Stauch

January 25 - 31, 2020

Colorado's 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office presented a theory that Letecia Stauch murdered Gannon Stauch in his bedroom, which was located in the basement of the family's El Paso County home at 6627 Mandan Drive. They believe that he was killed between the hours of 2:30 and 3:15 on the afternoon of Monday, January 27, 2020. He was shot, stabbed, beaten, and burned.

To be clear, Letecia Stauch is the defendant. Albert Stauch was her husband (they're now divorced). Harley Hunt was the defendant’s 17-year old biological daughter. Gannon Stauch (homicide victim) was Albert’s 11-year old son and Laina Stauch was Albert's 8-year old daughter. Landen Bullard is Gannon and Laina Stauch's biological mother, and she is Albert Stauch's first ex wife.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020

Albert works during the day.
Albert, Letecia, Albert's mom, Harley, Gannon, and Laina have dinner together at the home. Albert's mother was in town to help celebrate Laina's birthday (January 22).
Albert leaves with his mother and goes to Denver International Airport. Her flight departs. He spends the night inside the airport, sleeping on the ground near an American Airlines gate.
Letecia and Albert exchange emails discussing the state of their marriage. Letecia was upset that Albert left a day early. She expresses to him that she feels underappreciated and used by him and his ex. He says she's overreacting and he hopes they can resolve their differences and move forward. She responds by doubling down on the complaints.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2020

6:55am - Albert flies commercially from Colorado to Oklahoma with a layover in Texas.
2:00pm - Letecia, Laina, and Gannon go on a hike at Garden of the Gods.
3:15pm - Harley Hunt clocks in at Massage Envy.
3:36pm - Albert sends Gannon a text message that reads "Hey Buddy."
3:41pm - Letecia takes a selfie with Gannon and Laina.
3:53pm-4:11pm - Letecia and Albert have a conversation about how Letecia and the kids had to leave the hike because Gannon had an accident in his pants.
4:46pm - Letecia, Gannon, and Laina return to 6627 Mandan Drive (home).
5:11pm-5:12pm - Harley asks Letecia if she would bring food to Massage Envy for Harley.
Gannon allegedly sets a carpet on fire with a candle.
9:46pm - Letecia makes an “accidental” video while berating her stepson, making him pinky promise' that he had not done it on purpose.
9:54pm - Text messages begin between Letecia and Harley about the fire.
9:56pm - Letecia takes photo of candle and carpet and blue blanket.
9:57pm - Letecia sends the photo to Harley, further explaining her version of what happened. Harley seems confused.
10:18pm - Harley Hunt clocks out at Massage Envy.
10:24pm - More text messages between Letecia and Harley, to include a photo of the couch with wax spilled on it.
11:30pm - Letecia sends a message to Albert after Harley arrives home that reads, "Gannon was on the toilet most of the night upstairs and downstairs. He had a candle on earlier tonight because he said he kept smelling poop from his accidents in his pants. That's what he told us afterwards. And he went for his headphones and dropped it, catching the covers and couch (small spot) on fire. I got Laina and dogs outside when we heard fire alarm, but once I got down there to get him I had to throw another cover on it. It was minimal. No need to call for help or anything because nothing too bad. He is upset and wrote on the notebook he is sorry. He didn't want me to tell you because he was scared and freaking out about getting in trouble and being grounded. It's stuff we can fix and everyone is okay. I burnt my arm a little but it's all good. He was more scared and embarrassed."

MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020

2:48am - Letecia sends Albert a text message that reads, "He is in the bathroom again and blood coming out butthole and he is crying about going to school tomorrow like this and he is still upset about the candle accident I told him it's fine and that as long as he was okay not to worry about something minor we can fix and to let's worry about his stomach hurting."
3:00am - Letecia texts her employer falsely stating that her stepfather died tragically over the weekend, having been hit by a car while walking (she's recounting an incident that happened on 09/21/2006 and pretending that it happened over the weekend).
4:36am - Letecia re-texts her employer with the same false statement, verbatim.
4:36am, 5:03am-5:04am - Letecia sends messages to Albert, saying that she is going to give her employer an excuse and stay home with Gannon. She also mentions that she hasn't had a phone call with Albert since he left town on Saturday night. He acknowledges her, barely. She says that she can't sleep because she's been coughing from the smoke and attaches the same candle photo that she sent to Harley on 01/26/2020. Albert does not respond.
5:49am - Letecia receives a text message from her employer with condolences. Her employer attempts to get clarification about the situation and if they need a substitute to take Letecia's place in the classroom (Letecia had just been hired as a special needs teacher at Mountain Ridge Middle School in District 20).
7:21am - Letecia responds to her employer with what seems like outrage for being questioned about her missing work when all her employer needed was clarification.
Laina leaves for school and Harley leaves for work.
8:09-8:10am - Letecia and Albert text back and forth. Letecia says, "I keep calling you back." Albert says, "In class now. I'll call on break." Letecia says, "Okay it's where he burnt the floor." Albert says, "Burnt?" Letecia says, "He said he was playing games and wasn't supposed to and thought someone was coming." Albert says, "What?" Letecia says, "Yes and I sent it to you last night and you said OMG. I explained everything." Albert says, "I was so out of it from not sleeping."
8:10am-8:16am - Letecia sends the messages from 11:30pm the previous night to Albert again, and he responds with, "Okay." Letecia says, "He told me this morning he was playing his game and didn't want to get caught. I had to fix the carpet. He said he accidentally knocked it over and couldn't put it out. When I got there I threw the covers on it and jumped on it." Albert says, "OMG." Letecia says, "That's the sofa. Carpet I had to cut an add a piece. He was freaking out and crying and saying he was going to be grounded for a year. Cut off some with scissors too and you can't tell." She then sends the sofa picture that she had originally sent to Harley. Albert does not respond.
8:14am - Letecia snaps a photo of Gannon in his bed.
8:18am - Letecia snaps and sends a second (from a different angle and more zoomed-in) photo of Gannon in his bed to Albert. He does not respond.
8:30am - Harley Hunt clocks in at Massage Envy.
Letecia begins to introduce the story about an unknown friend with an older brother that can drive to Albert via text message. She says Gannon is asking about bath salts, because he says that he can play with the new friend if he brings bath salts.
9:21am-9:24am - Letecia is texting Albert about how Gannon was acting out of character and watching Tik Tok videos that concerned her, and explains why she disconnected the Nintendo Switch and Alexa devices from the Wifi and took him hiking without technology.
9:27am - Letecia is screenshotting the conversations with Albert about bath salts and sending them to her daughter while she is at work saying, "OMG something's not right."
9:54am-9:59am - Letecia lets Albert know that they are leaving but that she left her phone at home. "Call G's on my watch. It may stay connected and we will monitor it."
9:56am - Letecia's phone is locked, but not turned off.
10:12am - Letecia and Gannon leave the home in Albert's red Nissan Frontier truck.
10:37am - A text message is sent from Gannon's phone to Harley's phone that reads, "Tecia left phone at home if you need her text me".
11:22am - Letecia is seen making a purchase at a Petco on the north end of Colorado Springs. Gannon is not visible on camera. She leaves Gannon's phone inside the Petco.
12:06pm - Albert sends a text message to Gannon's phone that reads, "Hey buddy".
1:21pm - A text message is sent from Gannon's phone to Albert's phone that reads, "Can I play Zelda at least". Albert responds, "Not today".
1:22pm - Letecia is once again seen making a purchase at the same Petco location. Gannon is not visible on the footage.
1:43pm - A search on Gannon's phone reads, "Can my parent find my cell phone.if its off".
2:20pm - Letecia and Gannon arrive home. Truck is backed into the driveway.
Letecia moves the truck and backs the Tiguan into the garage.
2:26pm - Albert texts Letecia, "You there?"
2:29pm - Letecia walks to the front of the open garage and looks around outside.
2:45pm - Letecia's phone is unlocked. She replies to Albert, "OK."
3:10pm - Albert texts Letecia, "Were you sleeping?" Letecia does not respond.
3:11pm - Laina returns home from school and is sent outside.
3:31pm - Albert texts Letecia saying, "Hey I've called a few times."
3:32pm - Letecia calls Albert and the call lasts just over 3 minutes.
3:35pm - A text message is sent from Albert to Gannon's phone that reads, "Hey buddy." This message is not opened until 7:40pm. No reply.
3:41pm-4:11pm - Several text messages transpire between Albert and Letecia about Albert wanting to purchase new headphones.
4:15pm - Harley clocks out at Massage Envy.
4:19pm - Harley texts Letecia about getting off work.
4:37pm - Harley arrives at the residence, changes her clothes, and takes Laina away.
4:50pm - Letecia tries to facetime Harley but it doesn't work.
4:52pm - Letecia sends Harley a text message requesting carpet powder, trash bags, and baking soda.
5:07pm - Harley tries to facetime Letecia but it doesn't work.
5:08pm - 10 second facetime between Letecia and Harley.
5:14pm - Harley purchases these and other seemingly unrelated items at a local store. Harley also purchases vinegar.
5:19pm - Harley tries to facetime Letecia but it doesn't work.
5:20pm - 10 second facetime between Letecia and Harley.
5:33pm - Harley and Laina return home.
5:34pm - Albert texts Letecia asking her to have the kids facetime him. No response until about an hour later.
6:27pm-6:37pm - Letecia begins to explain to Albert via text that something's gone wrong with Gannon. Says Gannon went to play with friends and didn't come home.
6:40pm-6:49pm - Letecia explains that she is out in the neighborhood looking for Gannon with Laina and Harley.
6:53pm - Albert sends Gannon's phone a message that reads, "Where are you?" This message, like the one he sent at 3:35pm, was not read until 7:40pm.
6:55pm - Letecia dials 9-1-1 and reports Gannon as a potential runaway, saying he was expected home by 6pm. He left at 3:15pm and did not come home. Stauch was then referred to the El Paso County non-emergency number, which she calls at 6:58pm.
Letecia is texting and calling back and forth with Albert, seeming concerned about Gannon's disappearance. Harley is searching the neighborhood until 7:24pm.
7:32pm - Gannon is entered into state and national databases as a runaway.
7:43pm - Albert sends Letecia a text message that reads, "Anything? They found some kind of cigarettes in his backpack? Letecia responds with, "Yes, Harley found them."
7:44pm-7:45pm - Albert and Harley facetime briefly.
7:45pm-7:47pm - Letecia texts Albert asking why he hung up on Harley. Albert responds, "Because I'm freaking out." Letecia responds, "We are too. Harley is crying. Laina is crying. I hope he isn't putting the salts in here or using the straws. I'm crying."
7:50pm-7:53pm - Harley goes around the block in her white Volkswagen Jetta looking for Gannon while texting back and forth with Letecia.
Letecia wants to know who Albert's talked to. More specifically, if he's talked to Gannon's mother and grandmother, and if he's in his hotel room.
8:05pm - Albert calls EPSO and reports back to Letecia. She reminds him that Gannon wrote the 'I'm sorry' message in his notebook.
Albert and Letecia text back and forth with Albert directing Letecia to find all the guns in the house. She eventually says they are all accounted for.
Letecia continues to text back and forth with Harley while Harley is out searching.
Letecia and Albert continue texting and calling each other.
9:45pm - Albert calls EPSO again.
9:57pm - Albert calls Letecia
10:03pm - Gannon's phone calls Landen.
10:08pm - Letecia texts Albert about her call with Landen, saying "She didn't yell, she just cried" and let him know the police had arrived and that she had to tell Landen "the whole deal" because police were there.
10:09pm - Officers respond to 6627 Mandan Drive in order to investigate and perform a limited search with Letecia's permission.
10:44pm - Letecia calls Albert
10:46pm - Gannon's phone calls Landen.
10:53pm - Gannon's phone takes a picture of the cigar that Harley found in Gannon's backpack when Letecia asked her to search it, before police arrived.
Letecia and Albert continue to communicate via text and call. She is complaining about how she feels and how she is being treated.
11:39pm - Deputies leave the house, and Gannon is entered as "missing" at 11:49pm.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020

12:09am - Letecia calls Albert, but it goes to voicemail.
12:40am - Letecia calls Albert and they talk for almost 9 minutes.
Letecia and Albert text back and forth. Letecia appears desperate for Albert's attention and is talking about herself and how she's feeling and the facebook information that she's reviewing. This goes on for a couple of hours. She complains about chest pains and the idea that she has nobody to talk to. Albert is not thrilled with her complaints and wants the focus to be kept on Gannon.
3:05am-4:42am - Letecia texts a series of messages to Albert, "Babe please what do you mean long gone? Now I'm freaking out. I want to talk to you. I need to be there for you. I'm glad you have lots of people there for you, but we need each other. I need to be there for you most. Are you awake? What time do you leave? I feel so sick. I'm going to help the search people. Babe you said your plane was early. I can't sleep. Babe are you okay? You are supposed to be on the plane and you have said nothing in hours. Babe you have to be up if your flight is as 6. Where are you?" Albert does not respond.
4:56am-4:59am - Letecia is texting back and forth with a South Carolina number and says the last time Gannon was seen, he was getting food although there was no indication that this was true.
4:59am - Letecia sends a text message to Albert that reads, "I'm sorry that you feel the need to ignore me checking in. Especially my husband getting on a flight with the tragedies that happened with the helicopter this week. I know you are worried, but it doesn't mean to ignore me and not be kind."
5:15am - Letecia texts a local number that Gannon wasn't in school because he needed to go to the doctor for his stomach although there was no indication that this was true.
5:27am - Letecia texts an unknown person, "Albert is hurting and taking it out on me."
5:41am-5:47am - Gannon's phone is texting Landen with photos of his room.
6:18am - Letecia responds to a text message from a local number explaining why there was no Amber Alert issued, "You can't do an Amber Alert unless you know that someone took them and have to have that person name and tags."
6:19am - Letecia starts the truck and moves it a couple of feet on the curb.
6:20am - Letecia pulls the Tiguan out of the garage.
Letecia tells Harley via text message that she is not allowed to answer the door for anyone, and says that she's going to go search for Gannon.
6:22am-6:32am - Letecia drives her Tiguan to Bradley Road and back.
6:34am - Albert send Letecia a text saying that he just landed in Denver.
6:35am - Letecia sends a text using Gannon's phone to Landen saying that she is heading out to search for Gannon with neighbors. Landen responds, "Find my baby please." There was no indication that Letecia went anywhere to search for Gannon.
6:37am - Letecia backs the Tiguan into the garage and closes the garage door and the Tiguan stays in the garage until she leaves the house to pick Albert up from the airport.
6:38am-6:55am - Letecia and Albert text back and forth. Letecia gives Albert a guilt trip for not adequately responding to her phone calls and messages.
Letecia tells Albert via text message that she is probably going to stay somewhere else while Landen is in town. Albert responds, "Then do that." Letecia responds, "Okay I don't want anyone here cursing and flipping out." She tells Albert that somebody saw Gannon, and then baited Albert into calling her by saying that Albert was "too busy talking to someone else instead" before there were three short phone calls between them.
7:02am - Gannon's phone calls Landen.
7:17am - Letecia uses her phone to search for "cheap car rentals."
7:25am - Harley forwards a message from KKTV to Letecia regarding a media request and Letecia reaches out to KKTV. She then tells Albert about how she contacted the media.
8:13am - Letecia leaves the residence in her Tiguan.
8:23am - Landen texts Gannon's phone asking Letecia for photographs of potential sightings. No response.
8:26am - Letecia googles "employee parking at COS"
8:30am - Letecia rents a Kia Rio at the Colorado Springs airport. She leaves the black Volkswagen Tiguan in the short term parking lot at the airport.
Harley attempts to facetime Letecia several times.
8:44am-8:48am - Harley and Letecia exchange text and picture messages. Letecia asks about the shoes at the front door. Harley sends a photo. Letecia tells Harley to pull her car into the garage.
8:50am - Albert's plane arrives and Letecia picks him up from the Colorado Springs Airport in the rental car. She does not disclose the exact location of the Tiguan, telling him instead that it was parked near a local school.
9:15am - Letecia and Albert arrive at their home address in the rented Kia Rio.
11:00am - EPSO makes a social media release with a "missing" bulletin.
Albert is away from home, chasing down leads and possible sightings of Gannon.
11:43am - Letecia sends a text message to Harley that reads, "Albert said to tell Laina to work on her clothes/room before everyone gets there."
12:30pm - EPSO performs their second neighborhood canvass.
12:57pm - Letecia googles "Can Nintendo find my switch."
1:03pm - Letecia facetimes Harley.
1:28pm - Letecia and Albert meet Detectives Bethel and Riley at Starbucks for a field interview to talk about Gannon's disappearance, continuing with the "runaway" narrative.
1:40pm - Letecia's mother sends a message from email to text asking if Letecia thinks that Gannon ran away. Letecia responds, "no."
2:16pm - Letecia forwards a picture she received from a neighbor of a young male that might be Gannon to a detective. Another false lead.
Gannon's biological mother, Landen, arrives in town to help search for Gannon.
4:04pm - Authorities ask for Gannon's toothbrush in order to get a sample of his DNA.
4:19pm - Letecia uses her phone to search the internet, "they are asking for our sons toothbrush but said nothing is wrong".
4:31pm - Letecia has a text conversation with Harley. She thinks detectives are "hiding something" because they asked for Gannon's toothbrush. She reminds Harley to not open the door for anyone.
4:40pm - Albert goes to EPSO with Gannon's toothbrush and comb for an interview.
4:41pm - Albert tries to call Letecia but her phone is not on the network.
4:41pm - Letecia drives through the airport parking lot, not stopping.
4:42pm - Albert facetimes Harley.
4:42pm - Harley is texting Letecia telling her that Albert wants Letecia to go to EPSO.
5:04pm - Harley has a facetime call with Letecia.
Letecia returns to 6627 Mandan Drive.
Letecia exchanges text messages with Albert, seemingly upset that he's done the interview without her, tells him to ask for an attorney, says they are treating "them" badly.
Pizza delivery. Letecia allows Harley to answer the door.
6:12pm - Letecia texts Harley wondering what is going on at the house. Harley explains that Albert came home, left, and returned.
6:15pm-6:22pm - Letecia and Albert text back and forth. Letecia is trying to gather information about what was discussed at EPSO.
Albert is home talking to the news.
Letecia is pressing Harley for information about what's going on at home. She tries to make her believe that she is speaking with detectives.
Letecia is pressing Albert about his location, but hasn't given hers. She tries to make him believe that law enforcement is asking "bad stuff" about him.
7:02pm - She retrieves the Tiguan from the airport and leaves the Kia Rio in the short term parking lot, but does not return it to the rental company. She is also texting Albert, trying to track him down.
7:21pm-7:23pm - Harley messages Letecia telling her that detectives are at the home and Letecia tells her not to open the door for them. Detectives call Harley and leave a voicemail. Letecia asks Harley, "Why are they bombarding you?" Harley says, "idk."
Albert goes for another interview at EPSO.
8:08pm - The Tiguan sits idle at in a parking lot off Woodmen Road for about ten minutes.
8:24pm-8:29pm - Albert and Harley are texting. Albert says, "I've been calling." Harley says, "people are here." Albert says, "Who??? Answer me please. Who is there?" He tries to call. Harley doesn't answer. Harley says, "detectives." Albert says, "Where is Laina? Is Landen there?" Harley says "No." Albert says, "Okay."
9:15pm - Letecia arrives at Hwy 105/S. Perry Park Road in Palmer Lake. Her iPhone was disconnected from the cellular network. She spent about fifteen minutes in the area.
9:22pm - Albert text Harley "Harley?" but Harley does not answer.
Detectives perform a more thorough search of the Stauch residence after Albert relays some concerns about Letecia's behavior to detectives. He knows she lied about the location of her vehicle. Things aren't adding up.
10:03pm-10:12pm - Harley and Letecia are texting about how the detectives ambushed her when she tried to leave. Letecia is sweating Harley for information about detectives and saying that she was set up and that she needs an attorney. She wants to know if police are looking for her and says that Albert is trying to get back together with Landen. Letecia is at the Shops at Briargate, using the Starbucks wifi, because she's still disconnected from the wireless network.
Laina is taken by detectives to do a forensic interview with Albert's permission.
10:16pm - Letecia texts Albert, "Why? Tell them one of their own met me and told me what was going on and how you turned on me. I can't believe you. I'm not stupid. They said for you to say that. It will come out. I'm being set up. I knew you were lying the whole time this afternoon. It has already been leaked to me. Makes me thankful there are crooked people in the blues who is working just as hard pushing back secretively." Albert does not respond.
10:17pm-10:20pm - Letecia is texting Harley about how she doesn't want her there with detectives, but those messages go unread until the next day.
10:23pm - 16 minute 23 second facetime between Harley and Letecia.
10:26pm - Harley leaves the Stauch residence and uses her Volkswagen Jetta to meet Letecia in the area of Powers and Carefree (parking lot of Harley's work). Detectives are still searching the home.
10:45pm - Letecia makes a statement to detective Bethel via text message that reads, "What do you want from me? Because I have nothing. One of your very own leaked to me what you guys were doing. I did nothing and/or am being set up. I'm not really even sure other that being told that by another blue with El Paso. I was told I couldn't go home to sleep and on top of that men were sent to a home with a minor female and she was forced to stay there not even to leave for food. Every conversation that is said even at this moment I can hear inside. What do you want from me?" Detective Bethel responds with, "Come in to talk to me. I would just like information to find Gannon."
10:52pm, 11:02pm, 11:10,pm 11:24pm - Unanswered calls from Harley to Letecia.
11:26pm-11:31pm - Harley is trying to facetime Letecia, but they do not connect.
11:42pm-11:50pm - Letecia logs onto the Holliday Inn Wifi that shares a parking lot with Massage Envy and sends a text message to Detective Bethel, "My life has been ruined. Am I able to go to my home? I have nowhere to sleep. You said you'd asked me questions already. I tried to call."
Harley picks Letecia up in the white Volkwagen Jetta. The dogs are with her. Harley thinks they're staying at the hotel for the night. They leave the Tiguan in the Holiday Inn parking lot. The Kia Rio is still at the short term parking lot of the airport. Letecia and Harley both spend the night at the Stauch residence after a tense text string of messages between Letecia and Albert. She wants to come home. He wants the truth, and asks for it repeatedly.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

1:51pm - Harley texts Letecia to say that Letecia can bring Sadie and sleep downstairs with Harley if she wants to..Letecia refuses because she doesn't want to walk around with all the extra people in the house.
2:08am-2:54am - Letecia sends a series of messages to Detective Bethel saying that she appreciates the detective and wants to talk to her and give her information. She begins to tell the candle story. She says she needs to talk to the detective in secret about what happened on the day Gannon went missing, but explains that she is tired and wants to talk in the morning. Detective Bethel asks if Gannon is hurt. TRANSCRIBE MESSAGES
7:19am - Letecia texts Albert while he is on the couch in the next room. She asks him to come into the bedroom and talk to her. This is the first time she tells him that Gannon didn't run away. Instead, she claims that she was sexually assaulted and Gannon was kidnapped. Albert collects and secures the firearms in the house, tells everyone to stay out of Gannon's bedroom because it might be a crime scene, and then he and Landen go back into the master bedroom and ask Letecia to tell them both the story.
9:00am - Letecia returns the rental car to the airport and is picked up by her daughter in the white Volkswagen Jetta.
11:30am - Letecia stops on her way to the police station in order to wash the Tiguan. She was already running an hour and a half late for the appointment by this time.
12:00pm - Letecia arrives two hours late for a voluntary meeting with detectives and brings handwritten notes. She admits that Gannon did not run away. She then falsely claims to have been held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted by a dark stranger named "Eguardo" in the basement of the home. She says that he was a man that she had hired to fix the burnt carpet. Letecia tells investigators that she provided her attacker with a suitcase and a cardboard box before he kidnapped Gannon. Letecia admits to cleaning up the alleged crime scene. She refuses to participate in a SANE Exam. Authorities seize her cell phone and the Tiguan. They detain her while they apply for a warrant to obtain DNA and she begins stuffing used tissues in her pants and claims to be having a panic attack with chest pains and shortness of breath. Paramedics transport her to a local hospital. Letecia once again declines to participate in an evidence collection exam and signs herself out of the hospital’s care after making a “miraculous recovery”. She makes a phone call from the waiting room. Letecia is transported to a nearby Taco Bell by an unknown person and is reunited with her daughter and her daughter's friend.
Letecia and Harley spend the night at the Lorson Ranch residence of Janine Sanchez.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020

1:45pm - Letecia and Harley are detained at a Marshall's department store in order to search and/or seize Harley's white Volkswagen Jetta and cell phone. Letecia runs from detectives and throws the keys across the parking lot before being detained. She directs Harley to not answer any questions and ask for an attorney.
Letecia's mother, brother, and aunt arrive in town to support Harley and Letecia and to help search for Gannon. They pick her up at the Marshall's location after Harley's vehicle is seized by law enforcement.
Letecia's aunt Brenda secures a Nissan Altima by rental contract, and law enforcement applies for a warrant to track its location via external GPS device.
Gannon's case is upgraded from a runaway child to missing and endangered.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020

Letecia gives Spencer Wilson of KKTV an impromptu television interview outside the family's Lorson Ranch home; after loading a moving van full of items, and before the property was sealed off as a crime scene.
Letecia then utilizes the rented Altima in order to return to the Palmer Lake area one final time before skipping town.
Letecia, Harley, Brenda, Debra, Dakota, plus Sadie (french bulldog) and Chance (english bulldog) spent the night at the Extended Stay America hotel at 5855 Corporate Drive in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Friday, January 31, 2020

The Television Interview

Letecia Stauch seemed to feign both outrage and innocence while speaking about her stepson in the past tense. The tell was most likely unintentional.

1. Notice that Letecia gets Spencer Wilson of KKTV to move forward to his next question by claiming that she's not allowed to talk about the case WHEN WHAT SHE REALLY MEANS IS "I can't answer that question, about the last time Gannon was seen, because I already told detectives two days ago that he didn't actually run away... instead, I was sexually assaulted and he was kidnapped."

2. When she says, "I'm not missing" WHAT SHE REALLY MEANS IS "I just loaded up a moving van and I'm about to skip town, after I stop in Palmer Lake one more time."

3. And when she says, "I am being cooperative" WHAT SHE REALLY MEANS IS "I narrowly escaped a police interview by faking a panic attack and then fled from Memorial Hospital. I also ran from detectives outside a department store and threw my daughter's keys across the parking lot in an effort to escape the situation before they got us both in handcuffs and I directed my daughter to remain silent and ask for an attorney."

KKTV: You are?

LETECIA: I am Tecia Stauch, which is Gannon’s stepmother.

KKTV: You’ve been a part of the investigation since the very first time. You were the last person to see him. Is that right?

LETECIA: Correct.

KKTV: What did you see when you last saw him?

LETECIA: Well, I’m not allowed to talk about anything with the case. I would more so be willing to talk about how the community needs to have faith and continue to work together and not make these false accusations like the things that have been said that I’ve disappeared from the community, that I haven’t been there to help, but there’s lots of reasons behind that.

KKTV: Reasons like death threats, right?

LETECIA: Right. Death threats are one of them. My family’s getting lots of death threats. We’ve counted over twenty some death threats already. Two, my husband’s ex wife is living in our home. And of course I’m not coming home to do these things and to help with the family when I was kinda, like, told I couldn’t. And then many other things that happened with the El Paso County Police Department. You know, and in doing the investigation I was told that I wasn’t complying. Can I elaborate on that?

KKTV: Please do.

LETECIA: Yes, so, I asked for an attorney during the interview and I was denied that by them. I was held, because they were blocking the door, and I was told I couldn’t leave and that if I would have touched them they would have probably, you know, said I still wasn’t complying or said I was, you know, trying to run away or something. But during the interview, I asked several times, could I stop the interview, could I get an attorney. Could I stop the interview, could I get an attorney. I was denied. I was told I couldn’t get nothing to drink, I couldn’t go to the bathroom. I mean, it was continuously that my constitutional rights were violated.

KKTV: And that’s why you say that they said then, you weren’t cooperating with the investigation?

LETECIA: That’s why they said that I wasn’t cooperating at that time, correct.

KKTV: And why did you ask for an attorney at the time?

LETECIA: Well, I asked for an attorney at that time, because there was one individual… there was two really good detectives, and so I’m not, you know, gonna talk bad about detectives, but the tactics they started to get when I would answer questions. They try to… you know, they’re detectives, they’re supposed to twist, the one main goal is to find Gannon. But during that time, some of those things made me feel uncomfortable, the way they were saying things, so I immediately stopped and felt like an attorney would help me with some of the vocabulary and things like that, that I needed help with and understanding some of the things that they were asking.

KKTV: I’m gonna shift gears to what has become a huge online presence of people, obviously trying to do the right thing, help find Gannon, but at the same time, sometimes it just feels like rumor mongering. Have you seen any of those comments yourself?

LETECIA: We have, and see, that’s one of the main things we haven’t been around in the public eye, because I didn’t want to expose my family to it if all these things were going on. You know, there was comments about Gannon getting pushed off the hike, and there was comments about this, and that’s just not true. I took care of Gannon for the last two years in our home, because his mother didn’t wanna do it. And I would never, never ever hurt this child. And I know there’s some questions out there about ‘okay, so tell me what happened’. That’s up to the investigations when they end up letting you guys know, but I’ve cooperated with them. Even to the point that we were held with a gun. And my daughter, a 17-year old who serves our country in the United States Air Force, who has never committed a crime or done anything wrong in her life, was put in handcuffs over the keys that was in her purse so they could take her car.

KKTV: And they weren’t in there?

LETECIA: They weren’t even in her car, I mean her purse. They were in my pocket.

KKTV: And you originally didn’t even know it was law enforcement?

LETECIA: I didn’t know it was a law enforcement officer, because when he came out, I guess he was putting his jacket on and it wasn’t necessarily his fault, he was adjusting and happened to catch me. But I saw the gun and I panicked originally, and kinda thought ‘oh gosh, like, who is this guy?’ and then once I realized it was the sheriff’s office, I was totally okay, but they still had a gun and told me they were gonna shoot me. But I was really concerned about my daughter asking why she was being detained in handcuffs and things like that when that shouldn’t even happen for a child. That shouldn’t happen for someone who was standing inside of a store shopping because we couldn’t have any clothes because all of our clothes were here. If we came here and got clothes, you know, we would be harassed. So she went to purchase some underwear and things like that and was put in the handcuffs in the store, you know, and then brought out with men with guns and there was… that’s just not okay. You know, they could have approached me and said ‘Hi, I’m with El Paso County, can I please get this’ instead of the way that it happened.

At this point, the reporter pauses to check his equipment before asking Letecia about the way people are reacting online to rumors about her.

LETECIA: Oh, oh yes, wow. The rumors have gotten so bad. I pretty much have been told at least ten different ways that these people have these conspiracy theories. I guess they watch a lot of law shows and maybe they have all these theories on how Gannon is dead. And that’s what they’re saying. So I’m like ‘why are you saying that Gannon is dead?’ He is not dead. We are gonna find Gannon. And that’s the main goal that we all have, my family has, just because you haven’t seen us, we have that same goal. We have been out searching. My aunt has been out searching. My family has been out searching. We all have been doing that together so that we can protect each other.

KKTV: How does it feel when not only you have a lost child who you are in care of, but then people blaming you for that child not being here?

LETECIA: You know, I’m just ready for Gannon to come home. Most importantly for him to see his family, but second, I am going to be so ecstatic when I’m able to say to people that I hope they have a really sincere apology for all these theories that have came out online. For all the things they said that I have done or people have done. And I just want everyone to know that we’re gonna find Gannon, and I love him so much, I’ve helped taken care of him for so long.

KKTV: Can you talk to me a little bit about him? I don’t know him.

LETECIA: Gannon is so kind, and he loves to play video games. That’s one of his favorite things. He loves Sonic and Mario. And you know, he’s always helpful, he was always so helpful with the dogs, around the house, we have two cute little dogs, and he was always like a person I could say ‘Gannon can you go do this?’ and he would do it right away. You know, sometimes with kids we have to remind them and things like that, and that’s okay, but he was so sweet and able to help anyone, he could notice when you’re sick and say ‘are you okay?’ and such a kind heart.

KKTV: I know you just said that you can’t say anything about the investigation, so you can just say so again if you can’t answer this, but is there anything we can hear about the hike? Was there a hike? We don’t… that just seems like rumors right now.

LETECIA: You know what? Could we bring my daughter over here? Because she can go and say that, you know, she came home from work after the hike and she can verify that Gannon was at our home.

Harley Hunt, Letecia Stauch’s teenage daughter, came on camera to confirm that Letecia, Gannon and Laina (Gannon’s little sister) went hiking on the afternoon of Sunday, January 26th while Harley was at work, and that she had seen Gannon alive that night, after she returned home from work.

Letecia had taken the two younger children hiking at Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs, and then to a Burger King, before heading home on the evening of Sunday, January 26, 2020.

KKTV: Do you feel like I asked you what I need to? Do you feel like this is gonna help kinda turn the tide of what feels like a witch hunt in my opinion?

LETECIA: I think that a lot of people can see that I’m not missing and see that I am being cooperative. And, but to me, it’s okay that they think those things, because the way someone thinks about me, I don’t have a problem with that. My main thing is I would never want someone to think that I would hurt Gannon or any of the children in our home, because that’s just not the case. I’ve spent my whole entire life working so hard in education. There was things online that was talking about my education license and I shouldn’t even be a teacher, and they just didn’t know that. Like, we moved on a military move and I didn’t finish out my contract so I gave up my license in that state. It had nothing to do with any criminal activity, you know, or any of those things, and it just got blown out of proportion on my professional status, you know.

KKTV: Do you feel like these are just internet detectives who think they know what they’re doing?

LETECIA: It definitely is. And you know, here’s the thing that kinda saddens me, it’s like, if you’re gonna talk about someone like that and have a witch hunt out for them, why would you even care, like, about doing those things, because this is a child. You’re telling me that you’re just as mean, you’re just as hateful to talk about someone else like that. That’s how I feel. Like we just should not… we should all come together and wait until the end and see what happens, because Gannon’s gonna come home.

KKTV: Any message for Gannon?

LETECIA: The message for Gannon I have is ‘Gannon, when you get here, you’ll be able to truly tell what happened’ and then I really hope I get a sincere apology from everyone who has made up all those things, especially from my husband.

“We just wanted to add a message to Gannon from my family. It’s that we love you, we miss you, and we know that you’ll come home soon. And Gannon, I can’t wait until you can come home and let everyone know that you’re okay. We love you.”

Watch the KKTV Interview

February 2020

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Letecia Stauch secures a Budget rental van, moves items from one van to the other with the assistance of her brother Dakota, and then begins travel from Colorado Springs to South Carolina with her daughter. She purchases a new cell phone in Trinidad for the trip.
Letecia and Harley spend the night at a Candlewood Suites hotel in Amarillo, Texas. Harley enters the hotel first, and waits by the elevator with the dogs while Letecia checks in at the front desk as a single occupant with no pets, dishonestly utilizing a corporate discount code reserved for employees of Ford Motor Company.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2020

Letecia and Harley spend the night at a Candlewood Suites hotel in Decatur, Texas. Harley enters the hotel first, and waits by the elevator with the dogs while Letecia checks in at the front desk as a single occupant with no pets, also dishonestly using a discount code for employees of Ford Motor Company.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Lorson Ranch neighbor, Roderrick Drayton, two doors down from the Stauch home, comes forward with camera footage from his home surveillance system.
According to Fox21 News, "By February 3, 2020, over 1,860 hours of investigative work had been done, and 2,400 staff hours were put into search efforts."
Letecia and Harley spend the night at a Candlewood Suites hotel in Pensacola, Florida. Harley enters the hotel first, and waits by the elevator with the dogs while Letecia checks in at the front desk as a single occupant with no pets, also dishonestly using a discount code for employees of Ford Motor Company.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Detectives believe that Gannon's body was dumped under the Escambia River Bridge very early in the morning. Letecia and Harley checked themselves into a Florida hotel that was located approximately three miles away from the bridge where Gannon's body would eventually be found. The pair checked back out of the hotel after only a few hours. They also drove to Orlando before making it to their final destination in South Carolina.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Letecia returns the second rental van in South Carolina.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Letecia continues her social media meltdown, mostly on facebook and the nextdoor app.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020

Nicole Fierro of Fox31 KDVR publishes a phone interview with someone who claims to be a former babysitter for the Stauch family. The alleged babysitter says that she doesn't think Letecia Stauch is a bad person. She is a friend, and a good mother who "didn't even discipline those kids."

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Letecia Stauch releases an exclusive written public statement through mainstream media outlet Fox31 about Gannon's disappearance.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank all agencies, volunteers, and community members who are working diligently and praying endlessly to bring Gannon home safe. Thank you to my husband who has stayed strong through this and protected our family to the best of his ability and our immediate & extended family members throughout the east coast. To Gannon, please come home soon because your daddy is waiting to watch the new Sonic movie that comes out this week and the cool shirt I got you to wear to the theatre is in your closet.

Social Media has been devastating from the harsh comments, speculations, threats, cyber bullying, etc. It has been a challenge when people are trying to run you off the road, waiting outside your hotel, threatening to kill you, etc. I encourage the Sheriff’s Office to take down those pages that promote negative behavior and violence. Let’s Do what Gannon would do. Be Kind to one another!

We all have engaged in something crazy online at some point but Gannon would want everyone to get along and to focus on finding him.

I know that many people have kids and are invested in this because it hits close to home for them. I would like to think that overall most people are genuine and want to do everything in their power to find G. With that being sad, Please take a step back for a moment and let me explain to you a few details that were not released. For example, just like the video that was leaked, there are additional details that were hidden due to 1) the department doing its job 2) the effects of social media and how some individuals would criticize or hinder the investigation. I chose to listen, I didn’t leak videos or information. But at this time it’s getting later in the process and we just want Gannon home. I feel the need to fill in some gaps. Now let me stress this, POLICE have known this since the first interview.

Saturday Night, G was helping me unload in the garage and cut his foot because there are a lot of tools because Albert does woodworking.

He sat on the edge of the car and we bandaged it up. He was good to go. He always loves helping his dad in the garage build things like his LEGO tables and the flower pot they built for me as a gift. After this, I noticed G kept going to the side of the house.

He told me he was checking to see if the gate was locked because he was the only one with a gate key. It made him proud to be the man of the house while Albert was away. Fast forward, we did a hike on Sunday (cleared), and shopping on Monday ( cleared as well for him getting out of the other side). Please don’t think for a second that there isn’t enough of technology to determine shadows and movement around the truck. There was also proof from my phone that we had taken a selfie in the truck in our driveway that was time stamped. We always send pictures to Albert when we are out and about or when he is away. That can be scanned for actual time verification. Last, from day one the Sheriff’s office has known a description of the person/friend whom Gannon left with.

I explained to them and provided evidence. They had information about G having the key to go out the side gate. Last they have more in-depth details that go along with this pointing to who sent the person or why he may have come. Again, I repeat they have had this Initially and I was asked to keep quiet about it so they could have the best shot at doing their job and bringing G home. The last thing that they needed was a hindrance to their investigation. I encourage you to think of any suspicious cars that may have been in the area watching a few days prior and keep praying for G!

Tecia Stauch”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020

Letecia explains to Albert during a wiretapped phone call that Gannon's skin bubbled due to burns from the candle and he wiped some of the blood from those injuries on his wall.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Letecia provides her husband with more false versions of his son's disappearance wherein she implicates a known sex offender (Quincy Brown) and his alleged accomplice (Terence) during a wiretapped phone conversation. She also changes the location and jurisdiction of Gannon’s reported abduction to Douglas County and references a bicycle accident that allegedly caused an injury to Gannon's head.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020

Letecia admits to Albert in another phone call that she was lying the day before and explains the blood found in the corner of Gannon's bedroom will likely be a mixture of hers and Gannon's because the alleged attacker penetrated them both anally with an object. She also states she was tied up at some point, experienced a few trauma blackouts, and that her attacker was still present in the home but was hiding from police during the first visit from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities find particleboard with evidence of Gannon's blood just north of the county line between El Paso and Douglas Counties off Hwy 105 near Palmer Lake.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020

Letecia has a phone call between herself and an unknown informant wherein Stauch absolutely trashes her stepchildren's mother. The call was recorded and the audio was later released by a YouTube channel called "Dad With A Phone" or DWAP.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2020

11:53pm - Letecia enters notes into her iPhone (phone #3) regarding polygraph questions.

Do you intend on telling the truth?

In the case involving missing child Gannon Stauch, do you intend on telling the truth?

In the case involving your stepson Gannon did you inflict harm on him in any way?

Did you accidentally hurt him in a physical way?

Did you murder your stepson?

Do you know personally who is involved with your stepson's disappearance?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Letecia tells Crime Online that she wants to meet crime reporter Leigh Egan in person at a Starbuck's in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in order to provide her with certified results of an independent polygraph examination.

The defendant, prior to arrest, ordered a Standard Fake Polygraph Test Certificate and submitted a list of questions and answers regarding Gannon's murder. She wanted to present the fake certificate as proof that she had taken and passed an independent polygraph exam.

The company refused to provide her with the certificate and chose to keep the money. They gave investigators any and all information they had available:

Do you intend to answer these questions regarding your stepson truthfully? YES.

Is your birthday August 4, 1983? YES.

Did you participate in any way in causing harm to your stepson? NO.

Did your stepson return with you to your home? YES.

Did you participate in any way in causing the death of your stepson? NO.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2020

7:21am - google search "fake polygraph test"

Letecia Stauch's first interview with Crime Online was published on February 27th.

On Friday, February 28, an affidavit of probable cause was submitted to the court. It listed four major violations: murder in the first degree - child under twelve - position of trust, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with physical evidence. An arrest warrant was issued, and those documents were sealed.

Letecia Stauch's second interview with Crime Online was published on February 29th.

Letecia was arrested on Monday, March 2 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She was held without bond and extradited to Colorado Springs. They were delayed en route when the prisoner “slipped her cuffs” and physically attacked a deputy outside Abilene, Kansas in Dickinson County.

The group arrived at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center on Thursday, March 5, 2020 and Albert Stauch filed for divorce the same day. No additional charges were filed in Kansas.

The initial advisory hearing was televised on March 11. Spencer Wilson of KKTV was in the courtroom although Letecia most likely did not recognize him. Gannon's divorced parents were seated next to each other, directly behind the prosecutor's table.

The decomposing remains of Gannon Stauch were subsequently discovered more than 1300 miles away from home on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Gannon's lifeless body was stuffed inside a suitcase and then discarded in Florida, just off Highway 90 near the Escambia River Bridge.

Charges were upgraded after it was revealed to investigators that Gannon had been shot, stabbed, and beaten before he was stuffed inside the suitcase. He had multiple defensive wounds. There were three bullets found in the suitcase - one in his skull and two in a pillow. The .9mm that was used in this crime was found in the master bedroom, sitting out in the open, on top of a dresser. Evidence of Letecia's DNA (as well as Albert's and an unknown male's) was found on the weapon.

Authorities held a press conference on Friday, March 20. Michael Allen, lead prosecutor, offered a prepared statement and answered very few direct questions.

“Today I’ve filed new formal charges in the case against Letecia Stauch. Those charges are murder in the first degree - after deliberation, a class one felony that carries a potential sentence of life in prison without parole. In addition to that, I’ve filed eight counts of ‘crime of violence’ for the alleged use of a firearm, a blunt instrument, a knife or other sharp object, and for causing the death of Gannon Stauch. These new charges are added to the original charges.” Michael Allen underscored the importance of an active gag order in the case. He then added, “I will not compromise the integrity of this investigation." He also added, “We will not try this case in the media.”

On April 2, the probable cause affidavit was leaked to the media by Sherie Farstveet who would later be accused of abusing professional access to sealed court filings. She has since pleaded guilty to one count of attempted official misconduct in Adams County and is no longer employed by the City of Brighton. She paid $299.50 in court fines and fees.

Shortly after the document was leaked and then released by the court ahead of schedule, Letecia Stauch caught a new case - solicitation to commit escape (May 18, 2020).

Letecia Stauch's first competency examination was ordered on June 5, 2020.

Then, having been held against her will for approximately five months, Letecia sent a four-page letter to the judge. It was dated August 12, 2020. Her original defense team had advised her to not contact the judge directly because any correspondence would inevitably become part of the public record, but she composed and mailed the letter anyhow, without regard for its potentially hazardous consequences.

She’s compared herself to the national flag in its good character and called herself all sorts of interesting things: brave, loyal, innocent, mentally ill with independently documented bi-polar and schizophrenia with a touch of PTSD, OCD, and DID, a victim of coercion, a victim of physical abuse, a victim of mental and emotional abuse, a victim of false accusations and of wrongful incarceration, a soldier for Christ, a doctor of education, a good wife and solid mother, a professional poker player, a school teacher, a flight attendant, a posh fashionista and budding entrepreneur, a blood-drinking vampire in training named Janelle, and a troubled but sweet young lady named Taylor.

Letecia Stauch has quite obviously come undone, and she’s scattered the strangest bits of fractured data around to a variety of disparate and potentially unreliable sources thinking that some hapless crime reporter might come along and stitch all her broken pieces back together again.

“I’m going to win one heck of a civil lawsuit against CJC for the amendment violations,” said Letecia in one of the many letters that she has written to strangers. Stauch was corresponding with a content creator from YouTube called WTAF (Wicked Truths) when she threatened civil litigation against the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center. She said, “I am a victim of a broken system run by man that ignores the supreme law of the land.”

In a recorded phone call with a different pen-pal, Letecia Stauch explained that she had given her husband a deadline of August 20, 2020 in order to come clean and tell the whole truth. She made it known that she was going to start snitching on him and “Edgar” piece by piece, outlet by outlet, with solid evidence of their complicity, because she was no longer willing to take the fall for them. She claimed that the man she codenamed Edgar should be in jail for manslaughter, kidnapping and tampering, and that her husband should be in jail for manslaughter. Edgar is a local businessman (real estate broker near Palmer Lake) who allegedly plays high stakes poker and/or hires people to deliver suitcases to Florida. Letecia alleged that she and Albert met this man on their anniversary cruise in January of 2020, and she claimed that her husband owed this man a great deal of money. She alleged that Albert's excessive gambling debt is why Gannon was kidnapped and killed. Letecia Stauch has, of course, changed her story several more times since then.

Letecia thinks Edgar has been using his trusted servants inside the jail to make threats of poison in her peanut butter.

SEPTEMBER 2020: Letecia Stauch gives Crime Online an exclusive interview wherein she implicates her husband and "Edgar" in Gannon's murder, and states that he was killed on January 28th rather than January 27th as had been reported.

In another letter to one of her many pen pals, Stauch claimed to have made some sort of quantum leap from December 2019 to October 2020, saying that she doesn't remember anything that may or may not have happened during that specific period of time - to mean that she was not mentally present for the anniversary cruise, nor the murder, nor the first part of her incarceration - a convenient sort of amnesia. She also describes that she has changed her name to Janelle and is a vampire in training.

Letecia Stauch was deemed competent to stand trial on September 8, 2020 and a second examination was ordered on December 22, 2020..

Probable Cause

The probable cause affidavit was leaked to the media by Sherie Farstveet who would later be charged with abusing professional access to sealed court filings. She has since pleaded guilty to one count of attempted official misconduct in Adams County and is no longer employed by the City of Brighton. She paid $299.50 in court fines and fees.

PC Affidavit

JANUARY 2021: Letecia Stauch was once again deemed competent to stand trial (January 19th).

FEBRUARY & MARCH 2021: Letecia Stauch has a closed door conflict hearing with her public defenders and Judge William Bain, 4th Judicial Chief Judge. She does not get new counsel, and the judge sends the case back to the original court for an Arguello advisement because she would rather represent herself than continue to work with public defenders.

She follows up with a letter to each of the judges (March 8th) outlining her conflict with public defenders once she is officially representing herself. The alleged conflicts were supposed to be considered private and protected information, but Letecia wanted the world to know about her struggle so she cleverly snuck her version of the story into the public record by sending the information directly to her original judge.

Stauch's public defenders withdrew themselves and Letecia represented herself for a brief time, then she was reassigned those same public defenders so that she could fire them and replace them with two private attorneys, a private investigator, and the full support of the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel - at state expense, of course, because she's indigent.

APRIL 2021: Letecia Stauch skips the final divorce hearing (04/30/2021). All she wants is a publishing deal and her Poshmark account. Albert calls his own sort of presser and uses traditional media to ask the public for financial assistance after his divorce hearing. He says that between the murder case and the divorce proceedings, he's accumulated $75,000 in debt.

SEPTEMBER 2021: Letecia Stauch waives her appearance at the proof evident presumption great and preliminary hearing (PEPG) which was held on the 9th and 10th. This is a bond hearing wherein the prosecution delivers only enough evidence in order to prove that Letecia Stauch is most likely guilty of the offenses with which she is charged. It's a careful step to ensure the defendant is being held constitutionally. She was represented in the courtroom by private attorneys Josh Tolini and Will Cook. After a presentation of the initial evidence against her, she was not offered a bond.

NOVEMBER 2021: Letecia Stauch pleads not guilty but her attorneys make it known that there is some sort of question regarding her sanity after her stepson was killed. 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen gives a short presser after the hearing, explaining that her sanity is now in question, but only after the fact, so that's not the same as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. Trial is tentatively set for March 2022 although Mr. Allen knows that some sort of new issue regarding mental health testing is about to come up which will most likely cause further delay.

Letecia Stauch's Forensic Psychiatrist

The defense has retained Dr. Dorothy Lewis to perform the second sanity evaluation and offer expert witness testimony in Colorado's case against Letecia Stauch. The first sanity evaluation, performed by doctors at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP), stated that Ms. Stauch was feigning the symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). The controversial nature of this second doctor's forensic work was the subject of Alex Gibney's 2020 documentary film CRAZY, not INSANE.

FEBRUARY 2022 - Attorneys on behalf of Letecia Stauch petition the court to change the plea from Not Guilty to Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) and file a motion requesting a bench trial rather than a jury trial.

July 28, 2022 hearing (Crime Curious @ WebEx)

August 25, 2022 hearing (WebEx was unavailable)

September 15, 2022 hearing (Crime Curious @ the courthouse)

October 13, 2022 hearing (Crime Curious @ the courthouse)

The following post was made after the 9/15/2023 hearing.

Letecia Stauch’s first sanity examination, not to be confused with her previous competency evaluations, was conducted by doctors at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) who are experts in the field of forensic psychology. These mental health professionals will be called to testify when Stauch’s homicide case finally goes to trial. Their official report showed that Stauch is most likely feigning symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

The defense has since requested that a second sanity evaluation be conducted by Dorothy Lewis, a provocative and controversial expert witness who has worked with the likes of Ted Bundy and Arthur Shawcross along with handfuls of other high-profile serial killers, most of whom were facing the death penalty in their cases. Letecia Stauch is not facing capital punishment, as the death penalty was abolished in the state of Colorado shortly after the brutal murder of Gannon Stauch.

Dorothy Lewis is the subject of an award winning 2020 HBO documentary film which was directed by Alex Gibney and called “CRAZY, not INSANE” wherein she describes the three main ingredients in any recipe for murder. They are brain damage and dysfunction, a history of chronic trauma in childhood, and psychotic thinking (with paranoia in particular). She seems to believe that violent offenders can eventually be rehabilitated through complex mental health treatment and has frequently been accused of viewing most murder suspects as victims in their own right.

It is the doctor’s current intention to conduct an MRI and a 72-hour EEG in order to determine and document any potential brain damage and dysfunction. She would also like to perform a full psychological examination and review Letecia Stauch’s first evaluation from the state mental hospital along with the defendant’s entire medical history. However, Stauch’s defense team is having a difficult time scheduling the EEG as this testing is outside the normal scope of a sanity examination, and attorneys for the defense have therefore asked Judge Werner to intervene and order the accommodations.

This will be decided after the next hearing in this case, an evidentiary hearing which is scheduled for October 13, 2022 at 1:30pm. Dorothy Lewis is expected to offer limited testimony at that time via WebEx in order to answer three main questions for the judge before he makes his decision. Those questions are:

What is the exact purpose of the EEG? What might it prove?
Is there another avenue?
How does not having the EEG impact any potential diagnosis?

Once the second sanity examination is complete, which according to the defense is expected to take two weeks from start to finish, the doctor will need another thirty days to prepare her official evaluation report. Then, once the second sanity report is submitted, Judge Werner will immediately set the case for trial and announce the dates.

And in the meantime, Letecia Stauch has filed a federal lawsuit against the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center, its food services contractor (Trinity Food Services), its medical services contractor (Wellpath), Deputy L. Stengle, and Deputy R. Snipe. The lawsuit alleges constitutional rights violations. She claims they have denied a kosher diet and appropriate medical care which has caused harm and placed her in imminent danger. She is acting as her own attorney in the case and is seeking injunction, policy change, and financial restitution.

The following post was made before the 10/13/22 hearing.

WHAT TO EXPECT

First and foremost, we expect that Letecia Stauch will appear in person and on time.

The judge has ordered her to appear and he has authorized deputies to utilize whatever physical force may become reasonably necessary in order to ensure that Stauch appears in person, on time.

Secondly, we can expect to hear limited testimony from the defense team's proposed psychiatrist (Dr. Dorothy Lewis), a representative of the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP), and a representative of the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center (CJC).

Judge Werner needs more information before entering his official ruling on an open motion from the defense. They've asked him to order a specific form of testing that is outside the normal scope of examination with regard to sanity evaluations.

CMHIP performed Stauch's first examination and reported that the defendant is most likely feigning symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Dorothy Lewis believes that she might be able to prove otherwise, but only if she is allowed to perform the neurological testing.

***********************

POSTSCRIPT

We did not hear any testimony during the October 13, 2022 hearing, because the defense withdrew their motion prior to the start of the hearing. They've made arrangements to conduct the examination inside the county jail (without the MRI & EEG).

The entire evaluation process will be audio and video recorded. Those recordings can and will be used against the defendant at trial and sentencing.

Letecia Stauch's second sanity evaluation was scheduled to take place between October 31st and November 4th, and Dr. Dorothy Lewis has agreed to submit her official report to the court no later than December 1, 2022.

And then...

Josh Tolini apparently contracted COVID-19 and was ill during the scheduled evaluation, so Dorothy Lewis had to change her travel plans and perform the examination at a later date.

THE THIRD & FINAL DEADLINE FOR DR. LEWIS TO TURN IN HER COMPLETED REPORT TO THE COURT IS THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2023 AT 5PM. During the 3/9/23 pre-trial readiness conference, Judge Werner said, "It is not a suggestion. It is not a guideline. It is not a hope. It is a deadline."

A jury trial, not a bench trial as previously requested by the defense, began with jury selection on March 20, 2023 in Colorado Springs. Opening statements will be made during the afternoon session on Monday, April 3, 2023. Presentation of evidence will begin on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 9am mountain.

The trial will be available on WebEx and the judge granted permission to record and/or restream the WebEx. Jury selection will be audio only, and bench conferences are off limits.

*****

Did you know the 2006 version of Letecia Stauch wanted to teach law?

"I plan to teach law in the future and also volunteer to help local kids with their education and family problems." - Tecia Lynn Hardin (angelfire.com)

Voltaire himself could not have written such terrible irony into existence.

COLORADO v. LETECIA STAUCH

January 25 - 31, 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020

The Television Interview

February 2020

Probable Cause

USAA Life insurance

Letecia Stauch's Forensic Psychiatrist

COLORADO v. LETECIA STAUCH

January 25 - 31, 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020

The Television Interview

February 2020

Probable Cause

USAA Life insurance

Letecia Stauch's Forensic Psychiatrist

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