A true crime enthusiast sparked controversy this week after she reportedly charged her Patreon subscribers to view photos from the autopsy of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, who was brutally murdered by his stepmother in January 2020.
Letitia Stauch was convicted earlier this year of stabbing Gannon 18 times, beating him, shooting him, and stuffing his body into a suitcase, as CrimeOnline reported. Then she drove from Colorado to Pace, Florida, where she tossed the suitcase over a bridge. She was sentenced to life without parole.
YouTuber Zav Girl reportedly filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the photos from the autopsy and then charged her subscribers $3 to view a video she created from the files she received, according to NewsNation. The video created a surge of criticism, much of it condemning the video for the callousness it showed to Gannon Stauch’s family.
“There are, there have always been, and there will always be evil ghouls taking advantage of innocent victims,” CrimeOnline’s Nancy Grace said. “It’s called ‘BLOOD-MONEY,’ and while many do not consider it a crime, I DO. Those who have used sweet Gannon in this horrid manner have bought a ONE-WAY TICKET TO HELL!”
Michael Allen, the lead prosecutor in the case, told NewsNation that there was nothing about Zav Girl’s video “that provides any dignity or respect to Gannon.”
“It’s just completely disrespectful to the family members that have had to live through this horror,” he said. “But even more so, Gannon deserved so much more in life from his stepmother and he certainly deserves dignity and respect in death.”
After word about her post spread, she added a post to her YouTube channel saying she would “consider” removing the video “if people are truly unhappy with it.” But, she said, “right now it seems that there are a lot of other people who are acting in bad faith and creating lies for fun and excitement in order to pit others against me.”
She also defended her actions, saying she thinks “of autopsy photos and the coroner discussing/explaining them as interesting and informative and are able to view it all in a more scientific detached way” and pointed out that she is not simply selling autopsy photos via her Patreon account.
“In this case I spent a lot of time and worked hard putting together a video lining up the coroner’s audio and descriptions along with the appropriate part of the photos she is describing and editing it together to try to make it as informative as possible for the viewer,” she said. “That is what I am charging for, which I would hope you can agree is understandable.”
Allen said that Zav Girl’s reasoning “rings hollow” because the autopsy report also included body diagrams, which could have been used instead of photographs “of Gannon’s just completely broken body that reflects the depravity and horror that he had to live through.”
Allen also pointed out that it was Florida authorities who approved the FOIA request.
“Florida law allows these sorts of things to go out,” he said. “Maybe we need to look at changing the law as it relates to autopsy photos being released on the internet.”
Gannon’s autopsy photos were shown to the jury during Letitia Stauch’s trial, but parts of them were deemed too graphic and were blocked.
At least one other true crime content creator made a video from the autopsy files, but it’s not clear if she has removed it. Her Patreon account is still up.
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[Featured Photo: Gannon Stauch/Handout. Inset: Letecia Stauch via KRDO-TV/The Gazette/AP, Pool]
