Testimony continued Friday afternoon in the Letecia Stauch murder trial, with numerous witnesses taking the stand, including a former neighbor who said the defendant blocked her after she asked about searching for Gannon Stauch.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors say 39-year-old Letecia Stauch stabbed, shot, and beat her stepson, 11-year-old Gannon, inside the family’s Fountain, Colorado, home in January 2020. Months later, his body was found stuffed into a suitcase beneath a bridge in Pace, Florida.
She’s currently on trial at the El Paso County Court in Colorado, facing first-degree murder and related charges.
Nicole Mobley, who identified herself as Letecia Stauch’s former neighbor in Fountain’s Lorson Ranch neighborhood, said that she first met Stauch in December 2019, after Stauch dropped some clothes off at her house.
Mobley said she posted on a Facebook neighborhood page, seeking clothes for her niece when Stauch’s daughter replied and offered to bring over some clothing. Mobley told the court that Letecia Stauch showed up at her home instead of Harley, and handed over the clothing.
She added that the interaction was odd after the defendant began talking to her about her private life, although they had never met before.
The next time Mobley spoke to Stauch was in late January 2020, after Gannon had been reported missing. Mobley said she messaged the defendant and asked where people should be looking for Gannon and was “immediately blocked.”
Sergeant Patrol Supervisor Christopher Ganstine with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office also took the stand Friday afternoon and told the court that he was part of a surveillance team assigned to watch the defendant after Gannon was reported missing.
Ganstine told the court that on January 3o, 2020, he was assigned to follow the defendant and her daughter, Harley, as they left the Lorson Ranch home and drove to a nearby department store. Ganstine said Harley drove, while her mother sat slouched down on the passenger side in the back seat.
“It was weird, because there was only two people in the car, and she (Letecia) was sitting in the back seat. She was slouched down… She wasn’t sitting like a normal person would sit. She wasn’t sitting in the front seat either.”
Ganstine said he made contact with Letecia Stauch at the store after law enforcement secured a warrant to search Stauch’s car and cellphone. The defendant froze when they made contact, Gastine said, and even though it was explained she was not under arrest, she started walking backward before running off and throwing her car keys.
Other witnesses taking the stand included Janice Sanchez (a friend of the defendant’s daughter), and Detective Marissa Williams with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Letecia Stauch is facing charges of:
- Murder in the First Degree (Child Under Twelve-Position of Trust §18-3-102(1)(f))
- Tampering with a Deceased Human Body, §18-8-610.5
- Tampering with Physical Evidence, §18-8-610(1)(a)
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
Additional Information
PART ONE: Tecia Stauch Interview
PART TWO: Tecia Stauch Interview
PART THREE: Tecia Stauch Interview
Neighbor Roderrick Drayton Interview
CLICK HERE to see all of our coverage on Gannon Stauch
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[Feature Photo: Gannon Stauch/Facebook via Landon Hiott]
