CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, found deceased, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *Arrest* #54

[10ofRods]

Too wild. Experts on the prosecution and defense side can’t agree on her sanity, so it’s left up to a jury. That’s crazy IMO.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same in sexual harassment and discrimination cases. It's called the "reasonable person" standard (used to be called "the reasonable man" standard) but the idea is that areas vary in their definitions of insanity (for legal purposes). It's such a can of worms. For example, there are people who believe that having a different sexual or gender orientation is a form of "insanity," (DSM disagrees - but even psychiatrists used to be divided on this, until the 1970's or thereabouts).

Was also the standard (probably still is) for *advertiser censored* cases. What was "*advertiser censored*" in Las Vegas was not the same as "*advertiser censored*" in Utah and I believe there was a SC ruling on that.

Difficult issues. Guilty but insane is the best option for cases like this one. But, if NGRI means that Tee gets 25 years in a mental hospital instead of a prison, that may be better for everyone because criminally insane hospitals are not exactly a walk in the park - there are some who get attorneys to get themselves removed to lower security prisons. We can discuss that more if she ends up in such a place - I don't think she will. I like to think I know Coloradans and that they aren't going to buy her intermittent and sudden and extremely time-limited insanity defense.

IMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Letecia Stauch’s hair covered the side of her face so that her face was not visible to the rest of the room. She only spoke briefly and quietly to her lawyers.

Prosecutors said, Stauch knew what she is accused of doing was wrong, which is why she allegedly went to great lengths to cover her tracks. District Attorney Michael Allen showed photos of the bedroom where Gannon was killed, which he says Stauch reportedly cleaned after the crime. He also pointed to Stauch’s shoes, which he says were cleaned after the crime.

Day one of Letecia Stauch trial: Opening statement details

Day one of the Letecia Stauch trail included the jury being sworn in, followed by opening statements from both prosecutors and Stauch’s public defenders.

www.kktv.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1642996581292023809

 

[linds1393]

I've been trying to write about this story in my blog and I really would love to include every detail and be as accurate as possible with sources. That being said, does anyone have any link to the rental car and the receipt with the mileages put on? Thank you!

 

[Tealgrove]

Video:
Prosecutor Michael Allen told the jury that evidence shows Letecia Stauch stabbed Gannon Stauch first and that he had defensive wounds. Allen said that Stauch then beat the boy, crushing his skull, and then shot him three times.

Stepmother Murder Trial: Prosecution Opening Statement

The prosecutor told jurors Letecia Stauch stabbed Gannon Stauch and then beat the boy, crushing his skull, then shot him three times.

www.courttv.com

*Ugh! How could she be so evil?

I feel sick.

 

[alexwood]

For sure. Once she started “presplaining” evidence, it was over for me. The story never made sense. The posture of law enforcement never made sense.

Then we had that insane back to the camera interview, where she asked for a second take (she clearly didn’t think she was emotional enough).

She’s as evil as she is stupid.

I guess she can't sit in the court room with her back to the judge and jury. Instead, she has a monitor in front of her mug.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I feel sick.

I’m wondering how she beat him. With her fists? Oh, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry. Myself doesn’t listen… I’m so serious. How in hell are we supposed to listen to her made up scenarios? She’s had such a long time to scheme. This is going to be excruciating.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1643035659538518016

Sane or insane? That is the driving question in the trial of Letecia Stauch, who is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch in January 2020.

Contrasting sanity evaluations at heart of Letecia Stauch trial

Sane or insane? That is the driving question in the trial of Letecia Stauch, who is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch in January 2020.

gazette.com

Sane or insane? That is the driving question in the trial of Letecia Stauch, who is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch in January 2020.

During opening statements on Monday afternoon in a near-capacity El Paso County courtroom, prosecutors and defense attorneys said they believe they have the answer to the question of sanity, and that they plan to present expert testimony to prove it.

District Attorney Michael Allen told the 18-person jury composed of 11 men and seven women that a report from the state hospital in Pueblo found LeteciaStauch, 39, to be sane at the time she allegedly killed her stepson.

 

[linds1393]

I’m wondering how she beat him. With her fists? Oh, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry. Myself doesn’t listen… I’m so serious. How in hell are we supposed to listen to her made up scenarios? She’s had such a long time to scheme.

Yeah and it seems as though all this time they came up with absolutely nothing for a defense other than "please just hear us out" I hope this is a clear road to a conviction.

 

[alexwood]

Very unfair that she is allowed to sit and hide behind a monitor and also away from her attorneys. Why is she allowed to distance herself from two people who are representing her? Both defense attorneys were rolling their chairs over to her. imo, moo

Exactly this! The judge should not allow it. It is his court room.

 

[alexwood]

I’m wondering how she beat him. With her fists? Oh, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry. Myself doesn’t listen… I’m so serious. How in hell are we supposed to listen to her made up scenarios? She’s had such a long time to scheme. This is going to be excruciating.

I think a board was found, with blood on it (but don't know where it was found); the board was determined to have come from the garage at the residence.

 

[Megnut]

I've been trying to write about this story in my blog and I really would love to include every detail and be as accurate as possible with sources. That being said, does anyone have any link to the rental car and the receipt with the mileages put on? Thank you!

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

No receipt but details on Page 8 of the AA. 71 miles.

 

[crhedBngr]

I think a board was found, with blood on it (but don't know where it was found); the board was determined to have come from the garage at the residence.

That is correct. I don't recall where I read this; I'll try and find it in the AA.

ETA: Please see Item 26 in the AA. It is on Page 4.

DocumentCloud

JMVHO.

 

[alexwood]

That is correct. I don't recall where I read this; I'll try and find it in the AA.

JMVHO.

I read it here, during the trial today. That somewhat narrows it down. It was probably a tweet from a reporter, but can't be certain.

 

[10ofRods]

Too wild. Experts on the prosecution and defense side can’t agree on her sanity, so it’s left up to a jury. That’s crazy IMO.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same in sexual harassment and discrimination cases. It's called the "reasonable person" standard (used to be called "the reasonable man" standard) but the idea is that areas vary in their definitions of insanity (for legal purposes). It's such a can of worms. For example, there are people who believe that having a different sexual or gender orientation is a form of "insanity," (DSM disagrees - but even psychiatrists used to be divided on this, until the 1970's or thereabouts).

Was also the standard (probably still is) for *advertiser censored* cases. What was "*advertiser censored*" in Las Vegas was not the same as "*advertiser censored*" in Utah and I believe there was a SC ruling on that.

Difficult issues. Guilty but insane is the best option for cases like this one. But, if NGRI means that Tee gets 25 years in a mental hospital instead of a prison, that may be better for everyone because criminally insane hospitals are not exactly a walk in the park - there are some who get attorneys to get themselves removed to lower security prisons. We can discuss that more if she ends up in such a place - I don't think she will. I like to think I know Coloradans and that they aren't going to buy her intermittent and sudden and extremely time-limited insanity defense.

IMO.

 

[kittythehare]

That is correct. I don't recall where I read this; I'll try and find it in the AA.

ETA: Please see Item 26 in the AA. It is on Page 4.

DocumentCloud

JMVHO.

Gannon Stauch: Bloody Board Found in Snow, Officer Misses Suitcase at Alleged Killer Stepmom’s Home [Part 3]

Three witnesses who worked with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office took the stand Thursday during the evidentiary hearing for Letecia Stauch, a Colorado stepmother accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Stauch is accused of murdering...

www.crimeonline.com

 

[crhedBngr]

Gannon Stauch: Bloody Board Found in Snow, Officer Misses Suitcase at Alleged Killer Stepmom’s Home [Part 3]

Three witnesses who worked with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office took the stand Thursday during the evidentiary hearing for Letecia Stauch, a Colorado stepmother accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Stauch is accused of murdering...

www.crimeonline.com

Thanks, @kittythehare !

JMVHO.

 

[kittythehare]

District Attorney Michael Allen argued in his opening statement that the steps that Stauch took to cover up her actions are proof that she knew what she did was wrong and was therefore sane. She cleaned up blood in Gannon's bedroom, moving his body to various locations to hide it before disposing of it “like garbage” in a river that flows into the Gulf of Mexico in hopes it would never be found, he said. Stauch also lied to investigators various times to try to hamper their investigation, Allen said, changing her accounts of what happened to Gannon. She claimed two different men had raped her and then abducted Gannon and, later, that one of those men had taken Gannon after he hurt himself in a bike crash. “All of her actions were purposefully designed by her to distance herself from what she did,” Allen said.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article273930130.html#storylink=cpy

“These are all signs and evidence of a mind, a soul, that is broken in a most fundamental and profound way,” he said. Cook suggested Stauch developed dissociative identify disorder as a result of being physically, emotionally and sexually abused by her absent mother's string of partners during her childhood, sometimes sleeping in a car in the driveway to escape the abuse. When she killed Gannon, she was not, in her mind, killing her stepson, but the “demons” from her childhood and life, he said.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article273930130.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Seattle1]

Since the trial is being made available only by WebEx (no media cameras), the courtroom cameras and audio are fixed, and during prior hearings -- seldom have we clearly seen LS on the WebEx feed.

Whether intentional or not, LS is typically seated where we only see a profile view of her shoulder and heard. And she's forever using her hair to cover her face.

That said, since defendants are typically not restrained in front of jurors, it's possible her seating may change but I guess we will know after 1:30 pm today. JMO

#HereforGannon

OK, as expected, LS is seated as far to the right as possible where you can see only her head but her upper body is hidden by a monitor.

 

[kittythehare]

exact location of where bpard was found

https://twitter.com/x/status/1436009804984631299

 

[alexwood]

That is correct. I don't recall where I read this; I'll try and find it in the AA.

JMVHO.

I read it here, during the trial today. That somewhat narrows it down. It was probably a tweet from a reporter, but can't be certain.

Gannon Stauch: Bloody Board Found in Snow, Officer Misses Suitcase at Alleged Killer Stepmom’s Home [Part 3]

Three witnesses who worked with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office took the stand Thursday during the evidentiary hearing for Letecia Stauch, a Colorado stepmother accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Stauch is accused of murdering...

www.crimeonline.com

Thanks a million, @kittythehare! That is exactly what we needed to confirm the origin of the bloody board found on Perry Park Road, by searchers in Douglas County. A flat, plywood board with Gannon Stauch's blood on it!