Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #40

[grannygates]

i’m curious whether the switch was planted near the house to promote the runaway/abduction, thrown out far away from the house hoping to not be found or if it was a messy mistake and not thought through when being discarded.

 

[Campizi67]

I don’t think she was thinking that far ahead. She was very concerned with her image, and for once, had the awareness to realize that she couldn’t pull off a standard face to the camera interview.

She may have seen the Chris Watts interview, and didn’t want to repeat his mistake.

Of course the back to the camera interview under these circumstances, did nothing to help her.

YES! Great points. I especially like the Chris Watts perspective and completely agree.

 

[Campizi67]

The interview was filmed on 31 January, the same date as published.

Thanks for clarifying! I thought I had read differently.

 

[MassGuy]

i’m curious whether the switch was planted near the house to promote the runaway/abduction, thrown out far away from the house hoping to not be found or if it was a messy mistake and not thought through when being discarded.

When a kid goes out for a car ride, and brings a device like that, you’d expect them to bring it inside the house after returning.

So it should be there, or it should be in the truck. It should not be anywhere else.

The fact that it wasn’t found in the house, and (reading between the lines) wasn’t found in the car, tells me that she likely disposed of it somewhere.

She was absolutely concerned with tracking devices, so I think she got rid of it to conceal any potential information like that.

We saw a Nintendo employee on the witness list, so I think there was an effort made to analyze that device once it was found.

 

[zenzen]

there was a repeating pattern across many of the threads here on WS and outside of it, it crosses all age groups and genders.
when family reports someone missing the approach of LE needs to change, regardless of wether a person willing leaves or not.
waiting 24-48hrs is counterintuitive to the process of case solving.
we all hear the first 48 is crucial in solving homicides, sadly many missing person cases end up being exactly that but much of the information and evidence can be lost or tainted because of that mentality to wait and see.
if a person has left of their own accord they have that right but the families should be informed the missing person is okay but unwilling to make contact.
if kids runaway they shouldn't be given time to fall foul of predators or their environment.
i am fully aware that most police stations are understaffed and under funded and this has to change, crime isn't reducing nor are accidents, LE need to be given the funding and support to be able to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, there needs to be more screening of officers to make sure they are emotionally and mentally suited to the area of LE in which they work. burnt out investigators miss things they shouldn't or ignore evidence or witnesses, taking the road of least resistance in investigative work should not be tolerated.
there are many many officers out there doing the best they can, but there are too many who are there for the wrong reasons and those who have either become too jaded or numb to take missing reports seriously when they are first filed.... too many lives are being lost and too many are never followed up on, for ever Gannon their are hundreds more who don't even make a blip on the radar, never make MSM never get the justice or resolution they deserve.

we need proactive not reactive missing persons task forces who are passionate about finding people, who treat the first 48hrs of a missing person the same way they would a homicide... because sadly many are.

 

[DTPeke]

I don’t think she was thinking that far ahead. She was very concerned with her image, and for once, had the awareness to realize that she couldn’t pull off a standard face to the camera interview.

She may have seen the Chris Watts interview, and didn’t want to repeat his mistake.

Of course the back to the camera interview under these circumstances, did nothing to help her.

Agree. Epic fail. Not enough awareness to "fake it to make it".

Her voice changes when she mentions the dogs, no such inflection when speaking of Gannon.

Belittles him after murdering him, his body might have been in one of those vehicles.

I don't doubt for one second all three weapons were used.

She is now just as defenseless as he was. There is no story the best defense team in the country could weave.

 

[MsBetsy]

I am still somewhat disbelieving. If you told me two of those, maybe... stabbed on Sunday and bludgeoned on Monday, or bludgeoned on Sunday and shot on Monday. I’d find that easier to believe. But all three?! Is it just too much evil for me to fathom? It seems so unlikely, so messy, so risky... (ETA: kinda like driving a body to FL, hmm) I guess because all this time I’ve thought her motivation was covering up an initial act of violence. If this info is true, maybe that wasn’t her motivation. Overkill = hate.

I think she did use all three, and it does sounds like overkill. It may not have been separate incidents, it could have been one drawn out episode. Maybe once she started she realized there was no turning back, and he was still alive after several attempts with different objects. He may have managed to put up a huge fight and she had a hard time because he 'wouldn't' die. That would explain the bandage on her hand, if she really had one.

Imo

 

[DTPeke]

When a kid goes out for a car ride, and brings a device like that, you’d expect them to bring it inside the house after returning.

So it should be there, or it should be in the truck. It should not be anywhere else.

The fact that it wasn’t found in the house, and (reading between the lines) wasn’t found in the car, tells me that she likely disposed of it somewhere.

She was absolutely concerned with tracking devices, so I think she got rid of it to conceal any potential information like that.

We saw a Nintendo employee on the witness list, so I think there was an effort made to analyze that device once it was found.

Great point and such a simple one too.

She seems to have verified via the Aunt that it was the switch he dropped.

Gannon does not return.

Switch does not return.

Neither made it back into the house that day. Both on video.

Edited for clarity: Leigh Egan confirms Nintendo Switch via conversation with LS Aunt on WS podcast dated 3.21.20

 

[MtnMama]

That’s what I always figured it was. If any kid drops a device like that, they immediately pick it up. He couldn’t.

If a parent sees a child drop an expensive device like that, they stop and check to make sure it’s not damaged. She didn’t.

One wasn’t physically able to bend down, and the other knew it didn’t matter, because he’d never be using that thing again.

A couple seconds, but so telling.

BBM
I don't know why this hits me so hard, maybe it's because I have some die hard gamers at my house and Gannon really reminds me of them
Why bother?? I mean seriously!!!!!!! If she was going with her story that he ran away without his phone, couldn't he have left the Switch at home too? The poor kid is SERIOUSLY injured, and clearly either drugged and/or so out of it that he stands by the truck dazed, why bring his Switch? And why make him carry it to the truck when he couldn't, and he dropped it? Just to make him suffer more, just to torture him? Wasn't the fact that she abused him and was going to kill him ENOUGH?? She is beyond vile and not even human


ETA: Here's at least one source for a latent print.....especially if it was found out in the middle of nowhere & after seeing RD's video! AND
Maybe she hit Gannon with it on Sunday night or grabbed it and threw it at his head. Damaged Switch, with blood on it, and the fingerprints of a child murderer=evidence that needs to be disposed of!

 

[GordianKnot]

I think she did use all three, and it does sounds like overkill. It may not have been separate incidents, it could have been one drawn out episode. Maybe once she started she realized there was no turning back, and he was still alive after several attempts with different objects. He may have managed to put up a huge fight and she had a hard time because he 'wouldn't' die. That would explain the bandage on her hand, if she really had one.

Imo

It's possible, but not probable, that she used all 3 weapons in a single episode.

GS did not appear to be in any condition whatsoever to be able to put up any kind of struggle walking out to that truck.

He was likely already grievously wounded at that point.

3 weapons being used fits much more with the theory that TS initially assaulted him Sunday night, then took him away from the house on Monday to kill him.

I think once she realized that the scope and nature of his injuries were such that they couldn't be explained away, she began to plot how to get rid of him.

This is why the DA added the Murder in the First "with intent and deliberation" charge on Friday when he added all the other sentence enhancer charges.

I think the autopsy revealed that the injuries were NOT all inflicted at the same time, which in turn led that DDA to the conclusion that there had to have been some level of planning and deliberation before she carried out the final fatal attack.

The autopsy results convinced him he can prove there was premeditation.

JMO.

 

[mommadukes]

Poor little guy. I wonder if that's what he dropped in the driveway while standing by the back door of the truck. The vision of him standing there looking helpless and the sound of his voice 'pinky promising' and groaning in pain and fear at the same time will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I completely understand. There are so many moments from this case that I replay on a constant loop in my head and I know I will carry them with me always. Gannon's infectious smile in every photo, the image and voice that you mentioned in your post, LH's strength when she told the world that her son had a purpose, the looks on AS's face when he stood on the stage knowing that his wife did this to his precious son, the inspirational way that LH & AS have leaned on each other, the evil that we all sensed in TS from the beginning that has increased with every gruesome detail...the list goes on and on.

This special little boy deserved a much better ending to his story, but LH was right in the fact that Gannon had a purpose. The love and light that surrounded that young man in his short life has touched us all, and we will never forget him. (Nor will anyone let that monster get away with what she did to this sweet boy!) MOO.

 

[MtnMama]

Poor little guy. I wonder if that's what he dropped in the driveway while standing by the back door of the truck. The vision of him standing there looking helpless and the sound of his voice 'pinky promising' and groaning in pain and fear at the same time will stay with me for the rest of my life.

BBM
@pepper 34 me too, me too. I haven't cried in a few days over this case and I've been sobbing again tonight just thinking of exactly what you described. I'm going to watch the video montage of happy pics from his life to help ease the thoughts of what this sweet boy went through.

#GannonStrong

 

[MsBetsy]

It's possible, but not probable, that she used all 3 weapons in a single episode.

GS did not appear to be in any condition whatsoever to be able to put up any kind of fight walking out to that truck.

He was likely already grievously wounded at that point.

3 weapons being used fits much more with the theory that TS initially assaulted him Sunday night, then took him away from the house on Monday to kill him.

I think once she realized that the scope and nature of his injuries were such that they couldn't be explained away, she began to plot how to get rid of him.

This is why the DA added the Murder in the First "with intent and deliberation" charge on Friday when he added all the other sentence enhancer charges.

I think the autopsy revealed that the injuries were NOT all inflicted at the same time, which in turn led that DDA to the conclusion that there had to have been some level of planning and deliberation before she carried out the final fatal attack.

JMO.

Oh, I definitely think she injured him on Sunday, I'm just not sure she tried to kill him then by stabbing and shooting him and hitting him with a blunt object. She may have lost it and struck him with an object, but I can't imagine him being able to walk to the truck with serious stab wounds. She may have been hoping he would die overnight from an injury, and when he didn't, realized she had to do something else.

Maybe she told him she was sorry and she was going to take him to the Doctor, and brought the switch with them to lead him to believe everything was going to be ok.

Then she took him to an isolated spot and killed him.

Imo

 

[DTPeke]

I recall LS rambling about HER things being rummaged through.

Bone chilling thought. She may have had access to Landon's belongings. Opportunity to plant evidence implicating LH (which of course it wouldn't).

I will not be surprised if she has concocted some phony ransom note or threat. Mailing it along her route.

I am probably way off on my speculation. Hopefully it is an anonymous tip that panned out but the minute I saw it my mind went there.

Witness List:
​

GANNON STAUCH
c/o Next of Kin of Gannon Stauch
Unknown
​

I put nothing past her. In fact I am expecting it.

I think I am loosing it. Night, night termites!

ETA: double duh, it would be evidence if she sent a letter, not listed as a Witness....3:00 am here I still think she is capable of sending in a threat or ransom note

 

[MichelleBlue]

During the back of head interview, I think Gannon was already about 450 miles southeast along the same route that LS would soon be driving on her way to SC. LS had placed him there in a storage facility a few days earlier, using the "airport rental" car. I think some of the extra people who were present during the interview did not take the trip to SC at all. Imo, they were there to help LS pack her things, for moral support and to say "good-bye, good luck" to LS.

Imo one of the "aunts" rented a car in her own name for LS to use for the trip.

The moving van was driven to SC by the young man using the shorter, more direct route to SC and LS drove the longer route shown on the FBI diagram. I think she used the excuse that she was going to stop in Florida and visit "a friend" for a day or so.

I think LS drove all by herself... stopped on the way to pick up Gannon and then continued on to complete the trip to SC; while leaving Gannon behind in Florida.

Here is the route she took, imo... in case you haven't seen the FBI diagram, it is attached.
This all JMO.

This map was released by the FBI?

 

[zenzen]

was thinking about the speculation that maybe Tee was taking G's adhd meds, if she had been and took them with her, doing long haul drives wouldn't be so hard, it may also have made it easier for her to drag/carry him down to where he was found... phama amphetamines/stimulants are way stronger than street amphetamines and the effects can last quite a long time for someone who doesn't need them, it may also explain why she did that first interview the way she did, hyped up on pills, everything on fast forward with little room for any rational thought.

as for her travelling companions, denial is a great excuser of accepting the truth, even if knowing Tee meant they were aware of her personality issues, it is still a big jump to murdering an 11yr old boy, perhaps they couldn't make the leap.
as for assisting her cover up the crime willingly.... that is an even bigger leap, we would need every person there to have no problem with the covering up of G's death, even if Tee claimed it was an accident, one look at his body would blow that claim out of the water.
My family are loyal and we all are always there for each other but not for one second do i believe they would assist me in covering up the death of anyone accidental or not, for that to happen we have to assume every person involved with helping Tee move was moral bankrupt... and willing to risk their own freedom for her.

that is a huge leap IMO

 

[Pink2017]

I raised this issue a while ago. I see her carrying a soft rifle case to the truck. Another poster pointed out that at (my) frame #5, she appears to be carrying a backpack and purse. That's when I jumped on the fence, lol!

https://www.amazon.com/VISM-NcStar-Case-Black-CV2906-40/dp/B001OLVIF0/ref=sr_1_27?crid=GBPCO8Q5Y23C&dchild=1&keywords=soft+rifle+case&qid=1585021877&sprefix=soft+rif,aps,227&sr=8-27

DBM

I raised this issue a while ago. I see her carrying a soft rifle case to the truck. Another poster pointed out that at (my) frame #5, she appears to be carrying a backpack and purse. That's when I jumped on the fence, lol!

https://www.amazon.com/VISM-NcStar-Case-Black-CV2906-40/dp/B001OLVIF0/ref=sr_1_27?crid=GBPCO8Q5Y23C&dchild=1&keywords=soft+rifle+case&qid=1585021877&sprefix=soft+rif,aps,227&sr=8-27

1000 percent agree, I just didn’t think , NM, it’s sinking in...

 

[Pink2017]

This map was released by the FBI?

No. Follow the witness list and it create a route. I travel that route when I go to Dallas.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

One of the first steps for investigators, Corsentino says, is that they'll have to "link the stepmother to transporting Gannon to Florida."

"When anyone is transporting a human body that is deceased, assuming he was deceased, 1400 miles, [they have] a mindset of intent and a plan of action for disposal," said Corsentino.

"The recovery of Gannon and bringing Gannon home is the most important thing," he said. "But second to that will be the successful conviction of the stepmother based on the evidence that Gannon would bring with him from Florida."
PI: How the Gannon investigation changes now that investigators believe they've found his remains - KRDO

 

[MissUnderstood]

Everyday that goes by I despise this horrid person even more!!!