Testimony continued Friday morning in the Letecia Stauch murder trial; she stands accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch.
As CrimeOnline reported, prosecutors say Stauch stabbed, shot, and beat Gannon inside the family’s El Paso County home in Colorado, on January 27, 2020. Months later, his body was found stuffed into a suitcase beneath a bridge in Pace, Florida.
Stauch is now on trial at the El Paso County Court, facing first-degree murder and related charges.
A 2020 phone call between the defendant and Gannon’s father, Al Stauch, was played in court first Friday morning, which picked up from previous calls between the pair played for jurors Wednesday.
Stauch, who previously said a man name Edugardo took Gannon, then later changed it to a man named Quincy Brown and then an “Uncle Matt,” now says that a woman who appeared pregnant but had a bag full of money attached to her belly kidnapped Gannon.
She told Al that she initially gave the woman a ride, thinking she was around eight months pregnant. Letecia said she refused to drop some paperwork off at a Mexican restaurant for the woman, leading to Gannon’s abduction.
“There was this pregnant lady. She gets in the car while Gannon was in the backseat. I realized she’s not pregnant, once she gets in the car. She had money inside this thing that makes her look pregnant.”
“I was supposed to walk into Petco, be normal,” the defendant added, referring to her stop a Petco the day Gannon vanished. “She forced me.”
Former FBI agent Johnny Grusing took the stand Friday morning and said Letecia Stauch was basically grasping at straws while making up another story about the missing child.
“It was obvious this was not going to lead us closer to Gannon,” Grusing said.
During the phone conversation with Al Stauch, Letecia pushed for answers about their relationship and whether he intended to be with her and work together to find Gannon. At the time, they were still married but living apart.
“She wanted finding Gannon to be contingent upon Al coming back in the marriage with her,” Gusing said. “She was [also] probing for what he knew, what he had seen.”
Grusing added that the defendant never once provided a description or any additional details about the supposed pregnant woman.
Next, the court will hear a five-hour conversation between Letecia Stauch and Grusing after her arrest in March 2020.
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)
Stauch pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Gannon Stauch/Facebook via Landen Hiott; Al and Letecia/Facebook]
