• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Houston carjacker guns down father, leaves 2-year-old son to die in hot car

Bolanle Fadairo is charged with two counts of murder

Bolanle Fadairo

Bolanle Fadairo is facing charges in a double homicide. (Houston Police Department)

September 22, 2022
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

HOUSTON — A Houston family is devastated and struggling to understand how this could happen after learning the news that a father and his 2-year-old boy were ruthlessly murdered in different ways on Tuesday.

The bodies of 38-year-old Michael Essien and his son Micah were found hours apart at two separate crime scenes in the Gulfton area of southwest Houston, KHOU reported.

A violent carjacker shot and killed Essien and then left little Micah to die in 94-degree temperatures in the stolen SUV, police said.

Bolanle Fadairo, 38, was identified as the suspect. He is charged with two counts of murder for gunning down the dad Tuesday afternoon and then abandoning the toddler, who was found dead more than five hours later, Houston Police Department said in a Thursday press statement.

The male adult murder victim was named by relatives as Michael Essien. He welcomed another child just a week ago.

Fadairo shot and killed the victim following a confrontation, police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite said.

The callous killer then fled at 1:46 p.m. in his victim’s Chevrolet Traverse with the 2-year-old inside, Satterwhite noted.

However, police had no idea the toddler was taken with the vehicle until the boy’s mom called 911 nearly five hours later to report her husband and son missing, the chief said.

“We never knew about the child until she called at 6:36 p.m.,” he said.

Upon hearing from the woman, along with “specific information” she was able to provide about the stolen SUV, officers quickly found the automobile where it had been abandoned, the New York Post reported.

“Sadly, it was too late. The child had passed in the car,” Satterwhite confirmed after the toddler was identified by family as Micah Essien.

Slain dad Michael Essien and late son MicahHomicide victim Michael Essien, 38, and his son Micah, 2, who died in the stolen SUV. (Screenshot KHOU)
Slain dad Michael Essien and late son MicahThe carjacker/homicide suspect left Micah in the hot SUV, where he apparently died of heat exhaustion. (Screenshot KHOU)

The assistant chief said they are still waiting for the cause of death to be confirmed, while speculating that it could be “something like heat exhaustion” since temperatures reached 94 degrees in Houston Tuesday afternoon.

Although HPD officers had been searching for the stolen vehicle prior to the mother calling 911, they were hindered by “very vague information,” Satterwhite said.

“Nobody wishes more than me that we’d had more [information] then and we could have found this child in time,” he expressed.

Police arrested Fadairo in the early hours Wednesday after investigators released surveillance footage of the killer strolling around a gas station prior to the double homicide.

WANTED: Surveillance video of the suspect sought in the death of a 2-year-old child and the fatal shooting of an adult male.

Tips: HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU.#hounews https://t.co/f1mxKf2cUH pic.twitter.com/xwzl25sav8

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) September 21, 2022

“A mother lost her husband and she lost her 2-year-old child,” Satterwhite said when asking the Houston community to “pray for this family.”

Essien also left behind two additional children, including a baby born just a week ago, relatives told KHOU.

Cousin Etimbuk Isaiah, told the new outlet that Essien’s grieving widow is “hangin on.”

“It’s a difficult thing to process right now and so tragic because nobody wakes up planning to die.”

Essien’s sister, Jessie Okon, openly sobbed when speaking to reporters about the loss of her “peaceful” brother and her “always cheerful” nephew.

“Tell Houston, tell the whole world that I want my nephew back. He’s only 2 years old. He does not know how to hurt a fly,” she said of little Micah.

As for the killer, she said, “Mostly for my nephew, God will give him his reward.”


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Bolanle FadairohoustonHouston Police DepartmentMichael Essien
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Houston Police shoot carjacking suspect

VIDEO: Houston police shoot carjacking suspect after he repeatedly tosses gun in the air

January 10, 2023
restaurant customer

Restaurant customer fatally shoots armed robber, returns money to patrons before leaving scene, police say

January 8, 2023
Houston police

Gunman with AK-47-style pistol survives fierce shootout with Houston police

December 14, 2022
Houston apartment

Man forcing his way into Houston apartment is fatally shot by woman with baby and others inside

December 10, 2022
Osmar Mendez Martinez

Man wanted for murder and decapitation in Mexico lived in US for years

November 15, 2022
Simon Mancilla Sr

Elderly man steps in to help woman during carjacking

September 21, 2022
Load More

Latest Articles

Chicago officer ambushed

America is hemorrhaging from the heart, but there is a solution

January 28, 2023
Colinford Mattis

Ivy League-educated attorney who helped firebomb NYPD patrol car during riots sentenced to prison

January 28, 2023
Mohamed Ali Elmi

Major drug dealer busted with over 65,000 fentanyl pills in Twin Cities

January 28, 2023
Los Angeles

Police search for gunman after 3 killed, 4 critically wounded in Los Angeles shooting

January 28, 2023
Bahram Hojreh

California water polo coach sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting nine teenage athletes

January 28, 2023
David DePape

Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape makes incriminating phone call to San Francisco TV station

January 28, 2023
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com