exited the car to begin her shift at 6 a.m., leaving the child inside “with the back windows partially down,” the sheriff said.
The girl was also left with some water, but as the hours dragged on, the heat naturally increased in the small South Texas town. After an eight hour shift, at about 2 p.m., Gbemisola Akayinode went to check on her daughter and noticed she was unresponsive, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
The girl was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead as a result of hyperthermia.
The temperature in the area on that day reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit, according to AccuWeather. And while it is unclear where exactly the car was parked, Google Maps imaging in the area does not appear to show many spots that might offer much shade.
Gonzalez also reportedly said a window shade was put up in the front window of the car, making it harder for anyone to see inside.
Jan Null, a university professor and an expert on hot car deaths, said there were reasons this situation was rare, such as the child’s age.
“The scenario in the case in Galena Park is when the parent knowingly leaves a child in the car. Not to do them harm, but they make the conscious decision to leave the child in the car while they do something else,” Null told the local TV station. “While I go to work, while I go to the casino, while I meet up with somebody…”
Under Texas law, the felony murder statute reads: “a person whose conduct causes an unintended death during the commission or attempted commission of a felony is guilty of murder.”
