Former Boxer Arrested in Manager’s 1987 Cold Case Murder NR13437cj

Los Angeles: Detectives from the Cold Case Homicide Unit of Robbery-Homicide Division have announced the arrest of a former professional boxer for the 1987 murder of his manager.

On September 25, 2013, around 10:45 a.m., members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Los Angeles Police Department Fugitive Task Force took 50-year-old Exum Speight into custody in the City of San Fernando.  Speight was charged in a warrant issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, with one count of murder for the killing of Douglas Stumler.  The murder occurred on March 29, 1987, in Stumler’s apartment in the 1200 block of South La Cienega Boulevard in the West Los Angeles Area.  Stumler was discovered by a friend who went to check on his welfare after he had failed to report to work at the Los Angeles County Housing Authority.  Stumler had been sidelining as a boxing manager, with Speight being one of his boxers.  The original investigation was handled by the West Los Angeles Area Homicide Unit.

The break on this investigation came after LAPD Cold Case detectives reviewed the case and screened the evidence for potential forensic leads under a grant the Unit received from the National Institute of Justice’s “Solving Cold Cases with DNA” program.  DNA evidence did play a key factor in this case getting solved.
 

Douglas Stumler was a native of New Albany, Indiana, who moved to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Indiana approximately six years before his death.  He had been managing Exum Speight for approximately two years.  In 1996, nine years after Stumler’s murder, Exum Speight fought Wladimir Klitschko, the current heavyweight champion of the world.  Mr. Speight is expected to appear for arraignment in the Airport Superior Court on Thursday, September 26, 2013.

Anyone with information concerning this crime is asked to contact LAPD Robbery-Homicide Cold Case Detective Jackson at 213-486-6825.  During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "web tips" and follow the prompts.