Columbus police are searching for two male suspects in connection with the death of a mother who tried to prevent her from stealing her car with her 6-year-old son inside at a Southeast Side apartment complex.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Alexa Stakely, 29, died Thursday morning at Mount Carmel East Hospital.
Columbus police said Stakely went to the 6300 block of Blue Knoll Drive near the White Oak Park Condominiums around 1:30 a.m. Thursday to pick up her son from a babysitter. She walked the sleeping boy to her Honda CRV, which she had left running, while she met the babysitter in the doorway to get the boy’s belongings, police said.
As Stakely walked back to her vehicle, she saw someone inside backing out onto the road. Stakely ran to the Honda and was heard screaming for her child and telling the driver to stop.
At some point, police said, the Honda struck Stakely, knocking her to the sidewalk, causing a “fatal wound” to her head. The child was unharmed.
The vehicle was abandoned a short distance away. Witnesses saw two men run north past where Stakely lay on the ground, jump a fence and escape into a nearby apartment complex, police said.
More: More than a quarter of murders in 2024 occurred in apartment complexes.
Earlier that same morning, police said surveillance video captured a group of men checking out apartments in the Castenea Way neighborhood, a block from Blue Knoll, where the incident involving Stakely occurred. Two of the men in the group matched the descriptions of those witnesses saw running past Stakely after she was struck, police said.
Medics took Stakely to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition, where she died of her injuries at 8:43 a.m.
Winchester Trails Elementary School Mourns Death of ‘Ms. Alexa’
Stakely was a speech therapist at Winchester Trail Elementary School in Canal Winchester Local Schools, the school district confirmed Thursday.
“Ms. Alexa,” as she was called by students, had been with the district for five years, according to a news release. Stakely, a single mother, also worked a second job as a waitress to support her 6-year-old son. She had just finished her shift and was picking up her son from the babysitter.
“Alexa was passionate about children and speech therapy. She was smart and compassionate, and she cared deeply about helping children develop their communication skills,” the district said.
“She was a wonderful mother who was incredibly devoted to her son. Ms. Stakely made a difference in the lives of the students and families she worked with and she will be missed by so many in our community and beyond.”
Stakely, who lives in Pickerington, graduated from Ohio State University with a master’s degree in speech-language pathology, according to her LinkedIn page.
Authorities are asking anyone with information — including doorbell camera footage that may have captured what happened — to call Columbus Police Murder Detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.