Background: News footage of the scene where Alexa Stakely was killed on July 11, 2024 (WBNS). Inset: Alexa Stakely and her son (GoFundMe).
An Ohio teenager accused of being behind the wheel of a stolen SUV that fatally struck its owner as her 6-year-old son was in the back of the car will be tried as an adult.
On the night of July 11, 2024, 29-year-old Alexa Stakely was picking up her 6-year-old son from a babysitter”s apartment after her work shift ended. She forgot one of her son’s belongings and, with the vehicle still running, she rushed back to the apartment. In the 45 seconds she was gone, three teenagers allegedly attempted to steal her SUV with the little boy sleeping inside of it.
Stakely chased the vehicle through the parking lot before she was struck by it, hitting the pavement with traumatic injuries that would ultimately end her life. The suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene.
Now the teenager who was allegedly behind the wheel, 17-year-old Rayvon Hawkins, will be charged as an adult for murder.
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According to court records, a judge ruled on Sept. 3 that Hawkins, who was 16 years old at the time of the alleged crime, would have his case transferred from juvenile court to Franklin County’s Court of Common Pleas. Hawkins, who remains in custody at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center on $550,000 bond, was subsequently indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, robbery, involuntary manslaughter, and failing to stop after an accident on a public roadway.
According to an incident report shared by the Columbus Division of Police, Hawkins turned himself in to police on July 24, 2024. While accompanied by his parents, Hawkins allegedly told police that he and his teenage cohorts “were looking for a vehicle to steal” when they saw Stakely’s Honda CR-V. Hawkins allegedly admitted to police that he took the wheel of the SUV without knowing the little boy was inside and drove off.
Hawkins told police that Stakely “appeared in front of the Honda,” at which point he “panicked and began to drive off.” He then allegedly drove into Stakely, fatally hitting her and sending her into the pavement. Hawkins then said that he left the vehicle and joined his friends as they all ran from the scene. The boy was later found unharmed. Stakely died at the hospital hours later.
Also charged in connection to Stakely’s death was 20-year-old Gerald Dowling. Dowling, who was 19 years old at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty in July to involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced in August to seven to 10 1/2 years in prison. The third teenager, also 16 years old at the time, was found delinquent of charges in Franklin Juvenile Court. According to the Columbus Dispatch, he was sentenced to a minimum of one year at the Ohio Department of Youth Services and could remain there until he turns 21.
Hawkins is scheduled to appear in court for the first time since being charged as an adult on Sept. 26.
