Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #43

[Fireflize]

At the time she left in the truck with Gannon her Tiguan was in the driveway. Someone pointed out earlier that it was facing the garage.

Right, so there's probably a neighbor's video of her backing it into the garage. That would further develop a timeline of her actions.

 

[Hatfield]

And yes, other fluids would begin to seep from the body eventually. I'm sure finding that suitcase was unpleasant for everyone.

Imo

Re BBM
Absolutely. When they eventually found the suitcase in Florida it had to be awful.

One time we had found a dead possum in the backyard that obviously had gotten killed by a coyote or another dog or something.

I put it inside 2 large plastic trash bags and even tied the top of the bags into tight knots instead of using those draw strings and still the odor somehow managed to escape and be really bad before trash pickup. There were even flies all around the top of the bags where the knots were.

I was very careful not to puncture the bags and I first put it into the 1st bag and tied the knot at the top of the bag. Then I put that bag inside another one, and tied another good knot using the bag itself to tie the knot onto itself.
I then put it inside a plastic trash can with a lid on it. Our trash service allows pickup of animal remains so I thought it would be ok but I should have ended up burying it because the odor around that trash can got really bad in the following days before the trash man finally picked it up.

It did not make sense to me how so much odor escaped but it somehow did. There were still no holes in the bags. I think the odor was so strong it permeated right through the plastic or maybe escaped through the tight knots because that is where most of the flies were.

It was really strange and it showed me how pronounced the smell of death can be.

 

[HaikuMommy]

[QUOTE="LietKynes, post: 16003277,

The video interviews with L. Eagan shed some more light on what the household situation was like and we can discuss it as well as it is part of WS.
Of interest to me at his time was how much adults in Gannon's life knew how he was being treated ?
After the interview I no longer feel it's the elephant in the room.
So discuss away.
Imo.

SBM
Good post. I agree completely and mentioned this as well several threads ago. This was not an aberration and other family members had to be aware.[/QUOTE]
Considering AS checked in with Gannon directly, texting “Hey buddy” multiple times on the 27th, and setting tech limits, etc. — I’d say AS was a loving father AND he was feeling uneasy about leaving Gannon with LS.

I suspect AS felt he needed to directly supervise Gannon himself, even from afar, rather than just hear reports from LS and have a “goodnight” call (which would be more typical I think). I bet she complained regularly about Gannon being difficult, playing games too much, disrespecting her. I imagine at least once she’d “freaked out” when AS wasn’t around... and reports of what happened were different from Gannon and LS. Beating vs. spanking, for example. (“I was spanking him and he twisted away, that’s how he got hit in the face...”)

But AS probably never saw anything with his own eyes that crossed the line to abuse. She was reportedly very loving with L. Denial can be a strong force.

Even if AS wasn’t in denial, it would be difficult for a man whose employment involved travel (and it’s the military so it can’t just be called off) to decide to cut the stepmom figure out abruptly. He DID need someone to watch his kids, and not just during the day. He may have TRIED to give her the benefit of the doubt. Especially if she was “sweet” and helpful most of the time. Did she typically buy AS thoughtful gifts — like with the bike lie — after losing her temper or “freaking out a little” on Gannon (which she would have downplayed)? Did she use sex to shore up her position with him after a blowup? Maybe he finally saw through it and stopped taking the bait. Eventually he put these reports from Gannon of harsh treatment and LS’ strange obsession with LH together — and started distancing himself from LS as he prepared to make a change. Hence the “glorified babysitter” and “make my husband want me more” google searches. JMO

She couldn’t manipulate AS anymore. She sensed it, quite clearly, and lashed out — in anger, jealousy, and a desire for attention (good or bad). All just my speculation.

 

[Inthedetails]

Re BBM
Absolutely. When they eventually found the suitcase in Florida it had to be awful.

Snipped

And how to escape the smell while driving to Florida, if it was in the car. Could the suitcase have been in a trailer hauled behind a vehicle so the smell wasn't detected?

Or, did she fill the suitcase with kitty litter from the pet store to mask the smell? That is speculation, not a fact - it's not in the affidavit what her purchase was, though there are rumors (and the rumors aren't about litter, iirc). I'm not even sure litter would be effective.

Thinking aloud.


jmo

 

[GordianKnot]

Sorry to be the annoying poster who is behind in the conversation. Does this refer to Tricia's video on youtube? I haven't watched so I guess I need to do that.

Or is there somewhere else I should be looking for this info?

tia

It's here, and the relevant part of the discussion begins at around the 37:00 mark.

For the record, I agree with Sheryl McCollum's analysis with regard to AS.

Completely agree with her on every point, including that AS knew that GS was being mistreated by TS.

<modsnip: not victim friendly>

JMO.

 

[RaspberryMama]

Somehow I've been envisioning a hard sided suitcase. I don't know why, because I only have soft-sided ones myself. Just one more reason it's nice to have this group to bounce ideas around with.

Something I'm pondering...
From a little reading, it seems blood volume (mostly plasma) returns to normal within a day or two, but red blood cells can take a few weeks to return to normal after significant blood loss. I'm curious to know if the blood found in Gannon's room could have been from more than a single incident. And therefore, it's not unlikely that he could walk to the truck Monday morning (assuming for the moment that the blood loss happened prior to that morning, and not all at once).

Can anyone speak to the reliability of blood stain age analysis? I know science is capable of determining the age of dried blood; how accurate is the data from this testing? IOW, would they be able to tell if separate instances of bleeding occurred - if those instances were just a few days apart?

 

[Boxer]

I don't know of this has been mentioned, its moving so quickly. Something is really concerning me. It is obvious she creates lies that can explain certain things, no matter how insane they are. Her lie that both she and Gannon were raped with an object...... I'm very nervous that there is truth to that (but obviously from her, not an intruder). This sick b seemed intent on torturing this poor child, both verbally and physically. I don't even like to say this, but I very sadly will not be surprised if it was true that she also sexually abused him with an object.

Sadly yes. She is so agressive and competetive.
Gannon by all I have seen reported was a gentle boy, but fighter, a preemie surviving.

It is horrible to think a poor light filled boy, into Sonic and friends could could be so brutally crushed.
Child rapists attribute adult motivations to kids, often saying the child brought the assault on themselves and most repulsively, they believe it.
I wish the DP was replaced with Suoermax 23in cell /1 out hours, no social privileges

They may have found blood in other vehicles as well and just didn’t put it in AA. Trying to trip her up. AA has no mention either of vehicle she drove to Fl. The aunt’s rental was returned in CO prior to her leaving for FL, so I wonder which vehicle she took. They must know because Witness List made prior to finding his body shows they knew she drove that route to Fl. How would they know if they didn’t know which car she drove, or she went in Jetta or some other known vehicle. Maybe she took Tiguan and they didn’t mention it in AA bc they didn’t want her knowing that they knew about her trip to Fl and that they were searching along that route. She might then ask someone to move the body again.

That makes sense.
They tracked her vehicle movements to SC via Florida, but it probably didn't enter their thinking that she had his body with her.

 

[Inthedetails]

It's here, and the relevant part of the discussion begins at around the 37:00 mark.

For the record, I agree with Sheryl McCollum's analysis with regard to AS.

Completely agree with her on every point, including that AS knew that GS was being mistreated by TS.

<modsnip: not victim friendly>

JMO.

Thanks for both the link and the time stamp - such service!

jmo

 

[10ofRods]

BBM

I am touched by these past few posts between you and @Love Never Fails .

I just wanted to speak to the desire you have each expressed about prevention.

So, after all my prior talk about compassion and the need for understanding how people are shaped by their childhoods, I just want to say personal accountability is key.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

I think, given the right circumstances, any person is capable of murder. We don't want that to be true; we'd like a gap between "us" and "them". but the capacity for evil in the human mind/soul, is matched only by its capacity for greatness.

A person has to want to be "fixed". And that desire to be "fixed" is really just the desire to be better than we currently are. I don't think that desire is fired up in anyone simply by showing compassion and friendship to the depressed, suicidal, murderous individual. Your friend so sadly found this out.

Maybe it's done by showing them what they could be... hold up hope for them to take a good look at. Put goodness and beauty out into the world. Appeal to the good in people, even if there's only a tiny bit there, make them want to be a hero. Shine your light. Encourage them to see how great they can be, to not be "just human," but to be fully human.

I dunno. I'm just rambling here, but those are my thoughts.

Imma gonna ramble too.

I love your post. My mom always used to say "But for the grace of God, there go I."

But I don't think you could ever be a sociopath or a murderer. Things would have had to go differently for you, as a child and we all wish we knew what goes wrong to create a "Tee Stauch."

<modsnip>

I just don't think that you or I or @Love Never Fails or most of the people here on WS truly could "become murderers."

I know absolutely I could kill someone in self defense. I might be able to murder someone who severely harmed one of my children, especially if the legal system didn't do its job. I don't think I could do it, though. Maybe. Like my mom (I'm adopted, so I'm speaking of non-bio parents), I pretty much try hard to follow rules. I've been in fear for my life during a crime and even then never organized the best self-defense, much less an offense. I know this is debatable, but deep in my heart I just can't envision circumstances in which we all would murder (not counting self defense).

I've come to believe that there are genes involved, but also (obviously) habits of mind and I don't think there *must* be genes involved - people can learn to be bad. Catching these people early and giving them consequences that are painful to them seems to be the only thing that cuts through and shapes their behavior. And yes, you are right - they have to want to change. Most of them simply lay low, pretend to be reformed, and then look for their next opportunity to be antisocial.

It's very foreign to me to try and think like Letecia Stauch. I kind of get "this person is annoying me/scaring me so much right now, I'm gonna grab 'em and shake 'em" (which then goes overboard and like the woman @MassGuy was mentioning, the stepmom strangles the stepdaughter).

I don't understand thinking, "Hmm, I need to get rid of this child, what's the best way to do it without getting caught?" Every part of that statement is crazy and alien.

I try to keep in mind that she may have been dealing with Gannon's health issues, some of which were unpleasant and would stress any parent. Still, I think most of you get my drift: it's not normal to be thinking about harming or hurting a child.

I'm in the camp that thinks LS premeditated this, perhaps off and on for years, never truly loving Gannon, always pretending to care about him, secretly hating him and his health issues. She was not completely able to "come out" about this even to herself. Obviously, if she had admitted her issues, it would have ruined her marriage. Couples therapy is not going to fix "I hate being a mother to your kids" problems.

I also think that the structure of the Stauch's life put Gannon at risk.

Just as my dad had to remove himself from triggers (his own family situation, certain kinds of people) and put himself in a rather strict moral environment, the only way LS could have gotten less volatile would have been for someone else to restructure her life (take the kids out of her care or at least make sure, as I had to do in my first marriage, that the volatile parent wasn't left alone with the kids - the Stauchs did the opposite). I think this explains their religiosity. They were struggling to find a strict moral framework to make themselves better people.

Sometimes religion is enough, but distancing oneself from the people that one wants to harm is Step One in solving these issues structurally.

One reason LS may have been so addicted to SM, especially texts with AS and getting really butt hurt when he didn't respond, is that she needed constant contact, really a kind of supervision, from people who could be stern with her or set limits.

 

[wyome]

I don't know of this has been mentioned, its moving so quickly. Something is really concerning me. It is obvious she creates lies that can explain certain things, no matter how insane they are. Her lie that both she and Gannon were raped with an object...... I'm very nervous that there is truth to that (but obviously from her, not an intruder). This sick b seemed intent on torturing this poor child, both verbally and physically. I don't even like to say this, but I very sadly will not be surprised if it was true that she also sexually abused him with an object.

I have had that thought myself. She is not beyond sexual abuse. She's a control freak and full of rage. If he was controlling his bowels due to emotional trauma and/or had an accident due to laxatives, I can see a violent reaction to that area.

 

[crhedBngr]

Here for Gannon.

 

[Error505]

I only have the one that was released originally and I honestly, cant see Gannon getting out of the truck on the return.
I do see LS clearly but cant tell if he came back or not.
I still think he did not, despite the AA but again, I cannot clearly see it

Gray Hughes goes into detail pointing out a “shadow” on the truck video when LS arrives home in RD’s video. I’ve watched several, this is the only one that explained it enough to create reasonable doubt for me.
I’m catching up. And just read your post.

 

[Inthedetails]

It's here, and the relevant part of the discussion begins at around the 37:00 mark.

For the record, I agree with Sheryl McCollum's analysis with regard to AS.

Completely agree with her on every point, including that AS knew that GS was being mistreated by TS.

<modsnip: not victim friendly>

JMO.

Hmm....now that I've listened, I'm not sure I agree with the analysis 100% but I'm glad to be up to speed.

jmo

 

[Boxer]

MOO just think.
Instead of all this wrongdoing trouble and anger she could have been frivolous and planned a car trip to Disney/Univeral Studios for the weekend.
She could used all that car swapping logistics skill to get them into dog friendly hotels, through lines and into shows.
Then if marriage in rocks and she left, they would remember her as someone, even of not right as their step mom, was at least a fun person.
Even if AS would like to have gone I think he would be thrilled that his kids were having a blast while he was out having fun ground pounding.
MOO in my opinion one powerful positive answer to unsolvable human impasse of jealousy is an unexpected boon.

 

[Hatfield]

Gray Hughes goes into detail pointing out a “shadow” on the truck video when LS arrives home in RD’s video. I’ve watched several, this is the only one that explained it enough to create reasonable doubt for me.
I’m catching up. And just read your post.

Thanks for sharing as I am keeping open the option that he may have gotten home afterall in that video. I havent seen this yet so will take a look as I really like Hughes analysis on things. He is really good at explaining why he thinks certain things are the way they are.

 

[10ofRods]

According to the affidavit, the Tiguan was backed up in the garage while LE was at the home on Monday night. There was blood on the floor of the garage where the back of the car, or trunk, had been. So between the blood in the garage and the blood on the bumper they believe Gannon's body was in the trunk.

Imo

The Tiguan was a hatchback, so pretty easy to pop open and put a body into it. Tiguan is outside of the garage earlier that day (up until 2:20 or so). Then she had to turn it around and back it into the garage, which she basically admits/refers to in her statements. It's interesting that LE does not mention video of that activity.

 

[DTPeke]

RSBM
I appreciate your posts @DTPeke. They make me think!

With as much emphasis as TS put on the gate and key, I have to consider a couple of things: 1) it has no bearing whatsoever, and was a part of her dishonesty for explaining the possibility of blood/dna.
2) Items were placed/disposed of behind the gate. Is it possible she placed trash bags containing bedding, Gannon's switch, or other evidence to be moved later? 3) She used the back (sliding glass) door to remain hidden from neighborhood cameras while cleaning. I am assuming she had limited time to remove items from Gannon's room before the Girls got back home. This may have been a quick easy spot to place garbage bags in a hurry.

I like your theory about checking to see if there was any activity in response to the potential gun shots. The other thing that comes to mind (and forgive me for saying); if Gannon was screaming or begging for help, this too, may have drawn attention.

Thank you! Oh my! I had almost forgotten about Key Gate. Still trying to figure that one out!

I agree with all your theories and all the original speculation that she was pre-splaining any blood and possibly GS leaving via gate.

1. The only other theory I had for the key, not necessarily the gate key but missing keyS. Was Gannon the keeper of Al’s key ring while he traveled? That is something a boy might be proud of (as she suggested in an interview and mentioned along with the gate key, he was proud to be the man of the house in Al’s absence).

My husband rarely took his keys while traveling for work. Al’s key ring might include a key for a gun safe/cabinet/lock box.

This buys her time. No missing keys are mentioned in the AA so just a random musing but we do know she was uncooperative. Did she hide important keys blaming G?

Was the locksmith on the witness list there to replace keys, re-key the house since there was a Rapist on the loose or keep the real step monster out.

2. I agree. I think she placed bloody items in that missing/"taken" cardboard box, took that out back then bagged them, placing them in the bin. Hidden in plain sight. Probably using the hose to clean herself as well.

2:30 – 3:30 backdoor opened and closed 10x

That was a lot of activity for one hour.​

I know you did not address gun noise but I can attest no one comes, no one calls the police. I unfortunately had a 38 accidently discharge into a thin hollow bathroom door, the bullet left a hole but did not exit. This happened mid-day during the week. It was surreal.

 

[Aloe]

Somehow I've been envisioning a hard sided suitcase. I don't know why, because I only have soft-sided ones myself. Just one more reason it's nice to have this group to bounce ideas around with.

Something I'm pondering...
From a little reading, it seems blood volume (mostly plasma) returns to normal within a day or two, but red blood cells can take a few weeks to return to normal after significant blood loss. I'm curious to know if the blood found in Gannon's room could have been from more than a single incident. And therefore, it's not unlikely that he could walk to the truck Monday morning (assuming for the moment that the blood loss happened prior to that morning, and not all at once).

Can anyone speak to the reliability of blood stain age analysis? I know science is capable of determining the age of dried blood; how accurate is the data from this testing? IOW, would they be able to tell if separate instances of bleeding occurred - if those instances were just a few days apart?

Great question, I've been curious about the blood stain science, too.

 

[Megnut]

I'd like to know how early TS presplained her disappearing car to AS.... what she said and when.... she told the media she told AS sge needed a rental car so Gannon wouldn't hide from a familiar car, but just because sge told the media that, doesn't mean it's what she told AS!

It's gotta be hard to say, "yes, I'll pick you up at the airport but I won't have my car because flower pots. You want to know what color the rental is? Um, I don't know yet because (I haven't rented it yet)....

I can't fathom the verbal slurry she flung at AS...

She's a virus.

JMO

 

[10ofRods]

Snipped

And how to escape the smell while driving to Florida, if it was in the car. Could the suitcase have been in a trailer hauled behind a vehicle so the smell wasn't detected?

Or, did she fill the suitcase with kitty litter from the pet store to mask the smell? That is speculation, not a fact - it's not in the affidavit what her purchase was, though there are rumors (and the rumors aren't about litter, iirc). I'm not even sure litter would be effective.

Thinking aloud.


jmo

Spencer Wilson reported that in addition to a small red Nissan, LS and crew had a moving van (part of which can be seen in the Cousin It video). Presumably, LS had already loaded her stuff into that van, along with Gannon. So there were two vehicles that drove off from Lorson Ranch that day (Jan 31 is when Spencer saw them).

Would love to know if she bought kitty litter at Petco.