Testimony continued Monday 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.
Former FBI agent Johnny Grusing took the stand Monday morning and resumed testimony concerning an interview he had with Stauch after her 2020 arrest. The final portion of the four-hour interview was played in court for the jury, picking up from last week.
The interview took place in March 2020, after police arrested Stauch in South Carolina and charged her with murder, despite not yet having Gannon’s body.
According to Grusing, Stauch pushed him to tell her answers only she would know and refused to acknowledge she had anything to do with Gannon’s disappearance.
“It was impossible for me to answer. I didn’t know what she knew,” Grusing told the court.
When Grusing asked Stauch (during the interview) the last time she saw Gannon and her last memory of him, Stauch again refused to answer and instead wanted to know if police had put a reward out for him. She also called Gannon her “favorite stepchild” and said she would never harm him.
Grusing said that Stauch would only describe Gannon’s characteristics, but wouldn’t describe the last memory since the memory was likely horrible.
Grusing said Stauch asking about the reward was an example of how she deflected blame during the interview. Stauch accused Grusing of “predetermining” that she killed Gannon and therefore, decided not to answer questions she said she had already answered.
“I cannot say anything else because you’ve predetermined..what you think…you’ve already done that,” Stauch told Grusing during the interview.
Grusing told her, “You should not care at all what I think,” while trying to redirect the conversation to where Gannon was.
Stauch and Grusing later had an off-camera discussion when the defendant suggested that Grusing should travel to North Carolina with her. When Grusing asked her if Gannon was there, Stauch didn’t answer.
Grusing ultimately did not get enough information during the interview to locate the child.
Special FBI Agent David Donati took the stand next. He said he became involved early on in the Stauch investigation after the EPCSO requested the FBI’s assistance. Donati said he helped remove items from Stauch’s car, a Volkswagen Tiguan, which were then sent to the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.
Dwight Falkofske, an automotive forensics specialist for the FBI, took the stand next. He assisted in collecting the telematics system in the vehicle, although he didn’t specify exactly what was found concerning where Stauch had traveled.
“Local witnesses,” according to DA Michael Allen, are scheduled to testify soon.
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/Handout; Letecia Stauch/Police Handout]
