HOUSTON – A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the deaths of a Houston father and his 2-year-old son in 2022, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.
“The family in this case lost a loving father and a little boy who was the most innocent of victims,” Ogg said. “We were ready to go to trial to seek justice and hold this killer accountable, and now he will be behind bars for decades and hopefully the rest of his life.”
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Bolanle Olayinka Fadairo pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the deaths of 38-year-old Michael Essien and his toddler son, Micah.
Fadairo and Essien had been friends in high school and Essien, a husband and father of four, had spent months trying to help Fadairo get back on his feet, including giving the convicted felon odd jobs for money, according to prosecutors. Fadairo was homeless, so Essien even let him use his home address to receive mail.
The two men had disagreed over whether Fadairo had completed a specific job that Essien offered him. Fadairo confronted Essien, demanding money in the middle of the day on Sept. 20, 2022.
Surveillance video showed Fadairo and Essien arguing outside a strip center in the 5500 block of El Camino Del Rey and Chimney Rock in southwest Houston. Fadairo can then be seen pulling a gun and shooting Essien, who died at the scene.
Fadairo then took Essien’s small Chevrolet SUV, with the toddler in a car seat in the third-row backseat, prosecutors said.
Fadairo drove the SUV to another location a few miles away and abandoned it, which was also captured on camera. Fadairo can be seen on video parking the stolen car, turning it off and locking it with the windows rolled up while the temperature outside reached 93 degrees.
Officers with the Houston Police Department found the stolen SUV hours later. The boy was discovered dead inside.
Fadairo was arrested the next day.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Condon, a chief in the DA’s Homicide Division, and ADA Savana Hooper prosecuted Fadairo, who was on the eve of trial when he pleaded guilty on April 12.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and the plea agreement is not going to bring back Mike and Micah, but hopefully the family can find some peace because it is the end of the legal battle,” Condon said. “Finally, this defendant took responsibility for ending both lives.”
Fadairo must serve at least 30 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole. As a term of the plea agreement, he cannot appeal either of the two murder convictions or the prison sentence.