COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 19-year-old man charged in the death of 29-year-old Alexa Stakely was given a $10 million bond by a Franklin County judge Thursday morning.
Gerald Dowling was scheduled to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court but waived his appearance. This comes hours after admitting to police his involvement in an incident that led to Stakely’s death. He and two 16-year-old boys were charged with murder.
Stakely was killed trying to stop her vehicle from being stolen as her 6-year-old son was asleep in the backseat. The incident happened on July 11 at an apartment complex on the southeast side of Columbus.
Stakely arrived at the complex around 1:30 a.m. that morning to pick up her son from her babysitter's apartment. Police said she initially brought the boy to her Honda CRV, which she had left running, then returned to the babysitter's unit to get the child's belongings.
As she returned to her vehicle, Stakely saw someone starting to back it out onto the roadway and she ran toward the SUV, screaming for her son and telling the driver to stop.
Stakely was struck by the vehicle and knocked to the pavement, suffering a head injury. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The suspects abandoned the car a short distance away from where Stakely was struck, police said.
Surveillance video released by Columbus police shows two of the three suspects running behind Stakely's SUV just after it was stolen. Police say those two suspects met up with the driver once the car was abandoned and all three continued northbound.
On Wednesday afternoon, police said one of the 16-year-olds was accompanied by his parents at Columbus Police Headquarters where he admitted to stealing the vehicle and striking Stakely with it, causing her death.
The teen said that he and two others were looking for a vehicle to steal when they saw Stakely's Honda, police said. As the two friends watched, the teen said he got into Stakely's SUV and was about to drive off when she appeared in front of the vehicle.
The 16-year-old said he panicked and began driving off, hitting Stakely. He then abandoned the SUV and rejoined the other two on foot.
Later Wednesday evening, police identified and interviewed a second 16-year-old who they said admitted to being present during the incident.
Less than two hours later, Columbus Police Sgt. Joseph Albert confirmed that the third suspect, identified as Dowling, came to Columbus Police Headquarters and admitted his involvement in the incident.
The teens are expected to appear in Franklin County Juvenile Court on Thursday afternoon.