Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #45

[Feistyomi]

Yes, I'm surprised no-one on WS's discovered this information. At the time only the Florida police had started investigating and they said they did not know if foul play was involved. They contacted El Paso LE the next day and we didn't hear anything until two days later.

If we had known, we probably would have spent three days in suspense wondering if it could be Gannon or not. It's amazing that they were able to keep it quiet for that long. We probably would have filled up an entire thread speculating and debating whether or not it could be him, especially since they did not reveal the age or that it was a child's body.

Imo

Gannon...

If I recall , we/I sleuthers were closing in on findingGannon on Pleasant Valley Road...
almost to the moment, they announced the body discovery/ autopsy results...boy did I feel deflated, but since our goal was to find
Gannon, I got over it...
however, I am still convinced that Gannon may HAVE been there, I am just having trouble w/ the bloody crime scene, video timeline, tying in w/ my rough drafts... maybe next week, I will have another draft ready.
Currently, tho, I am trying to finish all my covid projects, as it looks like things are opening up a bit in SC...

 

[LietKynes]

Gannon...

If I recall , we/I sleuthers were closing in on findingGannon on Pleasant Valley Road...
almost to the moment, they announced the body discovery/ autopsy results...boy did I feel deflated, but since our goal was to find
Gannon, I got over it...
however, I am still convinced that Gannon may HAVE been there, I am just having trouble w/ the bloody crime scene, video timeline, tying in w/ my rough drafts... maybe next week, I will have another draft ready.
Currently, tho, I am trying to finish all my covid projects, as it looks like things are opening up a bit in SC...

bbm
That's good news !
Stay healthy and safe, Feistyomi !

I agree that Gannon was placed in at least one or two places prior to the FL discovery.
No offence meant--- but I wish LE had been watching her a little more before the FL dump site.
More evidence might've been recovered.
But I'll take what they have.

There could be more revelations at the trial about the state of his poor little body.
There was evidence of weapons used... but also there will have been tox tests and x-rays for any fractured bones, etc.
I've a feeling she was blinded by rage in Gannon's last day.
Sorry to type that.
My anger towards the perp has not diminished with time.
MOO

 

[Feistyomi]

IMO by the way LS was smiling in her NC court appearance, it makes me think that she didn't think they had enough evidence to arrest her and she was going to get away with murder..... I'd say she's not smiling now!

Gannon...

Being a South Carolinian, I truly wish everything involving Letecia were in NC, however, her court appearance was in SC.

I would also like to state that Letecia IS a North Carolinian!!!...we have enough really awful criminals of our own, don’t need to claim any more...nope, just nope SMH

 

[Murphy1950]

Several articles published after the identification state that officers were responding to calls about a "deceased juvenile male" - I remember reading it discussed here at length as well, wondering how a roadside worker would know to report the bt could be just my memory of things blurring together because no one here saw those local articles until we knew it was Gannon. Sorry if I was mistaken on that!

RSBM


Seriously, PhoneJockey, no problem at all. Sorry, didn't mean to imply it was. When that info first came out on WS I looked and never found an article where a road worker commented. I did see some quotes attributed to the "supposed" finder on SM. ...I just really don't see a highway worker making that determination. (young juvenile male...etc.) after finding a body w/49 days of decomposition....how would someone even guess 'at "age"?

 

[Catareeka]

I'm still trying to understand why she stuffed tissues in her pants... lol

I was wondering the same thing....LOL!

I think she stuffed her pants with tissue after they ask for her phone, because they'd already taken her car and she figured that she might have to walk back to where she was staying, so she was preparing in case she needed to use the side of the road. JMO

 

[Brubon]

As mentioned before, some dogs are better than others and more importantly some trainers and handlers are better than others so I think that has to be taken into consideration whenever dealing with search or cadaver dogs.

If you want to see 3 different cadaver dogs doing a really good job of finding dead body scent, this show and video below was one I happened to watch the other day and the dog searching part was very interesting.

The cadaver dogs begin searching right around 40:25 mark in the video. It was fascinating to me to watch the dogs work and all 3 of them found the same spot. These were great dogs and great handlers. Totally amazing how they work.

3 dogs search, one after the other, if you keep watching after this time mark.
40:25 mark is where it starts

If someone could clarify a wondering for me, please. Would the behavior of cadaver dogs in Gannon's bedroom, along with all of the blood which was found, be enough for LE / DA to state that Gannon's bedroom is where he died?
Or, since his sweet body had been removed, would the behavior of cadaver dogs be inconsequential?
Thanks.
RIP sweet boy.
MOO

 

[Catareeka]

Gannon...

Being a South Carolinian, I truly wish everything involving Letecia were in NC, however, her court appearance was in SC.

I would also like to state that Letecia IS a North Carolinian!!!...we have enough really awful criminals of our own, don’t need to claim any more...nope, just nope SMH

You're right. I often get the two states mixed up. I apologize, I meant no disrespect. I love the Carolina's, I go there annually while on vacation.

 

[Feistyomi]

IMO by the way LS was smiling in her NC court appearance, it makes me think that she didn't think they had enough evidence to arrest her and she was going to get away with murder..... I'd say she's not smiling now!

Gannon...

Being a South Carolinian, I truly wish everything involving Letecia were in NC, however, her court appearance was in SC.

I would also like to state that Letecia IS a North Carolinian!!!...we have enough really awful criminals of our own, don’t need to claim any more...nope, just nope SMH

You're right. I often get the two states mixed up. I apologize, I meant no disrespect. I love the Carolina's, I go there annually while on vacation.

Gannon...

No offense taken, hope you get to take that vacation this year, too!
I live in a rural setting, so I can go outside
freely, the weather is delightful right now!
We have grands in Pawleys, and since they give me bronchitis, and intestinal bugs, in a normal time, I have not visited since Feb...
But I am definitely needing to see them soon...
Aaannnnd, I have lots of friends in North Carolina, so I kinda hate to push her back on them...nobody deserves her!MOO

 

[tmar]

Thanks for all the hugs. Y'all rock.

I joined WS after I lost my son in 2006. I come and go. These cases helped me heal back then and help me to never forget now.

So sorry to hear of the loss of your son.
Hoping to see more posts from you, knowing you have benefited from WS.

 

[Hatfield]

If someone could clarify a wondering for me, please. Would the behavior of cadaver dogs in Gannon's bedroom, along with all of the blood which was found, be enough for LE / DA to state that Gannon's bedroom is where he died?
Or, since his sweet body had been removed, would the behavior of cadaver dogs be inconsequential?
Thanks.
RIP sweet boy.
MOO

JMO
As far as blood evidence in his room,
I have seen other cases where the amount of blood found (in a large carpet soaked stain on the floor) was deemed so much that there was testimony from a medical person that said the person could not have survived losing that much blood so they were able to testify that the person had likely died there because of the amount of blood stains in the carpet was so volumous. It was that medical person's opinion and the jury still had to weigh whether they agreed with that or not.
The problem in this case is she cleaned up all the blood and so I think we only have spots and splatter stains that indicate where it was splattered and I am not sure a medical professional could make an assumption based on that. I am sure they will have a medical professional testify about the blood and maybe even a blood splatter expert, so we may have to wait and see if they will try to claim enough blood was lost there to deem he died there or not.

For testimony of cadaver dog handlers,
there was a landmark ruling years ago (i think supreme court) that allowed cadaver dog handlers to testify during a trial as to how the dog reacted and what it meant to the handler. But it is still up to each trial's judge to decide if they want to allow testimony like that because a judge can decide not to allow it if they dont want to allow it in the trial.

In this case, I dont think we know how the dogs behaved in the house, if they were in fact brought into the home.

If they were used and if they detected a deceased body then the prosecution can ask the judge to allow the handlers testimony about the dogs behavior and what it meant to the handler. It would then be up to the jury to decide how much weight they want to put on that testimony.

That is my understanding of how things normally work related to your questions.

 

[watergirl62]

I was wondering the same thing....LOL!

I think she stuffed her pants with tissue after they ask for her phone, because they'd already taken her car and she figured that she might have to walk back to where she was staying, so she was preparing in case she needed to use the side of the road. JMO

That is a great theory. I think that LE had mentioned something about DNA, so maybe she did not want to leave any samples for them to test. Also a theory.

 

[Catareeka]

Gannon...

Being a South Carolinian, I truly wish everything involving Letecia were in NC, however, her court appearance was in SC.

I would also like to state that Letecia IS a North Carolinian!!!...we have enough really awful criminals of our own, don’t need to claim any more...nope, just nope SMH

Gannon...

No offense taken, hope you get to take that vacation this year, too!
I live in a rural setting, so I can go outside
freely, the weather is delightful right now!
We have grands in Pawleys, and since they give me bronchitis, and intestinal bugs, in a normal time, I have not visited since Feb...
But I am definitely needing to see them soon...
Aaannnnd, I have lots of friends in North Carolina, so I kinda hate to push her back on them...nobody deserves her!MOO

I wouldn't want to claim her either, but she'll probably never see either state again if the El Paso County DA has his way.
I'm hoping that we can still take our annual vacation this fall and that things will return to a "somewhat normal" by then.

 

[watergirl62]

We just drove over the Escambia River Bridge to pick up lunch. I wanted to share how loved Gannon is here and how people here care about and support the Stauch family.

ETA- I’m sorry about the poor quality. My 11 year old was trying to take pictures as I drove by. There was a lot of traffic and I slowed to 45 in 55 MPH in the right lane.

Thanks for posting this photo, MirandaElle!

 

[Catareeka]

That is a great theory. I think that LE had mentioned something about DNA, so maybe she did not want to leave any samples for them to test. Also a theory.

Your theory could be right, I also wonder if she wiped the phone down with the tissue before giving it to them. I could totally imagine her doing that, to get her fingerprints off of it.

 

[MassGuy]

JMO
As far as blood evidence in his room,
I have seen other cases where the amount of blood found (in a large carpet soaked stain on the floor) was deemed so much that there was testimony from a medical person that said the person could not have survived losing that much blood so they were able to testify that the person had likely died there because of the amount of blood stains in the carpet was so volumous. It was that medical person's opinion and the jury still had to weigh whether they agreed with that or not.
The problem in this case is she cleaned up all the blood and so I think we only have spots and splatter stains that indicate where it was splattered and I am not sure a medical professional could make an assumption based on that. I am sure they will have a medical professional testify about the blood and maybe even a blood splatter expert, so we may have to wait and see if they will try to claim enough blood was lost there to deem he died there or not.

For testimony of cadaver dog handlers,
there was a landmark ruling years ago (i think supreme court) that allowed cadaver dog handlers to testify during a trial as to how the dog reacted and what it meant to the handler. But it is still up to each trial's judge to decide if they want to allow testimony like that because a judge can decide not to allow it if they dont want to allow it in the trial.

In this case, I dont think we know how the dogs behaved in the house, if they were in fact brought into the home.

If they were used and if they detected a deceased body then the prosecution can ask the judge to allow the handlers testimony about the dogs behavior and what it meant to the handler. It would then be up to the jury to decide how much weight they want to put on that testimony.

That is my understanding of how things normally work related to your questions.

Yeah. The prosecution has retained Tom Bevel’s company to analyze the blood evidence (anyone who has watched forensic files knows exactly who he is).

They were also used in the Kelsey Berreth case IIRC.

The biggest thing is what they have to say regarding the blood in Gannon’s room. I’m waiting for that, as it would help end any doubt as to if Gannon returned that day.

I think the dogs are more valuable if they indicated on the initial dumpsite, or any vehicles she may have used. Absent any forensic proof, they could atleast shore up the theory as to how this all went down.

 

[JDough]

Never saw that "juvenile male" report and would seriously doubt those details coming from a road side worker.

Within the first three days...there was discussion of a brown suitcase on SM. How many missing people are found in suitcases...that alone could have pretty well clinched it. And if LE had a clue as to the route being traveled....a done deal.

On March 18, 2020, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office stating they responded to a call of a deceased juvenile male in Pace, Florida.

EPC Sheriff's Office

 

[MassGuy]

According to what I read, the body was found by a road crew on Tuesday the 17th, and El Paso police were notified on Wednesday. On Friday, the 20th, LE stated the body was tentatively determined to belong to Gannon based on the preliminary autopsy results.
They already had his DNA, so I'm assuming they either used rapid DNA, which takes less than two hours, or they had a match within 24 hours. They also could have used his dental records to identify him.

There's no information yet about whether or not LE suspected the body could have been moved to Florida. I'm surprised the media never knew that a body had been found until after the autopsy, when it was announced by LE.

Imo

I’m not surprised that the media didn’t get wind of it sooner, as the body was found in a different state. That’s pretty much the only situation in which the media would be caught off guard.

Florida didn’t know what they had right away, so there’s no way the Colorado based media would have put it together.

 

[Seattle1]

We just drove over the Escambia River Bridge to pick up lunch. I wanted to share how loved Gannon is here and how people here care about and support the Stauch family.

ETA- I’m sorry about the poor quality. My 11 year old was trying to take pictures as I drove by. There was a lot of traffic and I slowed to 45 in 55 MPH in the right lane.

Thanks for sharing, and kudos to your 11-year-old for a great job!!

 

[Seattle1]

That is a great theory. I think that LE had mentioned something about DNA, so maybe she did not want to leave any samples for them to test. Also a theory.

I agree. LS collecting her tissue and the alleged medical incident all occurred while the investigators were waiting for a judge to sign the search warrant for LS DNA.

 

[MsBetsy]

I’m not surprised that the media didn’t get wind of it sooner, as the body was found in a different state. That’s pretty much the only situation in which the media would be caught off guard.

Florida didn’t know what they had right away, so there’s no way the Colorado based media would have put it together.

Yes, I think if they had reported finding the body of a male adolescent it might have been a different story.
It seems like in every case I've followed here, whenever a body is found, even miles away, somehow members find information about it and speculate that it could be the victim.
It's a good thing that didn't happen, though, because it would have been very frustrating to wait three days for confirmation.

Imo