Texas Man Charged With the Murders of Father and Toddler Son
Preliminary charges were filed Thursday against Bolanle Fadairo, 38, of Houston, Texas following the Tuesday murders of Michael Essien, 38, and his 2-year-old son Micah.
Surveillance video obtained by KHOU 11 shows the moment Essien was shot by Fadairo in the parking lot of a strip mall on the 5500 block of El Camino Del Rey and Chimney Rock on Tuesday afternoon. Fadairo allegedly shot Essien after an argument, then fled the scene with Essien’s toddler, Micah, in the backseat.
Two hours later, Essien’s wife contacted police with concerns that her husband and son were missing. Based on the information she gave police, they realized her husband was the man who was shot.
Micah was found unresponsive in the backseat of the SUV half an hour after her call on Elm Street near Renwick Drive. Officers broke a window to get Micah out of the car and performed CPR on him. Despite these life-saving measures, Micah died in the car before officers arrived.
Although his exact cause of death has not been determined, police believe an autopsy will reveal that he died of heat exhaustion. Temperatures in the Houston area were well over 90 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
Fadairo was arrested Wednesday morning at an apartment complex near where Essien’s body was found. Fadairo allegedly confessed to the murders soon after his arrest and claimed Essien owed him money. The men reportedly knew each other for over 30 years and worked together as security guards.
Fadairo was charged with two counts of murder and one count of tampering with evidence after he allegedly deleted text messages after the murders. Although a motion was filed to deny bond, the suspect was granted a $750,000 bond each for both murder charges and $50,000 for the tampering with evidence charge.
According to Essien’s sister Jessie, he was married and has two other children, a 5-year-old son and a 1-week-old baby. Jessie told ABC13 "Michael never argued with anybody. Michael would take his shirt off and give to others. He gives his last dime to other people. All I need is my brother.”
Houston police are asking anyone with information about Essien and his son's death to call their homicide division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.
