WATCH LIVE: Stepmom Murder Trial — Letecia Stauch's Daughter Harley Hunt Testifies— Day Nine
A portion of transcript of HH’s testimony. HH testified on April 17, 2023 (Day 9) and she wore a blue outfit to court.
No typos or spelling corrections were made. Transcript is "as is."
40:57 prosecution call your next witness please people would call Holly Hunt This Dance
45:50 I want to talk to you a little bit about your family back in 2015 2014 time frame did your
mother marry someone named Albert Stout yes and did Albert have kids of his own
yes what's his kids names do you remember Lena and Canon may approach you
may I'll show you what's then introduced some evidence is people's exhibit one
recognize that person yes is that Ganon Stout yes
46:27 Elena South is his younger sister yes
what was your relationship with Gannon Stout a good relationship of course we had
like a h difference um but I would always try to be there for them when I could
46:46 you remember how old you were when Albert and your mom got married I think I was 12. 12 or so how old was
Gannon when that happened you remember um he was really young four or five
and Lena was even younger than that I would imagine you remember how old Lena was two maybe or so
and so did you also have a relationship with Lena yes I did was she like a
47:15 sister to you yes and was Gannon like a brother to you yes
um although there was an age difference uh especially probably when you got into your teenage years right correct I would
imagine they may have been a little Annoying for you a little bit yeah is that fair to say
okay um what about your mom's relationship with
Gannon um over the years can you start out perhaps when Albert and your mom got
married how was that relationship between Ganon and your mom yeah so
um it was different first because we were like a blended family so we are just getting used to
to you know more people in our life um they had a like an okay relationship
there are problems here and there but um
was there a point in time when Albert and your mom first got married where Albert didn't have custody of the kids
yes uh and were things a little easier when the kids weren't around
um I wouldn't say easier having to go back and forth between you
know the weekends and everything with them were difficult because you know Albert of course wanted
kids full time with him so I just remember there being like a lot of
problems with that but at some point did Albert get custody of both Lena and Gannon yes and were they
living with you all more of a full-time basis yes and Did You observe the
relationship between everyone at that time yes did it seem to be uh for lack
of a better term a normal family situation yes okay
um what about your relationship with Albert how'd that go
he had a good relationship um you know when for Albert first came in
it's when my dad passed away so you know that was difficult for me at first because I didn't want like my
father to feel replaced that's how I felt like in my heart um But as time grew we got closer
what was your father's name chance Aunt yes do you remember when he died
yes when I was 12 in Octo October so would that have been October 2000
help me out with the math here well over 14.
sometime in that time frame when your father passed away or Albert and your mom married
50:00 do you know how your dad passed away how did he die
and overdose and when did you first learn that this past week
what were you told how he died before someone came in and robbed him and
killed him and who told you that my mom had she ever
told you the the truth as to how your dad died no how'd you learn about that then
um the internet this case has got an enormous amount of tension on social media and the internet
is that right yes and you have actually gotten a lot of attention on the internet because of
this case is that right yes very difficult you being here right now
testifying this court
is the average stop do you see him in the courtroom I do seated in the front row in the gallery here
um yes
when Albert and your mom got married where were you living Myrtle Beach
and had how long had you lived there before you moved to another place do you remember
I do not remember the exact time in the beginning of Albert's and your
mom's marriage was Albert Stout going to training a lot
51:39 and was he away from the house quite a bit because of his job yes and
where there are often times where it'd be just you and your mom in the house while Albert was out training yes were
there other times where to be you your mom and Lena and Gannon
only when he was like at work how did your mom feel about
52:07 um or do you know did your mom ever talk to you about how she felt about Albert being gone all the time and being at
training yes um she wanted him to be home more especially when we had the kids with us
and did she tell you whether or not she liked being at home alone with the kids
she did not know at some point did you move to uh
Charleston South Carolina yes we did why did you move to Charleston South Carolina
were their job purposes lose jobs
both my my mom and Albert my mom wanted to teach at a new school and Albert
found was able to find the good job position there too and did your mom tell you why she wanted
to teach at a new school just to get away from Myrtle Beach
53:10 did your mom want to move frequently yes was that pretty constant
throughout your relationship with her yes
and so how long did you live in Charleston not long maybe a year if that
and where did you go from Charleston back to Myrtle Beach and why did you go back to Myrtle Beach
because my mom didn't like being in Charleston and did she tell you that
yes and so were you having to switch schools from
Myrtle Beach to Charleston and then back to Myrtle Beach yes so I actually went back to school as
well um when we stayed in Charleston too and did you end up graduating from high
school early I did yes tell the jury about that how'd that happen I eventually when we moved to Alaska I did
online school so I did two years at that so I ended up doing three years of high
school so you graduated essentially from being
in Alaska doing online studies yes and we're going to get there in a minute okay do you remember how long you lived
in Myrtle Beach the second time no did you know whether or not uh your mom
and Al style actually bought a house in Myrtle Beach yes tell the jury about that
we once we moved back they bought a house there that we had over a course of
time also when we lived in Alaska and was at the first home that was
purchased between Al and your mom yes that was purchased
and at some point did Albert Stout get orders to go to Alaska yes were you in
the home at that time yes the home that you purchased yes
uh tell us the jury about that what were the circumstances what was the plan for
you and your mother and the kids when Albert was sent to Alaska
um to be stationed there he was the he was stationed there
um and we still had our house in Myrtle Beach and we would go back and forth
from being in Alaska and Myrtle Beach and when you say we who are we talking about me and my mom
do you know where the kids were at this point in time sometimes they would be with us in Alaska and sometimes they would be back
55:53 in Myrtle Beach with their mom and did you know their mother Landon yes
had you met her on occasion yes and you see her in the courtroom today
yes sitting the second row back here yes
was this in the time frame around 2017 2018 when Albert was stationed in Alaska
yes and you said that you would go to Alaska on occasion and go back to Myrtle Beach
and you indicated it was you and your mom right correct how often would you
guys go to Alaska but it would stay in Alaska for like a
month or so and then we fly back to Myrtle Beach for a couple weeks and then fly back to Alaska
56:43 were you ever did you fully ever move to Alaska with your mother no and and why
is that um because we still had our house in Myrtle Beach so
we would go back and forth did your mom ever talk to you about moving to Alaska
what do you mean well did she ever tell you whether or not she liked being in Alaska oh she did not like being in
Alaska no and what did she tell you about that because it was cold and she
couldn't work there and there's nothing to do
at some point were you up in Alaska with your mom and discussions were talked about moving
to Colorado yes tell the jury about that
I remember after like three or four years or so um Albert found out that he could move
to Colorado and be stationed there um and we all were excited because it
was better than being in Alaska do you know whose idea that was
my mom's and why do you say that because there was an incident that
happened in Alaska I wasn't told much but something that didn't want her or Albert
to be in Alaska anymore you have to say yes or no I'm sorry yes sorry it's all right
and so talk about the move to Colorado when this decision was made to go to
Colorado did you still have this house in Myrtle Beach we did it first and then
they sold the house after it was sold we drove everything to
Colorado did you have to fly back to Myrtle Beach and then drive across the country to Colorado yes and was it Colorado Springs
where you were going to yes what was Albert doing as all this was happening do you know
I don't remember was he still in Alaska I don't remember
um I don't know that's fine
do you remember moving into the house 6627 Mandan Drive here in Colorado
59:06 Springs yes when you moved in was Albert with you initially
no I'll tell a jury about that when did Albert come to Colorado Springs to live
with you and your mother when we got to Colorado after driving there
um the kids came at some point and then a couple weeks later Albert came
and would this would this have been uh early 2019 time frame
now how long did you live in that house
before gannon's death do you remember the year we moved in January 2019.
was this year time frame the first time that all of you were together
during Albert and your mom's marriage yes and first extended time for a year
yes had you had an opportunity to see Albert
and your mom together on numerous occasions yes yeah it was their relationship like
and I'm talking about when you're in Colorado 2019 on
it started to feel like we were family again because everybody was there and like we
were together did they ever argue yes how often would
they argue often and how do you know they were arguing
because you could hear them arguing and what would you do when that would happen
um you know and arlena would come ask me why they were arguing
so like they would just come my room and I would turn the TV up or something because I didn't want them to have to
listen to them argue did you ever get pulled into these
arguments yes tell the jury about that um
they would be arguing about something and then it would be like
well isn't this true or like that's my opinion try to get my say so on it and who would
ask your opinion to get your say so my mom did you ever ask your mom say why do you
1:01:32 pull me into these arguments to get my opinion yeah I just said like I don't want to be a part of this and what did
she say in response to that but just keep asking and then they keep arguing
I want to go forward to January of 2020 now right
um well let me go back to Christmas of 2019. I did Gannon and uh Elena
were they were their mom during the holiday period yes I believe we celebrated Christmas
early with them did they go back to South Carolina to be with their mom over the holidays yes
did they eventually come back yes and with that been now January 2020 when
they came back to the house yes now was your mom working here in Colorado
yes where was she working um out of school do you remember what school
I don't remember the name of it no French Elementary sound familiar yes was
that the school she was working at yes in January of 2020
do you know whether or not Albert and your mom were planning to go on a cruise to celebrate their anniversary yes tell
the jury about that um it was a couple day cruise that they
were planning to go on um goes towards the end of the month
and did they go on a cruise they did yes did they where did they go to go to on this Cruise do you know no
um what was going to happen with you and Lena and Ganon while they were gone on a
cruise she hired a babysitter and did you know this babysitter no do
you know why she hired a babysitter no and you were how old at the time 17. and
had you watched the kids before yes um have you watched the kids overnight before yes
1:03:43 uh how did that did you ever ask your mom why are you getting a babysitter I'm here yeah how
did she respond to that I don't remember I just remember being
like really upset about it do you even remember this babysitter's name no had you ever seen her before no
have you ever seen her after no
when they get back from the cruise uh how long were they gone do you remember
I think it was the weekend for the weekend this was a was it a three-day weekend or a long weekend or was just
Saturday Sunday I don't remember exactly when they come back
how was Albert's and your mom's relationship with that
seemed fine I think his mom came to visit after that tooth when you say his mom are you talking
about Albert's mom Albert's mom yes and how long did she stay
only a few days
on January 25th of 2020 did Albert have to go to another
training yes tell the jury about that do you know where he was going
Oklahoma do you know how long he was to be gone
was it longer than a couple days yes was it longer than a week
I don't know okay not a problem so
do you remember when he actually left to go on that training you mean like the exact day or
yeah if you do you know no it was like
close to the time that his mom came it was like a couple days after I think did he leave with his mom when he went
to the train I don't remember
why don't we do it this way do you remember January 26th of 2020.
yes and was that the day that you were supposed to go on a hike with your mother Gannon and Elena yes
did Albert leave the day before
I don't remember
that's fine was Albert stalk there on the day that you
were going to go on a hike no so was he in his in Oklahoma on his way
to Oklahoma or do you know yeah you just don't know when he left right is that fair all right
so January 26 2020 that's a Sunday do you recall that yes
did you recall going to church with your mother and Gannon and Lena no we did not
and is that something you would remember if you didn't go to church that day yes
and on January 26 2020 were you scheduled to go to work that day no I
1:07:03 was not scheduled did you go to work that day yes I got called in and tell the jury about that where were you
working and why did you get called in I was working at Massage Envy
um and I think they were like short staffed after somebody called out so I got called in
and was that unusual no would other employees get called in kind
of last second if someone calls in sick that kind of thing yes and what Massage Envy were you working at back in January
of 2020. first and Main where is that within the city do you know
um you're like like dropping complexes I don't remember exactly where it was or
Road names or anything is it in the northern part of the city yes
off of the powers drive over there okay how long would it take you to get to work
25 30 minutes you were living on kind of the south side of the city right all right
so you go to work that day so obviously you didn't get to go on the hike do you know whether or not your mom and Gannon
and Lena went on a hike they did how do you know that um she told me and I got sent pictures
and how whose idea was it to go on this hike do you remember no
but it was a fair it was a planned event where you were actually going to go on it as well right
did your mom tell you anything about what had happened on the hike in particular with Gannon
during while they're out at the hike yes said that he
he like in his pants so they had to leave go home and how are you communicating with her
through text and do you know where they went to go on a hike
I think it was Garden of the Gods but I could be wrong I don't remember
approach a witness you may hen you what's been marked at 205. do
you guys I don't know who's doing
I approach her you may go ahead I'm going to hand you people's exhibit
205 which is a notebook recognize that notebook
yes do you have an opportunity to look at that last night yes and do you know what
that notebook is yes and what is it it's text messages between my mom and I
and are those text messages uh between January 25th 2020 at 3 42 PM all the way
January 29 2020 to 4 27 p.m yes and does those text messages in that
notebook accurately reflect the conversations that you were having with your mom via text messages during that
time period yes this time we'd move to admit people's exhibit 205. okay exhibit 205 will be
admitted go ahead now in people's exhibit 205 we're going
to publish that and go through them okay would that help you kind of establish a
timeline as to when conversations are being made yes let me go ahead and publish 205 please
and Mr you can either look at the notebook okay or the TV screen whatever's easier for you
so on the first page we see a text and January 25th at 909 pm
uh do you see that yes and do you know what that's regarding
something about our dogs now
for the jury's benefit there's a blue bubble and a green bubble up on the screen
who is the blue bubble referenced to I am the blue bubble so that's coming from your phone yes and
the green bubble mom and this what we see on the screen
behind us is looks like a pitcher do that yes what is that picture of you
1:11:33 know of one of our dogs and do you know why it says maybe Nicole
here on the green bubbles do not you know that's your mom's phone number
right yes and so do you remember having this
conversation with her back on the 25th yes
there's the next message says uh they are saying it may have been his
daughters do you remember what that was a reference to you know
is this about the same time when Kobe Bryant the basketball player died in a
helicopter accident yes and were you and your mom discussing that prior to you
going to work that day yes do you know that's in reference to perhaps Kobe Bryant's daughters being in
on the helicopter yes and do you remember having that conversation now that I've said those things I do okay if
we can scroll down please
now we have a blue bubble that says daughter up at the top um is that your phone number
at the time yes so you say oh no
is that right yes can you scroll down please
that was with him is that what you say
oh no yes okay let me go ahead and scroll down a little
further please
can you go back I'm sorry back uh right there
right so we're now at January 26 2020 at 5 11 pm
you're where at at this time do you remember I'm at work and you know where your mom and the kids
are like so you say where are you going
right yes are you there at uh 5 11 P.M yes and you can look at the TV if it’s
easier to see it okay okay she says get good can we scroll down
she says food for that yes and
why are you asking her aware anywhere close to my work I want chips I was
hungry you wanted your mom to bring you some food right yes do you remember having
this conversation with her back then I'll go ahead
now here she says no LOL we are going up the street because Gannon pooped his
pants is that the first time you hear about Gannon pooping his pants for that day yes
had that happen before previously yes have some stomach issues yes
that wasn't too surprising to you when you saw this message no
was it surprising to your mom no you say OMG what does that stand for oh
my gosh I think everyone knows that but I hope you understand why I asked that okay can we go ahead and scroll down
please
so does she what did what do you think she means when she says yeah all that movie
and like exercising or moving around that in the past those issues were
gained from it and doesn't have accidents to my knowledge yes how did you get that
knowledge what I was told we told her it
I don't know remember
I don't know because it was said multiple times so I don't I don't remember we can go ahead and scroll down please
okay let's stop right there please so now we're at the point it's January 26th at
9 54 P.M are you still at work yes
remember getting this text message that we see on the screen now that says do you panic but Gannon turned on a candle
downstairs set the downstairs on fire I had to get the dogs and Lena out and run
back downstairs and jump on him with a cover and put it out I kept jumping on
it what were you doing at Massage Envy what was your role
worked at the front desk so did you were you able to read these
as soon as you got them or with customers or what was going on we were
pretty busy often so I was probably reading it in between
and then she says uh at 9 54 and 52 seconds he is fine he is scared and
saying sorry and freaking out do you remember getting that yes and do you remember how you responded to these text
messages from your mom yes I was reading pretty quickly because I was at work and I thought she was saying that the fire
was on our dogs and you know that because the text messages are coming up or do you
remember doing that I remember you and tell us about your dogs look how many dogs did you have we had two dogs a
French Bulldog and an English bulldog and when did you get those dogs if you remember
um a little before Christmas so shortly before all this happened yes
so December 19 2019. I think it was closer to like November
hmm and do you currently still have those dogs yes what's their names CD and chance what
kind of dog is Sadie a French Bulldog chance is an English bulldog and chance
was named after who my dad can we go ahead and scroll down
so you say the fire was on chance yes now
are you saying this because you didn't really get a chance to read the text or going on here yes I didn't really get a
chance to read it and it was just like a lot and I was so confused what was going on
would Gannon have a habit of lighting candles and hanging out in the basement by himself you know you ever seen him light a
candle and sit on the couch hanging out next to a camel
So eventually when you scroll down we'll see that your mom makes it real clear that it was Gannon
that was involved in this candle what were you thinking when you were getting these text messages
none of the text s were fully clear so they are really confusing
to elaborate um did she actually send you a picture
of the area where this candle supposedly fell down yes do we see that now on a TV
screen um yes it says who said January 26 2020 at
9 57 PM yes
let me go ahead and scroll down again please
so she says when you uh ask about chance she says no chance was upstairs the
house is smoking do you remember her saying that to you yes please
said the first was on chance what did you mean by that
emit fire so did you think there was two fires or I thought that's what she meant the
whole time that the fire was on chance because she never said any names
they fire and then she says I jumped on him with a cover remember that yes
you ever talk to your mom about this text message on the phone or in person about what the heck are you talking
about what happened here I did once I got home talk about that when we get there okay
let's go ahead and scroll down and look at next
so you say Okay and she says I never said chance remember getting that yes
you said jumped on him and you said OMG again right yes
says yes but never said chance read again
remember saying that yes I just had a heart attack yes why did
you do a heart attack but why did you say I just had a heart attack because I
thought that she meant chance and still no names were said so I don't know who
she was referring to at that point of time did you eventually as we'll see as we
scroll down find out that it was Gannon she was referring to
yes obviously when you get home you find that out right yeah
so you're asking where the other dog is Sadie right yesterday yes sorry
uh and your mom responds she was in the chair yes so you're concerned about the dogs
1:22:34 yes go ahead and scroll down some more
then you say OMG by the fire right
yes so your mom says that Lena grabs Sadie and I grabbed chance R in r
okay yes and did you talk to her about that one
yes
dance now all of us were upstairs you remember saying that yes and slow down
he was downstairs you know who she was talking about when she said he was downstairs at that point
not until the next message
oh you say Gannon was downstairs yes but she says yes right yes
during this conversation is that the first time that you realize that Gannon may have been burned or was part of this
fire situation yes done
OMG you ask her how did he knock it over
why did you ask her that because at this point I'm still confused
of what happened or how it happened
was there some confusion based on your experience of gain and not being the
type of kid that would hang out by a candle in the basement yes scroll down
as he said he must have fell asleep you say so it wasn’t
I think you meant to say knocked over yes I don't even know how you pronounce that
word and scream you can go ahead and scroll down
he says yes OMG and you read
sounds like a typical mother teenage daughter text conversation going on here right yes other than the obvious uh fire
situation yes so what did you how did you respond to that you know
yes
so she goes on and says he must have knocked it over while asleep unless he was awake and lied
that sound like something Gannon would do
um I don't know because kids will lie sometimes so I can’t
really answer that okay not a problem you can go ahead and scroll down some more please
she says but he acted sorry for sure and you say aww what does aww stand for
oh like oh no like oh oh yeah okay
so do you remember about what time you got off work on the 26th
during this text messaging process here yeah it was like around like 10 30 or so
if the information from Massage Envy says you clocked out at 10 18 p.m on
January 26th would that be accurate just refreshing your honor
yo what you can ask her what time she thinks she clocked out
do you know approximately what time you clocked out and I've worked that day yes a little after 10 sometime
in between 10 and 10 30. yes uh do you remember what time you got
home takes me like 25 minutes or so to get home so
a little bit of time after that
did you talk to your mom on your way home from Massage Envy that night I
normally tell her that I'm leaving so probably yes so
what do you see when you get home describe to the jury what you see in the house when you got home from work
um I get home my mom and Lena are in the living room and they're telling me about the fire
um Gannon wasn't upstairs at this point
so who you said they are telling you we're both Elena and your mom telling you about what happened downstairs yes
what did your mom tell you at this point she told me that the candle was knocked
over um she thinks that he was playing on his Nintendo and he wasn't supposed to be so
that maybe that's how he knocked it over um that after the fire they ran outside
and she called her fireman friend and asked if the fumes in the house were
okay for us to go back inside and they said yes and she said that when they were in the
street Gannon was screaming that he hates his life and screaming
different things what did you think about that last part your mother just told you about Gannon
life I didn't think that the candle thing was a big deal so it was just
still so like confusing was your mother concerned about Albert
finding out about this and being upset about
the only Albert's not the one to get mad about like stuff getting messed up so
when she told you about Gannon going out in the street and yelling that he hates his life and things like that
did that sound like the gaming that you knew no he hasn't done that before
you said that it was Lena and your mom upstairs when you got home on the 26th
afterwards do you know where Gannon was at downstairs
did you go downstairs yes what did you see when you went downstairs hey I’m
laying in his bed did you go into his room um by the doorway
was he asleep I don't remember did you talk to him no
was the light on in his room I don't know
that the last time you saw him yes
where the window were there any windows open in the basement when you went down there yes the windows were open it was cold down there how many windows were
open down in the basement I don't know it was January 26th at
you know about what time it is now when you went down to gannon's room it was a little later because my mom was
like let's go tell Cam good night so that's why we went down there anything unusual about your mom saying
let's go tell Gannon good night not something that she normally would do
it's not something she would normally do correct that's surprising to you and she said
that yes she go down there with you when you went
to gannon's room yes we both went down there you recall your mom talking to Gannon
she said goodnight to him she was like good night you know whether or not Gannon responded
I don't remember Noah so was gannon's bedroom window open as
well I don't know was it cold down in the basement yes
did you sleep down in a basement that night no where was your room within the house in
the basement but it had been
close to gannon's room or was it like on the other side of the basement area on the other side of the basement
was your room cold in there I don't remember
why'd you sleep upstairs because it was cold downstairs you could
still smell like the fumes and like everything just felt like
everything the house just felt weird why did it feel weird because my mom made the comments
um she was like ganon's acting weird I don't know what's wrong with him
um she said that she was scared you all slept upstairs Lena
is there anyone else in the house no so it's you your mom Lena and Gannon yes
Dan's the only one sleeping in the basement yes yes cold down there yes we talking
freezing cold or was it just older than the upstairs colder than the upstairs
that's why you didn't sleep down yeah and where did you sleep in particular what bed
in my parents room did you sleep with your mom in the same bed yes sorry there you go okay good
young if you could find a reasonable breaking point in the next five minutes this is a good breaking point right now
1:32:40 judge if you like all right ladies and gentlemen we will take our morning recess until 10 45 again do not discuss
1:54:12 jury has returned to the courtroom when we took our break we were in the midst of uh the testimony of Ms pump that's
where we will resume okay Mr Young thank you Miss hunt there's a few more text messages from
January 26th that I want to cover with you okay before we go into the 27th uh
your book should be opened up to uh January 26th at 10 30
or excuse me 10 10 p.m do you see that
you see a text from your mother that says my arm is burnt jumping on him yes
are you still at work when you get this text yes so you say OMG
can we go ahead and scroll down please and you say the fire was on Gannon
yes are things becoming now clear for you as to what she was talking about in
her text messages yes go scroll down
go ahead and go download it further yeah
and she responds no the cover was do you remember that yes
scroll down please he was wrapped in it
remember her saying that yes that when you got home
I know we talked about what you saw but did you see any injuries to your mom
no she's gonna get burn marks on her arm
I don't remember when you get that prior text about her
saying that she burned her arm jumping on him were you concerned that your mother may
have been burned during this fire yes
did you ask her about it when you got home no did she say anything about being burned when you got home
I don't remember go ahead and scroll down
she says I jumped on him though because he had the cover around him do you remember her saying that yes
fell down
they say omgg has and looks like we can scroll down again that she sent you a
picture do you remember what that picture was oh the couch being burnt
was it the floor area with some blankets around what appears to be a burned area of the carpet
yes sorry do you remember getting that that night yes go ahead and scroll down please
and you ask what is that did she ever answer that no
okay and so do you remember about what time you went to bed that night after you got
home no do you remember whether or not you had to work in the morning I did yes and
1:57:31 what time did you have to be at work now on the 27th of January 2020. by 8 30. that normal working time in the
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