Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #46

[Honey_West]

Here for Gannon!

 

[MsBetsy]

IIRC there is no way to exit the house from the basement level. Only a front door, the slider at the back of the house from the dining area and the door from the main floor into the garage.

MOO I think a fit woman could wrangle getting a 95 lb wheeled suitcase up a flight of stairs without too much problem.

Yeah, I don't think she would have had a problem dragging or pulling the suitcase up the stairs by herself. It looks like there are just a few steps to the landing and then a few more to the main level.

LE found blood on the stairs, on the landing and from the steps and pathway leading to the garage, as well as in the garage underneath where her car was parked on Monday night.

At some point she probably transferred the body to the car in the suitcase, after placing the board in the trunk to keep blood from soaking through the suitcase.

Maybe that's when she got the blood on the trunk of the car. Either that or it happened when she dumped the body on Tuesday night.

There was no way she was going to allow anyone to see her car, so there had to be some very incriminating evidence in it.

Imo

 

[MassGuy]

The mountain of evidence is overwhelming in this case even more so than in the CA case

Just one key difference is that LE knew about GS disappearance very early and there was a lot of evidence found right in the victims own home.

We do not know that all the blood evidence is inconclusive and in fact I believe we have learned that some of it has already been shown to be conclusive .

It seems to get forgotten but there were many that thought that the evidence in the Berreth case was lacking. And that was a no body prosecution!

Many were astounded by what we later learned that investigators had on PF.

And much like the Berreth case prosecutors were ready and prepared to go forward with a no body prosecution in this case as well. The significance of that fact cannot be understated!

There's a reason why no body cases have such a high success rate, bc it takes a lot of overwhelming evidence to make those charges stick

She's guilty and they have her dead to rights. And these prosecutors that are seeing to that have a very proven track record.

HH being truthful is important for the family to have all the details and for understanding what completely transpired.

Is it critical to getting a guilty verdict? Personally I think they have plenty to do it without her full cooperation.

I do believe its critical in HH own wellbeing to be truthful and fully break away from her mother, and non-withstanding its simply the right thing to do.

But what She doesn't fully answer and or refuses to say may be just as powerful against her mother as what she does say.

Either way T is going to go down and DA Allen with the guidance of Dan May will see to that IMO

The evidence is Overwhelming

Yup. I thought the Berreth case was a slam dunk from the preliminary hearing onward.

This one is a fricken slam dunk contest already. It’s a prosecution’s dream to have this much evidence, and we don’t know the half of it yet.

 

[pepper 34]

The mountain of evidence is overwhelming in this case even more so than in the CA case

Just one key difference is that LE knew about GS disappearance very early and there was a lot of evidence found right in the victims own home.

We do not know that all the blood evidence is inconclusive and in fact I believe we have learned that some of it has already been shown to be conclusive .

It seems to get forgotten but there were many that thought that the evidence in the Berreth case was lacking. And that was a no body prosecution!

Many were astounded by what we later learned that investigators had on PF.

And much like the Berreth case prosecutors were ready and prepared to go forward with a no body prosecution in this case as well. The significance of that fact cannot be understated!

There's a reason why no body cases have such a high success rate, bc it takes a lot of overwhelming evidence to make those charges stick

She's guilty and they have her dead to rights. And these prosecutors that are seeing to that have a very proven track record.

HH being truthful is important for the family to have all the details and for understanding what completely transpired.

Is it critical to getting a guilty verdict? Personally I think they have plenty to do it without her full cooperation.

I do believe its critical in HH own wellbeing to be truthful and fully break away from her mother, and non-withstanding its simply the right thing to do.

But what She doesn't fully answer and or refuses to say may be just as powerful against her mother as what she does say.

Either way T is going to go down and DA Allen with the guidance of Dan May will see to that IMO

The evidence is Overwhelming

They still had blood evidence items that had yet to come back at the time the AA was written, as well. It was stated in the AA that not all evidence in LE's possession would be discussed in that document. GPS shows she not only drove along the precise stretch of road where the particle board stained with Gannon's blood was found... twice in cars she rented... but she stopped the car and the car remained immobile for 5 minutes at that point in the road. We don't have any idea what other evidence LE has but we'll soon find out and we've already been informed that they do have more.

Google search: "How do you know when a goose is thoroughly cooked?"

Answer: "The goose is thoroughly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of around 175°F/80°C at the thickest part of the thigh and 160°F/75°C in the center of the stuffing."

 

[Warwick7]

I agree. I think it is likely that HH did as she was told, without realising WHY her mom needed to borrow her VW, or why she needed to take her little sister to the Dollar store for cleaning products---she is just used to being ordered around by a controlling, domineering mother, and she has learned to comply. JMO

I agree Katy. As a matter of fact I don't think HH thought it was urgent to get back either. She bought baby oil, bubble gum and other things.

 

[Boxer]

They still had blood evidence items that had yet to come back at the time the AA was written, as well. It was stated in the AA that not all evidence in LE's possession would be discussed in that document. GPS shows she not only drove along the precise stretch of road where the particle board stained with Gannon's blood was found... twice in cars she rented... but she stopped the car and the car remained immobile for 5 minutes at that point in the road. We don't have any idea what other evidence LE has but we'll soon find out and we've already been informed that they do have more.

Google search: "How do you know when a goose is thoroughly cooked?"

Answer: "The goose is thoroughly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of around 175°F/80°C at the thickest part of the thigh and 160°F/75°C in the center of the stuffing."

Well and truly stuffed!

 

[pepper 34]

Yeah, I don't think she would have had a problem dragging or pulling the suitcase up the stairs by herself. It looks like there are just a few steps to the landing and then a few more to the main level.

LE found blood on the stairs, on the landing and from the steps and pathway leading to the garage, as well as in the garage underneath where her car was parked on Monday night.

At some point she probably transferred the body to the car in the suitcase, after placing the board in the trunk to keep blood from soaking through the suitcase.

Maybe that's when she got the blood on the trunk of the car. Either that or it happened when she dumped the body on Tuesday night.

There was no way she was going to allow anyone to see her car, so there had to be some very incriminating evidence in it.

Imo

I am much older than TS and, comparing our bodies types, I'm quite sure she's stronger and she's certainly heavier than I have ever been. However, I've never had a problem bringing a heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs and have done so many times during household moves and helping others move to new places.

You simply go up the stairs backwards (glancing back over your shoulder at times as you go up the stairs.) You use your own body weight as you lean slightly backwards to pull the suitcase up each stair; one at a time. The wheels are placed exactly where they should be, by design, so when the suitcase is tilted backwards, only the wheels touch each stair. Your own body weight does all the work.

The ease of pulling a suitcase up a flight of stairs using your own body weight can't be compared at all to trying to lift 90 pounds straight up off the floor. It's much easier to pull, using your own weight, than it is to lift the same object.

So, TS might have had some trouble lifting Gannon, in a suitcase, up off the garage floor and into the trunk of her car. She may have used the particle board to slide the suitcase up into the trunk... or not, because I don't believe she had to. I believe she was the one who tossed the suitcase over the cement embankment on the bridge in Pace, Florida, as well. Look at her arms and back in the "Cousin It" interview. She's a physically strong person, imo... add some anger or adrenaline or anxiety or fear and I'd steer clear of her. Poor little Gannon. Ninety pounds; if that.

Speculation and opinion only.

 

[watergirl62]

Just brainstorming here. But could it be that LS did not use the stairs to pull the suitcase up?

What if she took the suitcase outside from Gannon's room on the lower basement level then just pulled it up in the yard to the garage? Then she just took it in the side door of garage.

Using the yard would not involve steps and she could have waited til after dark. JMO.

Thoughts?

Attached a screenshot from Google Earth. Definitely looks flat. Is there a set of outside stairs from the two downstairs bedrooms up to the back of the house? I am looking at home photos trying to see a back staircase.

eta: I am guessing there is an exterior door from the garage to the backyard inside the fence on the east side of the house byt the trash toter.

eta2: Doh. I should have read all the posts first.

 

[nyvictoria]

Yah she knows, and she’s had plenty of time to reflect on what’s what and come to the hard understanding of who her mother truly was and what she was fully capable of.

If she hasn’t already, now is the time to put on her big girl panties and do what’s right.

all IMO
I wish we knew whether she’s finally cooperating. I’d hate to be in HH’s shoes right now because it’s pretty much a no-win situation for her. Do the right thing and tell all vs betray her mother. She must be feeling immense pressure from all sides. I hope the family isn’t filling her head with guilt. If they’re all used to bailing LS out of whatever mess she finds herself in, they likely expect HH to do the same. I’m sure LS wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her daughter. The sooner HH realizes that, the better.

 

[Cindizzi]

Attached a screenshot from Google Earth. Definitely looks flat. Is there a set of outside stairs from the two downstairs bedrooms up to the back of the house? I am looking at home photos trying to see a back staircase.

View attachment 245548

Here is the original MLS listing for the home. Others have mentioned that the basement has what is called egress windows.
6627 Mandan Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80925 - SOLD LISTING, MLS # 8973578 | Pink Realty

I’m not familiar with them, so I googled egress windows.

Window Wells | Peak Structural

 

[ab01]

They still had blood evidence items that had yet to come back at the time the AA was written, as well. It was stated in the AA that not all evidence in LE's possession would be discussed in that document. GPS shows she not only drove along the precise stretch of road where the particle board stained with Gannon's blood was found... twice in cars she rented... but she stopped the car and the car remained immobile for 5 minutes at that point in the road. We don't have any idea what other evidence LE has but we'll soon find out and we've already been informed that they do have more.

Google search: "How do you know when a goose is thoroughly cooked?"

Answer: "The goose is thoroughly cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of around 175°F/80°C at the thickest part of the thigh and 160°F/75°C in the center of the stuffing."

Yup and it will be a lot warmer than 175 degrees where she eventually ends up......

 

[kkdj]

I'm just going to throw this out there.
When a person has a lot of adrenaline they can be very strong sometimes.
I think LS had the strength to do all of this on her own.
I'm 5'3" and feel confident I could if I felt I needed to.
Just saying.

 

[ab01]

I'm just going to throw this out there.
When a person has a lot of adrenaline they can be very strong sometimes.
I think LS had the strength to do all of this on her own.
I'm 5'3" and feel confident I could if I felt I needed to.
Just saying.

Agreed!

And there are various cases that we can point to that show many with that same ability.

There’s nothing in this case that T couldn’t have done on her own as far as physical limitations imo

 

[kkdj]

Agreed!

And there are various cases that we can point to that show many with that same ability.

There’s nothing in this case that T couldn’t have done on her own as far as physical limitations imo

And you now what else? I could have figured out how to get Gannon's body cross country too. And into Florida.
I think she did it all quickly, before they had time to get their ducks in a row.

 

[pepper 34]

I agree. I think it is likely that HH did as she was told, without realising WHY her mom needed to borrow her VW, or why she needed to take her little sister to the Dollar store for cleaning products---she is just used to being ordered around by a controlling, domineering mother, and she has learned to comply. JMO

Agree... also, HH most likely, if not home at the time, still may have learned of some incident having taken place on Saturday night. An incident that somehow involved blood and, who knows, maybe candle wax and smoke and perhaps even an "accident" Gannon had that TS "so kindly" speaks of to the world. HH might have hardly given a thought to the fact that Mom needed to do a more complete cleaning of the area where all this struggle and trouble took place. And, Gannon?

Well, he's not feeling very well and finally dropped off to sleep so please keep the noise down. And so TS cleaning behind a closed bedroom door for part of her time that night might not really look suspicious at all to HH at the time.

TS knows the police will come calling and wants to put her best foot forward. Nothing quite like a little coconut rug sprinkle to create the contrived "ambiance of normalcy" to any home setting. Any good hostess (and loving wife and mother) knows that. Even if coconut trees don't grow in Colorado; you get the picture and feel the mood. Never mind that there's most likely an 11 year old's dead body stuffed into a suitcase in the trunk of her car along with his bloody bedding. A child she called "my son." ... or thrown away and in the cold darkness of on a lonely country road behind some trees. And... Oh! There's the doorbell now. Such a busy, busy day but it's all in the life of the little woman of the house.

In my wildest nightmares... It just can't be real but I know it happened.

Speculation / opinion

 

[MemPat]

I'm just going to throw this out there.
When a person has a lot of adrenaline they can be very strong sometimes.
I think LS had the strength to do all of this on her own.
I'm 5'3" and feel confident I could if I felt I needed to.
Just saying.

Adrenaline can certainly give one amazing strength and let us not forget the old adage,
"Where there's a will, there's a way".

T's freedom and reputation were at stake so she certainly had the will to cover up this despicable crime.

Whatever else she did, it's clear she found a way to move Gannon's body at least twice and cause it to land half way across the country!

Stairs would just be a bump in the road (no pun intended).

MOO

 

[ab01]

And you now what else? I could have figured out how to get Gannon's body cross country too. And into Florida.
I think she did it all quickly, before they had time to get their ducks in a row.

Yup I think they were waiting on information of where she had been etc and before they could get that back she went and retrieved him and high tailed it out of there.

I think she got it done just in the nick of time too, she was very soon going to have a lot more eyes focused on her and her whereabouts

 

[Seattle1]

First set of bold type BBM

It's true TS's most stable teaching employment occurred before she married AS. In Horry Co SC she worked as a Special Ed teacher for 3 years 2012-2015 and was not fired. She then worked for a year as a history teacher for another county. Prior to employment as a teacher she worked as a school system para-professional 2010-2012 in Horry Co. according to the school system. So that's 6 years of stable employment. Former Horry County school employee charged in step-son’s murder being extradited back to Colorado

Then trouble began and she ended up losing her license. But she was not fired from every CO job. She was fired from the District 20 job just after GS went missing. She was still in orientation and had not begun teaching.

Academy D-20 rescinded job offer to Letecia Stauch after stepson went missing

She was not fired from District 3 so far as we know and so far as the district has said. (Mar 2019-Nov 2019.) She worked first as a long-term substitute teacher and then as an elementary teacher. I tend to believe that she was not fired from those jobs. If she had been, I doubt District 20 would have hired her as that would have been easy to find in screening. I also suspect had she been "fired" as a sub in D-3, she wouldn't have then been hired by D-3 as a regular teacher. I suspect whatever "application irregularities" there were that led to D-20 firing her occurred out of state or had to do with her loss of her SC license. (That license was restored according to SC database.) But she was required to reveal the loss on her application.

Gannon's stepmom former Widefield School District teacher

The curriculum developer stuff on LinkedIn does appear to have been fabricated. (Like alot of LinkedIn stuff IMO!)

JMO

^^bbm

I believe LS's Colorado or recent work history important because it involved her being around young children just before she was arrested for murdering a young child and disappearing his body. I'm interested in her mindset and demeanor exhibited in that environment leading up to her horrific crime. Respectfully, I'm not interested in semantics and stand by my linked posts.

Reportedly, LS obtained a Colorado teaching certificate March 2019; worked as a substitute for only two months according to D-3 spokesperson; was terminated from French Elementary School position; and job offer rescinded for cause Jan 2020.

LS is certainly proof that being terminated does not affect being hired in another state or within another school district. Teaching positions are difficult to fill! MOO

Gannon's stepmom former Widefield School District teacher

Stauch reportedly has had stints working for a variety of schools and districts – most of them brief.

"Letecia Stauch was a substitute teacher in the district from March to May 2019," said Samantha Briggs, WSD3 Director of Communication. [2 months].

Letecia ‘Tee’ Stauch: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

And a source told Heavy that Stauch was fired from her job in Colorado in December 2019 after just one semester of employment. She had worked at French Elementary School in Colorado Springs before she was fired after a few months.
[Aug - Nov 2019]

Teachers living in campers: How rural Colorado districts are coping with growing teacher shortage

 

[Boxer]

Here is the original MLS listing for the home. Others have mentioned that the basement has what is called egress windows.
6627 Mandan Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80925 - SOLD LISTING, MLS # 8973578 | Pink Realty

I’m not familiar with them, so I googled egress windows.

Window Wells | Peak Structural

DTPeke posted this some time ago. extremely helpful. Its the same home model of 6627.
Mandan Dr.
A 360 tour.
Explore The Lowell - Saint Aubyn Homes in 3D

 

[Lori Cooper]

Yeah, I don't think she would have had a problem dragging or pulling the suitcase up the stairs by herself. It looks like there are just a few steps to the landing and then a few more to the main level.

LE found blood on the stairs, on the landing and from the steps and pathway leading to the garage, as well as in the garage underneath where her car was parked on Monday night.

At some point she probably transferred the body to the car in the suitcase, after placing the board in the trunk to keep blood from soaking through the suitcase.

Maybe that's when she got the blood on the trunk of the car. Either that or it happened when she dumped the body on Tuesday night.

There was no way she was going to allow anyone to see her car, so there had to be some very incriminating evidence in it.

Imo

BBM
And that right there, is the main reason that I'm edging toward the thought, that he came home with her that day. That bloody board! If she killed him on her 4 hour journey, where would the board have come into play? I think she needed it that afternoon, so she wouldn't get blood in her vehicle. As far as hauling a suitcase up the stairs with a body in it, I'm 61 and hauled my very overstuffed suitcase all over Nova Scotia last fall and there is no way that anyone would call me in great physical shape. If you take her age, physically somewhat fit and the adrenaline, I don't think she would have any trouble doing it. I'm sure that one of you lovelies will make a post that will teeter me the other way, so I will just sit here on the perch with the rest of my kind.