Letecia Stauch Trial: Accused of Murdering Stepson Gannon Stauch
The trial of Letecia Stauch, accused of murdering her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, began on April 3, 2023, at the El Paso County Courthouse in Colorado.[0] Gannon was reported missing from his Lorson Ranch neighborhood on January 27, 2020, leading to a statewide search for the boy.[1] In March 2020, the discovery of his body inside a suitcase under a bridge in northwestern Florida was made, which occurred approximately six weeks after Letecia Stauch's visit to the area.[1] The autopsy revealed that Gannon had been shot, stabbed, and had a skull fracture.[2] Letecia Stauch was arrested in early March 2020 for his death and faces a total of 13 charges, including first-degree murder, child abuse causing death, and tampering with evidence.[3]
The trial is expected to last at least six weeks, and the witnesses were set to start taking the stand on April 5, 2023.[1] During the opening statements, the prosecution alleged that Letecia Stauch had stabbed Gannon 18 times in his bedroom while his father was out of town for National Guard work on Jan. 27, 2020. She had fired three rounds at him, missing twice but striking him once in the head, according to authorities.[4] Prosecutors claimed that Letecia then drove from Colorado to Florida with Gannon's body in a suitcase and tossed it over a bridge, where a bridge worker found it about six weeks later.
Letecia Stauch has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming that she suffered a “major psychotic crack” as a result of childhood trauma when she killed the little boy.[5] Her legal team pointed to a traumatic childhood with years of sexual and mental abuse.[6] Her defense attorney, Will Cook, detailed the traumas and abuse Stauch suffered during her childhood.[7] However, prosecutors challenged her insanity claim during the opening statements.[8] They alleged that Letecia lied to investigators on multiple occasions and likely used her husband's car to dump Gannon's body off Highway 105/S Perry Park Road in Douglas County on the evening of Jan. 28.[6]
The trial stopped on Thursday and resumed on Friday, and witnesses continued to take the stand. Gannon's father, Al Stauch, testified for the second time on the third day of the trial.
0. “18-person jury hears opening statements in Stauch trial” FOX21News.com, 3 Apr. 2023, https://www.fox21news.com/top-stories/letecia-stauch-trial-opening-statements-begin-monday
1. “Letecia Stauch trial: Opening statements for woman accused of killing her stepson Gannon” 9News.com KUSA, 3 Apr. 2023, https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/gannon-stauch/gannon-stauch-letecia-stauch-trial-start-opening-statements/73-2b9993fe-5274-4c9f-aeef-2a4a25458d50
2. “CO v. Letecia Stauch: Daily Trial Updates” Court TV, 29 Mar. 2023, https://www.courttv.com/news/co-v-letecia-staunch-stepmother-charged-with-murder/
3. “Defense admits Letecia Stauch killed her stepson, but had ‘no idea' what she was doing” KRDO, 3 Apr. 2023, https://krdo.com/top-stories/2023/04/03/defense-says-accused-child-killer-letecia-stauch-committed-the-crime-but-had-no-idea-what-she-was-doing
4. “Murderous stepmom made baseless claim 11-year-old victim had it out for her: Boy’s father” Law & Crime, 4 Apr. 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/letecia-stauch/murderous-stepmom-made-baseless-claim-11-year-old-victim-had-it-out-for-her-boys-father
5. “Testimony continues for Gannon's father in third day of Letecia Stauch murder trial” CBS Colardo, 5 Apr. 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/testimony-continues-gannons-father-third-day-letecia-stauch-murder-trial/
6. “Stepmother of murdered Gannon Staunch suffered ‘psychotic crack'” Daily Mail, 4 Apr. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11939219/Stepmother-murdered-Gannon-Staunch-suffered-psychotic-crack.html
7. “Letecia Stauch trial: 18-person jury selected, opening statements set to begin” Colorado Springs Gazette, 3 Apr. 2023, https://gazette.com/news/letecia-gannon-stauch-trial-begin/article_96b453b4-d236-11ed-9398-13e0047fee18.html
8. “Gannon's father resumed testimony in the murder trial of his ex-wife, saying she was 100% sane” KOAA News 5, 6 Apr. 2023, https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/gannons-father-resumes-testimony-in-the-murder-trial-of-his-ex-wife
