Three Suspects Held in Connection with Carjacking Turned Murder of Ohio Woman Who Died Trying to Save Her 6-Year-Old: Police
Three teenagers have been taken into custody by officials as suspects in the murder of an Ohio woman, police shared.
Alexa Stakely, 29 was killed on July 11, in the Southeast Side of Columbus in the pursuit of saving her six-year-old son, The Independent reported.
The victim had come to the area to pick up her son from a babysitter at 1.30 a.m., according to the police, USA Today reported. Stakely placed her boy in her Honda CRV and returned to meet the babysitter at the doorway.
In the meantime, the three teenagers reportedly got into the victim's vehicle intending to steal it. Stakely allegedly got struck while trying to prevent the theft of her vehicle with her 6-year-old son inside.
Stakely was found by some officers lying with traumatic injuries on the roadway, The Independent reported. She was transferred to the hospital for treatment and was soon pronounced dead, police said.
An officer from the Columbus Police Department found the stolen vehicle with the woman’s son asleep in the backseat near the alleged accident site, the Independent reported. The boy claimed that he did not see who was driving the vehicle because he was asleep.
Witnesses reportedly informed the police that they saw two men running from the area where the victim had been struck.
Police got surveillance footage that captured a group of men looking into apartments a block away from where the incident happened, the Independent reported. The men in the footage matched the alleged description provided by the witnesses.
After two weeks of police search, a 16-year-old boy turned up at the Columbus Police Headquarters with his parents to provide information about the accident, The Independent reported. During questioning, he allegedly confessed to stealing Stakely’s Honda and causing her death, according to the Columbus Division of Police.
The suspect was allegedly roaming in the area with two friends looking to carjack, the Independent reported. The teenager shared that he went into Stakely's car and was just about to drive off with it when the victim appeared in front of her vehicle, police said. He claimed that he "panicked and began to drive off, striking Stakely with her own vehicle."
The teenager claimed that his two friends were watching when the accident happened, the Independent reported. He reportedly drove away from the scene, abandoned the vehicle nearby, and joined his two friends on foot. Officials arrested the teenager and subsequently charged him with murder.
Another juvenile suspect was identified and arrested by police who confessed to being present during the incident with another friend, the Independent reported.
19-year-old, Gerald Dowling Jr., was the last suspect to turn himself in, The Columbus Dispatch reported. He first appeared in the Franklin County Municipal Court on July 23 and was given a bond set at $10m. All three suspects have been charged with murder.
The two 16-year-olds could be tried as adults if a judge finds probable cause to believe they committed the crime, USA Today reported.
Stakely was a single mother who worked two jobs—as a speech-language pathologist for Winchester Trail Elementary School and a waitress—to support her son, USA Today reported.
More than 100 people gathered at Winchester Trail Elementary School to pay tribute to the young mother. Her friends and family shared that she wanted to own a home and business, and was fiercely loyal to her loved ones.
A GoFundMe has been created to support the victim's son. The description reads, "Alexa Lee Stakley was one of the best people you’d ever meet. She was beautiful inside and out and left a mark on this world in the short time she had.....She is succeeded by her six-year-old son Deluca Brynn and we want to make sure he has everything he needs moving forward."