Three teenagers were arrested Wednesday in the murder of the Ohio single mom who was struck by her own SUV when she tried to stop a carjacking as her young son sat in the backseat, cops said.
One of the suspects taken into custody by police was 16-year-old Ray-Yon Hawkins, who allegedly admitted to striking Alexa Stakely with the Honda in a panic after he tried to steal her ride with a couple of buddies earlier this month, authorities said.
Stakely, 29, smashed her head on the pavement after she was hit as the group of friends ditched the car a short distance away and fled on foot, Columbus police said.
Hawkins, accompanied by his parents, turned himself in at police headquarters Wednesday. He was charged with murder, cops said.
The teen described the deadly confrontation that happened on July 11 around 1:30 a.m. outside the home of Stakely’s babysitter.
“Hawkins stated that he and two acquaintances were looking for a vehicle to steal when they saw Stakely’s Honda,” the police said Wednesday.
“As his two friends watched, Hawkins got into Stakely’s vehicle and was about to drive off when Stakely appeared in front of the Honda. Hawkins stated he panicked and began to drive off, striking Stakely with her own vehicle.”
Two other teenage boys, ages 17 and 19, were also arrested and charged with murder, according to police and a report in The Columbus Dispatch.
The 17-year-old boy’s name has not been released, but cops said he admitted to being present during the attempted theft of Stakely’s SUV, police said.
The 19-year-old suspect, identified as Gerald Dowling, surrendered to cops on Wednesday night, the Dispatch reported.
Leading up to Wednesday’s arrests, authorities released images of the suspects they were seeking.
Authorities previously said Stakely placed her sleeping 6-year-old in the car, but quickly ran back into the babysitter’s home because she forgot an item. As the working mom returned to the car, she saw the SUV back out into the road and heard her child screaming.
After she was hit by the car, she was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later died. Her young child was unharmed.
Stakely, who graduated from Ohio State University, worked as a speech and language pathologist at a local school district and had a second job as a waitress to support her small child.
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