CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, found deceased, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *Arrest* #62

[10ofRods]

In my case it does overlap with basically everything else I have. I have CPTSD. I have a dissociative disorder. Both diagnosed by the time I was fourteen. I have ADHD and autism, both diagnosed as an adult. Nothing is an island and everything interlocks with everything else and affects everything else.

I will say, my GAD is more manageable now than it has been, ever, in my life until the last few years. Why? I got the energy and the resources up to finally get my ADHD diagnosis and I got medication for it. (I was denied a dual dx by the person who dxed my autism nine years earlier, despite me laying out to her very clearly why I thought I had both.) I'm sure you know, but many here probably don't, that a big way a lot of people with ADHD are able to focus for longer than a few minutes is to unconsciously power their focus with anxiety. That, and caffeine. I didn't know that until relatively recently, and it made a whole lot of things about my brain make sense.

With my ADHD medicated, I still have GAD, but I don't have to run my brain on anxiety any more. Things are still on fire in there, but I'm not unknowingly throwing petrol on it continuously just to get myself to remember to do basic tasks like eating and bathing.

So yeah, I have a very real perspective on two of the mental illnesses/disorders LS is claiming to have, and though I am not bipolar, my partner's father is, and we have done so many revolutions of the carousel with his condition over the last twenty years. He has burned pretty much every bridge in his life he ever had. He got stranded in Europe, twice, with no money. Once was during COVID. (He lives in Australia.) He's gone missing multiple times. His life is very hard because he doesn't want to admit he has an illness or that his behaviour could be a problem. Hence, there are a bunch of his family who have no contact with him right now. But he lives independently, he holds down work, and he is not in any way insane. Difficult, yes. But not insane.

People live with these conditions every day and don't kill their children.

MOO

Oh, I hear you. As I am sure you know, kids with ADD/ADHD are more likely to experience trauma (not all of it abuse, but a lot of it is). So are kids with autism. Add in early childhood anxiety and you have a child who is at high risk for more trauma.

The child may make intense attempts to "behave," but that's a stressor/anxiety-producing scheme as well.

I have C-PTSD due to abuse at the hands of a bipolar person. I too am much better now - but I so relate to what you're saying about using anxiety to "fuel" my attempts to get better, to focus. Anxiety isn't always bad (it can be a synonym for "overly excited" - which is what I now experience). I use caffeine for focus daily. When I"m stressed, I drink even more of it - for focus.

It's so true that people live with these conditions every day and do not kill anyone. They especially do not kill in the manner that Letecia did and then try to cover up in the manner she chose to use. Whatever diagnoses that LS has, they are not responsible for what she did to Gannon, as she was definitely still in touch with reality.

IMO. (You have been amazing with your transcripts here - for me, typing about crime is an anxiety-release, it seems to be the same for you; it helps me focus).

 

[jakat]

Agent Hoyland talking and showing her phone being in Amarillo Texas and she looks like she wants to flip him off

View attachment 417112

Looks like she did.

 

[10ofRods]

Ditto I don’t understand the big deal either.

Continued consciousness of guilt and continued attempts to cover up?

A consistent (non-insane) mental state? She wants to be the smartest, most informed person in the room - so she blurted that out.

No amnesia. DID requires amnesia for the really dirty deeds - that's how it works as a defense.

IMO. (ANd that's why it's a good, emerging criminal defense, even though it is quite controversial as a diagnosis).

 

[arielilane]

CO v. Letecia Stauch: Daily Trial Updates

Letecia Stauch is accused of beating, stabbing and shooting her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, in 2020.

www.courttv.com

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

DAY 14 – 4/25/23

• FBI agent Kevin Hoyland testified to data analyzed from four cell phones, including two belonging to Letecia, one belonging to Gannon, and one belonging to Harley Hunt as well as data recovered from vehicles.
  • Data showed two outgoing calls from Gannon’s cell phone at 7:30 p.m. on January 27, after he had already been reported missing.
  • Letecia’s vehicle was in the area of Palmer Lake at 8 p.m. on January 28, where a blood-stained board was later found.
  • Before her interview at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, data showed Letecia’s car went to a carwash.
  • On February 4, the cargo van Letecia rented was powered up at 4:15 a.m., less than two miles away from where Gannon’s body was found in Pensacola, Florida.
• Dr. Christine Mohr, the Mental Health Director at the El Paso County Jail, testified to an assessment she did of Letecia on March 5, 2020.
  • Letecia appeared calm and polite throughout the interview.
  • Letecia denied having any disorders, in-patient or out-patient treatment.
• Dr. Mohr said she did a second assessment of Letecia on March 9, where Letecia described herself as mentally fine and not guilty.
• On March 20, Dr. Mohr said she told Letecia about Gannon’s body being found, and that Stauch was tearful and overwhelmed. She also allegedly denied being in Florida.
• Dr. Mohr said that on June 5, 2020, Stauch first raised the issue of competency and asked for an evaluation.
• READ MORE: Doctor testifies about sanity in Letecia Stauch trial
• WATCH: Witness Testifies to Data Records From Letecia Stauch’s Phone

 

[MyJoey]

Continued consciousness of guilt and continued attempts to cover up?

A consistent (non-insane) mental state? She wants to be the smartest, most informed person in the room - so she blurted that out.

No amnesia. DID requires amnesia for the really dirty deeds - that's how it works as a defense.

IMO. (ANd that's why it's a good, emerging criminal defense, even though it is quite controversial as a diagnosis).

It just seems so over the top that she’s not only guilty but sane. I don’t get how this one point is going matter. Defense is making a huge deal about it and it’s not going to help them either way JMO.

 

[Curious Me]

It was discussed on RA's feed, I think. I believe this all has to happen officially, and on the record. So, yeah

Well, you're right, but...
They were saying they didn't think the Judge or anyone else would want to meet with Letecia privately in chambers. Can you imagine? Never know what she'd claim went on. So, the Judge will want this to happen officially, and on record.
​

It just seems so over the top that she’s not only guilty but sane. I don’t get how this one point is going matter. Defense is making a huge deal about it and it’s not going to help them either way JMO.​

Thank You. You must be the voice of sanity. I don't understand what Defense is trying to prove. Letecia was sane, knew what was going on, what she had done. I thought Defense's questioning of the witness, Dr. Mohr, today was downright silly.​

 

[CaliGrandmax4]

So the end of the day has been bugging me. There was talk about the log and visitors with LS. Can they use her own letter against her?
letter dated 8/12/20 paragraph one. She states she has only met with her defense team once in March 2020

https://www.courts.state.co.us/user...trict/El_Paso/Stauch/Letter dated 8-12-20.pdf

 

[Cindizzi]

It just seems so over the top that she’s not only guilty but sane. I don’t get how this one point is going matter. Defense is making a huge deal about it and it’s not going to help them either way JMO.

It would be awesome if they put her first public defender on the stand and they say yes we informed her on March 20 that Gannon was found in Florida.

And THEN they say that she didn’t act surprised and said “ I’ve never been to Florida.”
What’s it matter who told her first? She’s STILL Lying!

They might also say she showed no emotion.

When the State cross examines them, they can ask if she seemed sane.

*. This is a made up hypothetical scenario in my mind

 

[Cindizzi]

So the end of the day has been bugging me. There was talk about the log and visitors with LS. Can they use her own letter against her?
letter dated 8/12/20 paragraph one. She states she has only met with her defense team once in March 2020

https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/04th_Judicial_District/El_Paso/Stauch/Letter dated 8-12-20.pdf

Oooh good catch!
I knew there were some grievances of hers about not meeting with them and such!

 

[Megnut]

CO v. Letecia Stauch: Daily Trial Updates

Letecia Stauch is accused of beating, stabbing and shooting her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, in 2020.

www.courttv.com

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

DAY 14 – 4/25/23

• FBI agent Kevin Hoyland testified to data analyzed from four cell phones, including two belonging to Letecia, one belonging to Gannon, and one belonging to Harley Hunt as well as data recovered from vehicles.
  • Data showed two outgoing calls from Gannon’s cell phone at 7:30 p.m. on January 27, after he had already been reported missing.
  • Letecia’s vehicle was in the area of Palmer Lake at 8 p.m. on January 28, where a blood-stained board was later found.
  • Before her interview at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, data showed Letecia’s car went to a carwash.
  • On February 4, the cargo van Letecia rented was powered up at 4:15 a.m., less than two miles away from where Gannon’s body was found in Pensacola, Florida.
• Dr. Christine Mohr, the Mental Health Director at the El Paso County Jail, testified to an assessment she did of Letecia on March 5, 2020.
  • Letecia appeared calm and polite throughout the interview.
  • Letecia denied having any disorders, in-patient or out-patient treatment.
• Dr. Mohr said she did a second assessment of Letecia on March 9, where Letecia described herself as mentally fine and not guilty.
• On March 20, Dr. Mohr said she told Letecia about Gannon’s body being found, and that Stauch was tearful and overwhelmed. She also allegedly denied being in Florida.
• Dr. Mohr said that on June 5, 2020, Stauch first raised the issue of competency and asked for an evaluation.
• READ MORE: Doctor testifies about sanity in Letecia Stauch trial
• WATCH: Witness Testifies to Data Records From Letecia Stauch’s Phone

Is that new info? The rental van firing up at 4:15am? Pretty much confirming that she sneaked out of the hotel room and went to the bridge.

I wonder why we never saw hotel video of this. Did T manage to sneak out a door without cctv?

 

[iamshadow21]

IMO. (You have been amazing with your transcripts here - for me, typing about crime is an anxiety-release, it seems to be the same for you; it helps me focus).

RSBM.

My abysmal resting heart rate for about the last week or so on my Fitbit would beg to differ. Don't get me wrong, I'm very engaged with this trial, and I'm following it to the end, but the watching and transcribing isn't something I'm going to be able to do regularly with other cases, for the sake of my health. I would probably be doing better but I somehow, no idea how, seriously messed up my shoulder at the beginning of the year and every time I try to get my yoga practise back to more than once or twice a week, or do any poses involving bearing weight on my arms, it screams back into hateful agony. I will probably have to go see someone about it eventually, because it does not seem to want to mend on its own, and I'm a side sleeper, so I keep turning over and waking myself up with the pain. The yoga was pivotal for me surviving COVID, so I'm feeling the lack in my daily life. (If anyone asks, no, yoga is not a 'cure' for anything and was actually incredibly difficult for me to make accessible for my body and my brain for so many reasons, but therapy is expensive and a yoga dvd I already owned is free and a cheap Kmart yoga mat is $10.) A big thing is also that I have been pushing myself into hyperfocus every court day. The Ritalin only does so much and goes so far. I've been doing the 'throwing petrol on my brainfire' thing, but doing it knowingly, and knowing that it is for a limited time and the trial is going to end. And I have been deliberately taking every non court moment to try to rest as much as possible.

That said, I have really enjoyed the service of transcribing the trial. I know many other folks have work or commitments, or haven't been able to watch certain witnesses or evidence because of difficulty with certain subjects or details of death or abuse. I knew that folks would be able to read my potted posts to get the basic facts if they so chose, and not have to watch through the stream themselves if they didn't want to and potentially be upset or traumatised by the full content. I will walk away from it tired, exhausted mentally, and a bit messed up, but on the whole, feeling that the experience was worth it. I have learnt so much, just watching how a court and a trial actually works, and that's been hugely satisfying for me.

I just hope, maybe by this time next week, that I can reflect back and know that there was real justice for what happened to Gannon. I will be anxious about that until I hear the verdict. I know how I'd vote as a juror, but I am not on the jury. I just have to hope that it is as clear to the folks in that jury as it is to us, here.

MOO

 

[jakat]

I lost your post @Cindizzi. It's here somewhere. I'll be blind by tomorrow anyway from using this phone. No worries though. My phone is only a few months old, the last one was much better than this piece of junk but it's the latest one on the market. It's an android but I'm thinking of switching to an iPhone. The sooner the better I believe.
My son just ordered a new laptop for Mr because mine needs a new battery and just not worth it. I could have seen the entire trial today with a fresh new battery. But it wasn't to be. Drats. I'm so annoyed yet very grateful for everything I have. My son took my laptop home to charge it. He'll bring it back to me tomorrow. I moved on Saturday so I would be closer to him and my daughter-in-law. Much better because well I'm older now. Hopefully it will all be better tomorrow. Hope court isn't canceled due to snow. Severe trial withdrawal then. Ugh!



.

 

[shotgun09]

Oooh good catch!
I knew there were some grievances of hers about not meeting with them and such!

The Peanut Butter Letter!
Hahahahahaha

 

[Spartygirl]

So the end of the day has been bugging me. There was talk about the log and visitors with LS. Can they use her own letter against her?
letter dated 8/12/20 paragraph one. She states she has only met with her defense team once in March 2020

https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/04th_Judicial_District/El_Paso/Stauch/Letter dated 8-12-20.pdf

Good Lord... is that when she started thinking she could defend herself??
An ace in the hole and the world owes her an apology!!

Yeppers... keep on telling yourself that T-splain, cousin IT, Child Murderer.

Per LS
"It might sound audacious, but I'm really good at poker, and you know that saying 'You got to know when to hold them and when to fold them'? I've got the winning hand...an ace in the hole," Stauch said.
Stauch replied no when the judge asked her if she wanted to retain counsel, but with a different set of attorneys. Stauch said she has a constitutional right to represent herself.

Letecia Stauch to represent herself at Gannon Stauch murder trial

Stauch is accused in the murder of her 11-year-old stepson, who disappeared in January 2020.

www.9news.com

 

[MyJoey]

It would be awesome if they put her first public defender on the stand and they say yes we informed her on March 20 that Gannon was found in Florida.

And THEN they say that she didn’t act surprised and said “ I’ve never been to Florida.”
What’s it matter who told her first? She’s STILL Lying!

They might also say she showed no emotion.

When the State cross examines them, they can ask if she seemed sane.

*. This is a made up hypothetical scenario in my mind

It would be truly entertaining for sure! Absolutely foolish for her defense though.

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

We were all nutjobs at 16, hormones flying and boys on the radar...

Best post so far this year

 

[tmar]

I have an alphabet soup of mental health conditions and developmental/learning disabilities, and for the record, Generalised Anxiety Disorder is the one that affects my life the most at this point and is hardest to control. It is not just worrying about things in a normal way. It is constant fear, terror. A few years ago, I was checking my house for fire a dozen or more times a day because it was giving me phantom olfactory symptoms (smelling smoke when there was no smoke). My resting heart rate was 85 ON A GOOD DAY. I had constant panic attacks falling asleep and waking, and anxiety dreams and nightmares when I did manage to sleep. You can probably just about begin to imagine what an actual pandemic was like for me, especially as my partner is immunocompromised. You can't talk yourself down, self soothe with a gentle narrative about how the fear is irrational and you're safe, when thousands of people are dying.

I know for a fact due to other members of my family's memories that I have had it since before I was five years old. It is horrendous and debilitating and I hate that now it is associated in a lot of people's minds with malingering and child murder because of this horrible person.

MOO

I am so sorry, that you have experienced these symptoms for years.
BUT think, how helpful you are here, with your great posts, to so many, trying to understand this trial.
Keep it up, and hoping your symptoms, in being so productive, subside.

 

[Seattle1]

From thread #53, I was reminded of the following per @Cindizzi post where LS's defense initially tried to use the DID defense for only a specific period of time and any charges AFTER she murdered Gannon!

IMO, this entire NGRI defense due to DID was based on spinning the bottle.

Found Deceased - CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *Arrest* #53

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is searching for 11-year-old boy who ran away from home. He was wearing a blue jacket and jeans when he left his house. He is 4'9" and weights 90 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call (719) 390-5555. El Paso County Sheriff's Office asking for help...

www.websleuths.com

EL PASO COUNTY — Letecia Stauch, the El Paso County woman charged with murdering her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, will have another mental health evaluation.

She appeared in court, virtually, at a hearing on Thursday where the decision was made. Her lawyers argued she suffers from a "dis-associative disorder," and there are concerns about how this played a role in Gannon Stauch's death.

[…]

At a previous hearing, the defense said on Thursday they plan on introducing new evidence regarding a mental health issue related to Letecia. They said that the mental health defense would only apply to Letecia's actions after the alleged murder of Gannon. The judge said it's likely this mental health defense could be related to the charge of tampering with a body or anything after the alleged murder.

 

[CaliGrandmax4]

Jan 5th she claimed to have spent 90 days in a Canadian psych ward. However in her own words in a letter to the judge on 2/21/21, it was only 2 days.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/user...h/Letter addressed to Judge Werner 3-8-21.pdf

 

[10ofRods]

It just seems so over the top that she’s not only guilty but sane. I don’t get how this one point is going matter. Defense is making a huge deal about it and it’s not going to help them either way JMO.

But, unfortunately, that's all that matters in this trial (her insanity).

She has admitted guilt. So that's a done deal. IMO.

But she says she was insane at the time. It's all down to this. I agree that the Defense isn't going to be helped by this last ditch effort (good job, Prosecution!) But it's their job to try and establish one and one point only:

Letecia Stauch is insane. That's her whole defense. Nothing else. So of course they're going to fight hard on any point related to that. They are finally in the home stretch, from their point of view.

IMO.