Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #46

[Seattle1]

There was a search photo that has always bothered me. They had red biohazard buckets. It made me wonder if they were collecting body tissue from a shooting. Just my own queesy thought. Moo

I'm recalling the AA for the alleged killer of McKenzie Lueck. I think if there was any human tissue discovered and tested for a DNA profile, I believe the AA would definitely include this just as they did with blood evidence and what appeared to be blood and was not.

 

[MemPat]

Does anybody think LS lost her mind at some point! This must have been able to have been seen! idk.
Could she have hidden it?
Sometimes it's so hard to see crazy when you're living in it. It seems normal or one just can't figure out what's wrong, trying to fix it.
I think I've been guilty of that. Maybe we all have. But who expects this!
moo

I think crazy is quite obvious when children are being mistreated and I don't think it's a sudden onset thing.

MOO

 

[MtnMama]

It's most compelling to me that RD's audio captured TS's car door, the car locking and the garage door being raised.

I'm curious to know how quickly the garage door closed after that.

As for the shadow, the best explanation I've heard was upthread, that the light disturbance was caused by the movement of the garage door itself. It occurs virtually simultaneously to TS's exit. Pop the button, pop the door. The garage donor's and hers, respectively.

RD's audio may well confirm that sequence.

I'm convinced that TS's abrupt exit from the vehicle has everything to do with the task before her. Having done what I believe she'd just done, now she had an enormous cleaning challenge ahead of her, and only one skinny hour.

Bet she got A LOT done that hour.

Then she sent LaiS to ride her binge sheet school, bought herself more time.

Then she sent HH and LaiS to the Dollar General, for more time.

Then HH to the park (no, not to look for Gannon, he was probably still "sleeping", but to keep HH and LaiS occupied and out of the house). More time.

Then she called LE. JMO but I bet it sounded something like this: "I'm calling because my stepson is late for dinner. He's 11. Yes, very forgetful, does this all the time. You know how boys are. I'm heading out now to check with friends and neighbors. You bet, I'll call back if I have trouble. He's probably at Quincy's."

She's a salad spinner.

The story I REALLY want to hear is the one she told HH. How did she explain that Gannon went from asleep to lost, right under TS's nose? I hope HH is singing. Just imagine the Tsplained, Tbrained tale TS manufactured for her. I imagine she saved the rape stories for later --

If words are a headache, whatever the version, that story will be a migraine.

JMO

BBM

@Megnut you're so right! Aside from being sent to do a million things to keep her busy and out of the house, I bet LaiS didn't ask too many questions as I believe she was afraid of LS. LaiS was old enough and had sadly seen/heard enough in the past & especially Sunday night to know something was very wrong! I'm sure she was scared to death and didn't dare ask any questions! Those poor kids!

ETA: I wonder if LaiS had her own phone and texted & Face Timed with LH as much as Gannon did? Did she have any way of contacting her parents Monday afternoon/evening?

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

Monday January 27 Gannon is reported missing.

Thursday January 30 The family pleas for help in finding him.

When asked if all family members were cooperating, the EPCSO declined to answer.

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I was drawn to this case because I live in Colorado Springs and I remember vividly standing in my kitchen and hearing on the TV that a child was missing from his home. I heard “ Marksheffel and Bradley’ and that is 8 miles from my house. Once I saw Gannon’s sweet face, I just could not turn away.
I’ve followed true crime stories for years, but there is something about this that makes me want to see it through to the end. And I just hope to God that she is held accountable to the fullest extent of the Law.
JMO

@Cindizzi - I'm so sorry for you and your community. This is difficult from across the miles and I thank you for being here with us, and sharing as a local.

 

[MassGuy]

Does anybody think LS lost her mind at some point! This must have been able to have been seen! idk.
Could she have hidden it?
Sometimes it's so hard to see crazy when you're living in it. It seems normal or one just can't figure out what's wrong, trying to fix it.
I think I've been guilty of that. Maybe we all have. But who expects this!
moo

Just take a glance at her criminal record, job history, or that interview with her coworker, and it’s pretty apparent that she’s always been trash.

This wasn’t some mentally stable woman who suddenly went off the deep end. This was a volatile, self centered, ill tempered sociopath, who committed one of the worst crimes imaginable.

I’m not saying anyone could have predicted it would go this far, but it wouldn’t be hard to see her for what she was. Especially for those who spent any length of time with her.

And that’s the frustrating thing, this didn’t have to happen.

 

[MtnMama]

BBM:

I don't think your belief that GS didn't return home refutes any forensic proof in the AA.

The AA never asserted that it was a "fact" that GS returned home with TS that day.
The AA never asserted that it was a "fact" that TS killed GS in the home.
The AA never asserted that there was "so much blood found in the basement that GS must have died there."

The fact that the AA asserted was that GS's blood was found in the home, and the locations where it was found.

The claim that there was "so much blood" found in the home that GS couldn't have survived it is something that's been stated here in the thread by certain posters, based on the description of the crime scene, but LE didn't characterize it that way.

Also, I know I keep banging on this same, tired drum, but I'm doing so because it bears repeating:

This Arrest Affidavit was written prior to Gannon's body being discovered.

By far, the strongest evidence LE had prior to his body being found was the blood they found in the home.
That blood was their strongest evidence against TS, so they focused on that in the AA.
They had to somehow make the argument that he was dead without a body.
So they argued that the blood in the home proved that he was dead.

But guess what?
Their best evidence changed the day his body was located in Florida.
There's no longer any need whatsoever for LE to use the evidence found in the home to prove that Gannon is dead.

His body was found stuffed in a suitcase.
This isn't a no-body case any more.
And that, as we all know, "changes everything," to quote DDA Allen.
Including, I suspect, LE's theory of the crime.

Unless there's video of GS getting out of the truck that day, OR a blood expert testifies that GS could not have survived the amount of blood loss evidenced in that home, I expect the DA to push the reset button on that theory that GS must have returned with her that day.

I believe all the facts that were laid out in the AA 100%.

I'm just not sold on the speculative theory they posited.

JMO.

EXCELLENT post @GordianKnot! I agree with you 1,000% so I guess I'll be sitting up on the proverbial fence with you (although I've got one leg and a foot over on the he didn't return home side) until we find out more at the prelim!

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

I would bet Jodi Arias's and Casey Anthony's attorneys thought a plea was their best advice to their client too and look how it turned out for CA!
All these women have something in common. They think they can fool people. They're young and dumb and willing to take their chances with the jury. They all think they're beautiful and just need to get ahold of that one juror. I'll be very surprised if LS takes a deal. Would it even be offered with the mountain of evidence they have?

I think this will be one of the first cases where we will experience the impact of removing the DP from the table.

LS penalty for murder as charged is absolute -- life without parole and not really anything left to negotiate.

Although nobody in Colorado has been executed in decades, I do believe there is a psychological effect on a defendant that does not ever want to realize a jury of his/her peers condemn them to death. Especially a narcissist that's very much invested their life on that fraudulent good persona image-- albeit the informed saw their mask a mile away. LS built her entire life around her appearance as a "hero."

 

[MassGuy]

I think this will be one of the first cases where we will experience the impact of removing the DP from the table.

LS penalty for murder as charged is absolute -- life without parole and not really anything left to negotiate.

Although nobody in Colorado has been executed in decades, I do believe there is a psychological effect on a defendant that does not want to ever realize a jury of his/her peers condemn them to death. Especially a narcissist that's very much invested their life on that fraudulent good persona image-- albeit the informed saw their mask a mile away. LS built her entire life around her appearance as a "hero."

I take a lot of satisfaction out of her focus on herself as a “hero.”

She crafted this image in her own mind, and thought she was projecting it to the world. In court, she will be exposed for everything she is, and everything she is not.

She’s going to be slowly ripped apart, as witnesses testify, and evidence is presented.

It’s just a shame we won’t be able to watch it.

 

[MtnMama]

Kohls was on the Witness List. Maybe just for their surveillance footage, or maybe for something else.

!

 

[Seattle1]

I think that AS alerted LE that a suitcase was missing from the house very early on but I can't say more because of TOS.

MOO speculation

And LS confirmed it right down to the color (brown) during her interview with investigators the following day or Wed, Jan 29. (AA #87).

 

[Seattle1]

Nah I doubt they would offer a deal, there is really nothing they can offer her. minus the commissary tokens of course

Regardless she's going to ride this out till the very end and by very end I mean very end.........she'll be denying her involvement until she takes her last breath

In true socio/narc fashion, public denial and personally believing her actions completely justified. Stupid jurors!

 

[Niner]

Hey! Took me a bit to catch up with you all...

Tomorrow April 30 is the divorce hearing. And here’s Court TV with all the drama! They mentioned a couple of times that she plead not guilty. Is that true ?
I didn’t think we’ve come to that point yet in the court proceedings. Doesn’t matter, I guess. We all know she will never fess up.

I don't think LS has entered a plea yet -- this should come after her preliminary hearing.

I recall LS made her first appearance and didn't speak, and later at her advisement, her lawyer said they were waiving. I don't think the AA had been unsealed yet. I'm pretty sure all her appearances thus far were before GS body located.

@Seattle1 is correct - I have in my notes - "No plea entered yet."

 

[BeckyF]

Does anybody think LS lost her mind at some point! This must have been able to have been seen! idk.
Could she have hidden it?
Sometimes it's so hard to see crazy when you're living in it. It seems normal or one just can't figure out what's wrong, trying to fix it.
I think I've been guilty of that. Maybe we all have. But who expects this!
moo

She probably tried very hard to disguise who she really is, which is a very selfish and resentful person. Her image is everything to her. But if I try too hard to figure out what made her the kind of person she is I might start to wonder what kind of childhood she had, what made her the evil person she is, was she mistreated as a child, etc., etc. And then I lose site of the reality that she terrified and murdered an innocent child. And one of her final acts of cruelty was to make him walk to that truck on that Monday morning when he was very likely injured. There is no excuse for that. And yes, enablers do try to fix things and it rarely works.

 

[Niner]

Still showing up in the court site:

Thursday, April 30th:
*Initial Conference Appearance Hearing (re Divorce) (@ 10:20am MT) – CO – Divorce from Eugene Albert Stauch (38) – Letecia Lynn Stauch (36) and also –
CO - Gannon Stauch (11) (missing Jan. 27, 2020, Colorado Springs; found on Mar. 17, 2020 in Pace, FL.) – *Letecia Leann (or Lynn) Stauch (36) aka Letecia “Tecia” Lynn Hardin, Tecia Taylor Hardin, Letecia Lynn Hunt arrested (in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on 3/2/20) & advised of charges (3/5/20) & formally charged & arraigned (3/11/20) with 1st degree murder of a child under 12, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with deceased human body & tampering with physical evidence. No plea entered. Held without bond.
New charges filed (3/20/20) 2 counts of 1st degree murder (after intent & deliberation), 2nd degree child abuse resulting in death, 3rd degree tampering with deceased human body, 6th degree tampering with physical evidence & 8 counts of crime of violence (firearm, blunt instrument, knife or sharp instrument & causing the death of Gannon).
3/17/20 Update: Eugene "Al" Stauch has cited his son's killing as the reason for splitting with his wife in divorce documents. In the eight-page filing, the marriage is described as 'irretrievably broken' with Stauch noting that Letecia was 'in South Carolina awaiting extradition to Colorado charged with first degree murder of [his] son'. Stauch, a member of the Colorado National Guard, also demanded the couple's French Bulldog, Sadie, be immediately returned to him and said he had no intention of paying Letecia spousal support. Next hearing for Divorce is on 4/30 as Initial Court Appearance. For Murder case: Preliminary hearings on 6/5 & 6/8.
4/16/20 Update: Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Ben Coats has extended the suspension of jury trials in Colorado until June 1, 2020, due to COVID-19.

 

[BeckyF]

Just take a glance at her criminal record, job history, or that interview with her coworker, and it’s pretty apparent that she’s always been trash.

This wasn’t some mentally stable woman who suddenly went off the deep end. This was a volatile, self centered, ill tempered sociopath, who committed one of the worst crimes imaginable.

I’m not saying anyone could have predicted it would go this far, but it wouldn’t be hard to see her for what she was. Especially for those who spent any length of time with her.

And that’s the frustrating thing, this didn’t have to happen.

Yep. There are many cases that we've all read about where CPS got involved in cases of child abuse, maybe removed the child and then returned the child to their home and the child ends up dead. As far as I know nothing was reported to CPS about any mistreatment of Gannon. So any suspicions that he was not being treated as a child should be treated, with love and the right to live in a secure and loving environment, were ignored. He had teachers, the babysitter who stated Gannon spent a lot of time with her, and who also stated that TS would never hurt Gannon (coward that she is), and others around him who should have seen the writing on the wall.

 

[watergirl62]

Why Florida is truly the million-dollar question! There are so many places in or near Colorado yet it appears LS thought it best to accompany a decaying corpse more than 1300 miles across the country.

The more I think about it, I'm still open to LS having refrigerated, transport help with the suitcase.

Because she's crazy?

AA 138 says she was apartment hunting in Pensacola Beach and Fort Lauderdale, FL. If she went to Pensacola first, then Fort Lauderdale, she might have gone through Pace. According to this article, they were hiring 100 flight attendants for the Miami hub expansion.

Maybe she did have an interview. I am sure all that higher education, extensive teaching experience and Native American ancestry added sparkle to her application. moo

 

[PorcelainCoveredInTinFoil]

Since trial proceedings won't be viewable by general public, will a transcript be available at some point?

 

[Hatfield]

This is an excellent map. However, the drop site was across the river to the north. Not near the Swamphouse Boat ramp. If you look at 90 going north across the river, it is just past the first '90' marker on the map. There is nothing there. The higher bridge is the one traveling north. I believe she went over the crest, pulled to the left side, and dropped him over the side. If it was night, she wouldn't have been able to see anything beneath the bridge. You can see from your map how wide and spread out this connection of Escambia River is to Escambia Bay. From the height of the bridge, it looks mostly like water far and wide. Not being familiar with the area, she wouldn't know there was no water there. It almost proves that she dropped him in the cover of darkness. MOO

Thanks for the correction.
Seattle1 caught that too that I was on the wrong side of the river.

 

[heartandsoul]

Here for Gannon

 

[Honey_West]

Good morning, all...

Here for Gannon!