3 charged with murder after mom killed while trying to rescue 6-year-old son during carjacking
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Three teenagers suspected in a carjacking that led to the death of a mother in Ohio have been taken into custody.
Gerald Dowling, 19, and two 16-year-olds have been charged with murder in connection with the death of 29-year-old Alexa Stakely, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The newspaper did not name the two 16-year-olds because they have not been charged as adults.
Who is Alexa Stakely?
Stakely was killed last month while trying to stop her car from being stolen with her 6-year-old son inside outside an apartment complex in Columbus.
The Columbus Dispatch previously reported that Stakely took her sleeping child to her Honda CRV after picking him up from the babysitter and went back inside to grab some of the boy's belongings while the vehicle was running. When she came back outside, she saw someone behind the wheel of her vehicle backing out onto the road.
Stakely, according to the newspaper, got onto the hood of the vehicle but was later struck by the driver and fell to the ground. The boy was found unharmed in the then-abandoned vehicle near where his mother was hit.
Stakely worked at Winchester Trail Elementary School in Winchester. She was a speech-language pathologist.
Teens charged with murder
One of the 16-year-old boys reportedly told police that he was behind the wheel of the Honda CRV, the Columbus Dispatch reported. He reportedly said he and the two others were looking for a vehicle to steal when they saw Stakely's car.
The teen surrendered to police on Wednesday. The other 16-year-old was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, and Dowling turned himself in on Wednesday evening.
CBS affiliate WBNS-TV reported that prosecutors want the two 16-year-olds tried as adults.