GUILTY CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, found deceased, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *Arrest* #70

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679656993701740550

 

[Cindizzi]

 

[MassGuy]

Best of luck to her. And I mean that as sarcastically as possible.

 

[Seattle1]

The autopsy was performed by a coroner in Florida. Weren’t the pictures released by Florida?

Unfortunately, this appears to be false information that was put out by District Attorney Michael Allen himself when he first appeared on News Nation with Brian Entin (filling in for Dan Abrams) and MSM picked up the news story and quoted Allen.

No doubt Allen does put the release of the autopsy photos on Florida but too many sources including the subject youtuber "Zav Girl" have all stated they made their request for information on the Letecia Stauch trial to Colorado Court Records Custodian pursuant to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act).

In her apology video of 7/13/23 -- Zav Girl says she did not specifically request Gannon's autopsy photos but made a general CORA request for all files the for Letecia Stauch case and Gannon's autopsy photos were included in the information dump she received.

I'm personally troubled by DA Allen's action here and hope MSM follow-up with Allen and requests an explanation. MOO

ETA: Also, in the apology video by Zav Girl, she states she made the CORA request before the trial was over.

 

[Inthedetails]

Unfortunately, this appears to be false information that was put out by District Attorney Michael Allen himself when he first appeared on News Nation with Brian Entin (filling in for Dan Abrams) and MSM picked up the news story and quoted Allen.

No doubt Allen does put the release of the autopsy photos on Florida but too many sources including the subject youtuber "Zav Girl" have all stated they made their request for information on the Letecia Stauch trial to Colorado Court Records Custodian pursuant to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act).

In her apology video of 7/13/23 -- Zav Girl says she did not specifically request Gannon's autopsy photos but made a general CORA request for all files the for Letecia Stauch case and Gannon's autopsy photos were included in the information dump she received.

I'm personally troubled by DA Allen's action here and hope MSM follow-up with Allen and requests an explanation. MOO

ETA: Also, in the apology video by Zav Girl, she states she made the CORA request before the trial was over.

Aha. That is making sense. FL sent them to CO and CO included them when fulfilling requests.

Seems like the multi-jurisdictional aspect of the case resulted in someone(s) not paying close enough attention to details. Not okay.

Even so, imo, it's reprehensible to distribute/share autopsy photos even if someone else made the mistake and sent them to you.

jmo

 

[MTW2011]

Unfortunately, this appears to be false information that was put out by District Attorney Michael Allen himself when he first appeared on News Nation with Brian Entin (filling in for Dan Abrams) and MSM picked up the news story and quoted Allen.

No doubt Allen does put the release of the autopsy photos on Florida but too many sources including the subject youtuber "Zav Girl" have all stated they made their request for information on the Letecia Stauch trial to Colorado Court Records Custodian pursuant to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act).

In her apology video of 7/13/23 -- Zav Girl says she did not specifically request Gannon's autopsy photos but made a general CORA request for all files the for Letecia Stauch case and Gannon's autopsy photos were included in the information dump she received.

I'm personally troubled by DA Allen's action here and hope MSM follow-up with Allen and requests an explanation. MOO

ETA: Also, in the apology video by Zav Girl, she states she made the CORA request before the trial was over.

I saw several people replying to Brian Entin and NN with this info but I’m not sure we will see a follow up. Along with this line of blaming FL the DA said they took effort to redact and hide the photos from the Court livestream. That’s not true, you can still see the images in many videos on YouTube that shared the Court livestream feed with their viewers.

I can understand wanting to distance yourself from a potentially bothersome situation for your progressional role but the only thing that seems to be hidden from the DA is some of the facts - which I find disappointing. I am still not entirely sure on if it’s possible and I have been trying to research to confirm it, but if the DA had the ability to still seal these Exhibits it would certainly be a good move to make. Unfortunately even if that was possible now, which we’ve seen happen in other cases, I don’t think that would’ve helped push the blame the state of Florida and their laws for all of this happening. JMOO.

 

[kittythehare]

I think it was a genuine error but IMO Michael Allen can do no wrong. He's the best.
There's bias y'all.
Another u tuber also shared the photos.
This is the lowest of the low
Just simple caution, respect for victims and the court process should provide a natural brake to this process.
It's greed.
They cannot be trusted.

This grail only served their own pockets.
it caused further hurt and pain for the victims who have gone through more than anybody..

It also disrespects the court process and in this particular case that was the highest space I ever personally experienced both mentally and spiritually.

Above are my opinions only.

 

[Seattle1]

I saw several people replying to Brian Entin and NN with this info but I’m not sure we will see a follow up. Along with this line of blaming FL the DA said they took effort to redact and hide the photos from the Court livestream. That’s not true, you can still see the images in many videos on YouTube that shared the Court livestream feed with their viewers.

I can understand wanting to distance yourself from a potentially bothersome situation for your progressional role but the only thing that seems to be hidden from the DA is some of the facts - which I find disappointing. I am still not entirely sure on if it’s possible and I have been trying to research to confirm it, but if the DA had the ability to still seal these Exhibits it would certainly be a good move to make. Unfortunately even if that was possible now, which we’ve seen happen in other cases, I don’t think that would’ve helped push the blame the state of Florida and their laws for all of this happening. JMOO.

Thanks for advising that Brian Entin received posts about DA Allen's inaccurate statements. I think this is important after learning that the subject YT creator did not specifically request the autopsy photos in its public request for the criminal case files-- but instead, they were included by the Custodian in the information request file dump.

Also, having just listened today to the Forensic Pathologist Witness Dr. Susan Ignacio testify with the photos (and body diagram) on Day 5 of the Trial, DA Allen does add emphasis in his examination of the witness -- in the form of confirming questions to Dr. Ignacio, when Gannon's head is blurred in the photo exhibit as well as the groin area. In other words, in truth, there was an effort to redact sensitive info from both the courtroom and the live stream.

Nonetheless, pursuant to both Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) and Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), I do believe the Custodian of records could and should have excluded the autopsy photos of a child (Gannon Stauch) from the public release data dump, per the following:

A records custodian may seek a court order to restrict the disclosure of records that might otherwise be available for public inspection if he or she believes unique circumstances exist that would “do “substantial injury to the public interest,” even though no exemption in the CORA specifically applies to the record(s) at issue. A custodian also may go to court to seek judicial clarification if he or she cannot, in good faith, determine if disclosure of certain records is prohibited. In that latter circumstance, the records requester cannot recover attorney fees if the court finds that the custodian truly was unable to determine, without a court ruling, whether disclosure of a public record was prohibited. C.R.S. § 24-72-204(6)(a).

As a guest lawyer for another party interviewed by Brian Entin recently offered to me directly (in support of why it was false that Florida released the photos), Florida's own law prohibiting the public release of a child's autopsy, photos, video, etc., except to the victim's family, would have prevented the release of photos.

Perhaps if DA Allen was familiar with this fact, he wouldn't have been so quick to use Florida as a scapegoat. Also, violation of the Florida Confidentiality statute is a 3rd-degree felony! MOO

Guide to Colorado’s Open Records and Open Meetings Laws - Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition

 

[Seattle1]

A records custodian may seek a court order to restrict the disclosure of records that might otherwise be available for public inspection if he or she believes unique circumstances exist that would “do “substantial injury to the public interest,” even though no exemption in the CORA specifically applies to the record(s) at issue.

Seriously, can anybody imagine Judge Werner not granting the request to deny the release of Gannon's autopsy photos in a file dump under the exception above? Same with if the Custodian needed the Court's help making the decision if the release (of photos) would do substantial injury to the public interest.

I could be wrong but seems to me DA Allen didn't want any clouds creeping into his sunshine (i.e., used Florida as his scapegoat) after successfully prosecuting LS. JMO

 

[kittythehare]

Seriously, can anybody imagine Judge Werner not granting the request to deny the release of Gannon's autopsy photos in a file dump under the exception above? Same with if the Custodian needed the Court's help making the decision if the release (of photos) would do substantial injury to the public interest.

I could be wrong but seems to me DA Allen didn't want any clouds creeping into his sunshine (i.e., used Florida as his scapegoat) after successfully prosecuting LS. JMO

Oh dear..
Another one bites the dust...
I'm all outa heroes.
Thanks for the reality check.

 

[Teche]

Unfortunately, this appears to be false information that was put out by District Attorney Michael Allen himself when he first appeared on News Nation with Brian Entin (filling in for Dan Abrams) and MSM picked up the news story and quoted Allen.

No doubt Allen does put the release of the autopsy photos on Florida but too many sources including the subject youtuber "Zav Girl" have all stated they made their request for information on the Letecia Stauch trial to Colorado Court Records Custodian pursuant to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act).

In her apology video of 7/13/23 -- Zav Girl says she did not specifically request Gannon's autopsy photos but made a general CORA request for all files the for Letecia Stauch case and Gannon's autopsy photos were included in the information dump she received.

I'm personally troubled by DA Allen's action here and hope MSM follow-up with Allen and requests an explanation. MOO

ETA: Also, in the apology video by Zav Girl, she states she made the CORA request before the trial was over.

Thanks for responding.

 

[twill]

It should be mentioned that Recovery Addict didn't show any autopsy pictures in his stream and I understand Law and Crime edited them out of the trial videos that are now on their youtube channel.

 

[Seattle1]

True crime YouTuber apologizes to family of Gannon Stauch for charging people to watch video that displayed autopsy photos

A YouTube channel with nearly 90,000 subscribers apologized to the family of Gannon Stauch for selling access to a video that displayed autopsy pictures of the murdered 11-year-old.

gazette.com

7/14/23

After defending her actions over the course of the past several days, the YouTuber posted a three-minute apology video where she claims she never intended to hurt anyone by providing access to the photos, and that her Patreon account has been shut down.

"I want to apologize to everyone I hurt, but especially Gannon's family," the woman appearing to be Zavarelli said in her apology video uploaded to YouTube yesterday.

[..]

Questions have been asked since the incident regarding how the YouTube account acquired the autopsy photos of Gannon Stauch. In the video, the YouTuber states she acquired the photos through a records request "in El Paso County, Colorado," for all records in the trial of Letecia Stauch, and that she didn't request the autopsy photos specifically.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney spokesperson Howard Black issued a statement to media on Friday afternoon, claiming that the autopsy pictures of Gannon Stauch were not released by the 4th District Attorney's Office, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office or the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.

"It appears, and I am not confirming, that the pictures were released through the Colorado Courts," Black wrote in the statement.

Spokesperson for the Colorado Judicial Department Robert McCallum confirmed to The Gazette that the photo was released through the Colorado Judicial Department, but that the department was legally required to do so due to no motion for suppression being filed by the attorneys in the case.

"The exhibits in the case file entered by the parties at trial, or throughout proceedings, are public records open for inspection," McCallum wrote in a statement to The Gazette. "There was no Crim. P. 55.1 motion (suppression) filed in this case.

The charges in this case did not fit the criteria for §24-72-304(4.5). Thus, the records were released by the Judicial Department." Colorado Statute §24-72-304(4.5) primarily states that records identifying a child who was the victim or alleged victim of sexual exploitation crimes — such as pimping, human trafficking or child prostitution — won't be released as part of open records requests. First-degree murder is not one of the offenses listed in the statute.

Black confirmed in his statement that there is no criminal investigation underway regarding the displaying of Gannon Stauch's autopsy photos online.

 

[Seattle1]

Allen also pointed out that it was Florida authorities who approved the FOIA request.

“Florida law allows these sorts of things to go out,” he said. “Maybe we need to look at changing the law as it relates to autopsy photos being released on the internet.”

^^rsbm

Confirming DA Allen's statement blaming Florida for the release of Gannon's photos was inaccurate.

Obviously, filing the motion to suppress the exhibit (autopsy photos) from public release was the responsibility of the prosecutor and/or DA Allen, and had nothing to do with the State of Florida. MOO

Spokesperson for the Colorado Judicial Department Robert McCallum confirmed to The Gazette that the photo was released through the Colorado Judicial Department, but that the department was legally required to do so due to no motion for suppression being filed by the attorneys in the case.

"The exhibits in the case file entered by the parties at trial, or throughout proceedings, are public records open for inspection," McCallum wrote in a statement to The Gazette. "There was no Crim. P. 55.1 motion (suppression) filed in this case.

^^rsbm

 

[MsMarple]

Why did Zav Girl want the files anyway if she was just planning to make some video? What was her point? The trial’s over.

 

[Seattle1]

Why did Zav Girl want the files anyway if she was just planning to make some video? What was her point? The trial’s over.

On the Colorado Open Records (CORA) website, there's a template and instructions for anyone seeking access to public records pursuant to either CORA and/or the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), with the later applicable here.

In her apology video, Zav Girl said she made a general official records request very early in the case to the Custodian of Records at El Paso County District Court, seeking all the video, audio, and written records for the Stauch case, (never asked specifically for the autopsy photos), and her main interest for requesting the trial records was the interviews with Letecia.

When the Custodian transmitted the case file to Zav Girl, she found the autopsy photos in the document dump from the Court and decided to make a video that she says required a lot of time where she matched the autopsy photos to Dr. Susan Ignacio's testimony (the prosecution's Forensic Pathologist Witness at trial).

I think the point of making the video is that the majority of trial video currently available was long ago edited to block the autopsy photos.

While I don't think it's disputed that the Zav Girl's public records request was just one of many the Custodian of Records received, she definitely set herself apart from the others by putting the autopsy photos with Dr. Ignacio's narration behind a paywall on Patreon. JMO

 

[Inthedetails]

^^rsbm

Confirming DA Allen's statement blaming Florida for the release of Gannon's photos was inaccurate.

Obviously, filing the motion to suppress the exhibit (autopsy photos) from public release was the responsibility of the prosecutor and/or DA Allen, and had nothing to do with the State of Florida. MOO


^^rsbm

Glad that info is coming out so this can be prevented in the future. It did seem like the records came from FL at first.

 

[heartandsoul]

It should be mentioned that Recovery Addict didn't show any autopsy pictures in his stream and I understand Law and Crime edited them out of the trial videos that are now on their youtube channel.

Correct. I was initially watching the trial via webex and saw one or two photos. I immediately switched to RA as I knew he wasn’t showing them.

 

[MsMarple]

On the Colorado Open Records (CORA) website, there's a template and instructions for anyone seeking access to public records pursuant to either CORA and/or the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), with the later applicable here.

In her apology video, Zav Girl said she made a general official records request very early in the case to the Custodian of Records at El Paso County District Court, seeking all the video, audio, and written records for the Stauch case, (never asked specifically for the autopsy photos), and her main interest for requesting the trial records was the interviews with Letecia.

When the Custodian transmitted the case file to Zav Girl, she found the autopsy photos in the document dump from the Court and decided to make a video that she says required a lot of time where she matched the autopsy photos to Dr. Susan Ignacio's testimony (the prosecution's Forensic Pathologist Witness at trial).

I think the point of making the video is that the majority of trial video currently available was long ago edited to block the autopsy photos.

While I don't think it's disputed that the Zav Girl's public records request was just one of many the Custodian of Records received, she definitely set herself apart from the others by putting the autopsy photos with Dr. Ignacio's narration behind a paywall on Patreon. JMO

Thanks for the explanation! I understand the process, I’m having trouble understanding *her* process. I don’t watch her channel- does she typically post interviews with convicted killers as her YouTube offerings? I watch other channels which do nothing but post LE interviews, usually with retired LE and licensed psychologists, forensic investigators etc. contributing commentary. No crime scene or autopsy photos though.

Is that what Zav Girl typically offers? Is she a professional of some sort? I don’t want to go visit her other videos to check since I don’t want to provide her with clicks.

It sounds like she’s saying the autopsy photos were a “bonus” that came along with the files and she saw an opportunity to charge people who wish to view Gannon’s decomposed body. Not for scientific or educational purposes as she claims but rather ghoulish curiosity.

It would have been quite simple to omit the photos IMO. It’s going to take a lot to convince me she ever considered the moral implications.

 

[Bbgiraffe]

MOO. Who wants to see photos of a dead 11 year old boy? Why would anyone think someone wants to see HD photos of a brutalized little boy? Screws are loose here. And the fact that she defended it vigorously in a community post that she deleted before she posted her "apology" video shows that she lacks the integrity to even stand by her initial position that she was in the right to share the photos. No conviction in her words at all, the backpeddling shows that and makes it obvious this was a money-grab off the corpse of an 11 year old boy.

Also, she managed to dehumanize him further by apologizing to his family "and anyone else" she hurt by doing this. When people commented to ask why she did not apologize to Gannon himself, she responded that she "said and anyone else I hurt, doesn't that include him?" Like....she can't even apologize to him.