I shall be on Holiday in Sweden helping my sister celebrate her birthday. Will be gone from Feb. 9th thru Feb. 23rd -
so I am posting this now - just in case I do not have access to the internet or just having too much fun to post!
Friday, February 11th:
*Motions Hearing (
murder) & Review Hearing (
Escape attempt) (@ 9am MT) – CO –
Gannon Stauch (11) (missing Jan. 27, 2020, Colorado Springs; found Mar. 17, 2020 in Pace, FL., Santa Rosa County) – *Letecia Lynn (or Leann) Stauch (36/now 38) aka Letecia “Tecia” Lynn Hardin (maiden name) & Letecia Lynn Hunt (1st married name) arrested (in Myrtle Beach, S.C. 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.
[see below for re-filed charges].
Charged (re-filed 3/20/20) & arraigned (11/4/21) with 2 counts of 1st degree felony murder (after intent & deliberation), 2nd degree felony child abuse resulting in death, 3rd degree felony tampering with deceased human body, 6th degree felony tampering with physical evidence & 8 counts of crime of violence (special enhancer: firearm, blunt instrument, knife or sharp instrument & causing the death of Gannon). Held without bond. Plead not guilty.
Charged (filed 5/20/20) & charged (6/5/20) with solicitation to commit escape. $2K bond. Plead not guilty.
Trial set to begin on 3/28/22 with jury selection. Trial could start 4/4/22. (will last 4-6 weeks). There will be 12 jurors & 4 alternates.
Case & court info from 3/2/20 to 1/7/22 reference post #443 here:
Found Deceased - CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *Arrest* #51
1/13/22 Update: Motions hearing (Murder) & review hearing (escape attempt) have been moved to 1/27/22 as Stauch has entered a mental health evaluation and more than one attorney had covid related issues.
1/27/22 Update: Court documents showed the defense has filed a motion to change venue & several motions to suppress certain pieces of evidence, like information from an IPhone & a wiretap. Judge Werner's reading some of the facts set forth in the affidavit, including calls Ms. Stauch made the day Gannon is believed to have been killed. He doesn't think the warrant is overly broad & said he won't suppress the contents of the cell phone. It includes information about her calls, texts, social media posts & access to her home's Ring doorbell camera in the days around Gannon's disappearance. Motion denied. Next was the motion to suppress wiretap. Two wiretaps requested – 2/7/20 & 2/10/20. There are two different numbers on the affidavit. One was obtained by Stauch at a Walmart after the sheriff’s office seized her phone. The warrant asked to wiretap any conversations — verbal, text, multimedia, GPS data, etc. Motion was denied. Next the motion to suppress the ADT home security system. DA Gratiano said the ADT data warrant is not overly broad. Tolini again disagrees, again saying there's no date range. Judge Werner said that although there's no date range, that may not apply to general warrants. Motion denied. The motions to suppress the different kinds of evidence were all denied by the judge on Thursday. The Motion for Change of Venue, the judge believes this motion is premature. They will not be addressing this in today's hearing. Defense Attorney Josh Tolini said a questionnaire for the jury should address his concerns that would necessitate a change of venue. Stauch had a motions hearing where the results of a mental health evaluation performed at the State hospital were expected to be discussed. However, in court it was revealed the State hospital cannot schedule her evaluation until February & the court may not have a report on it until March 31. Judge Gregory Werner said that could be problematic, because it is after jury selection is scheduled to start. Both sides approached the bench at that moment to discuss the timing of the mental health evaluation privately. The issue will be revisited at the pretrial readiness conference on 3/17/22. Stauch has been deemed competent to stand trial twice, but this mental health evaluation is not related to competency. At prior hearings, defense attorneys have claimed the evaluation is connected to Stauch. Stauch's actions after the alleged murder of Gannon. She appeared in-person on Thursday. Defense attorneys state that, depending on the results of the mental health evaluation, an insanity plea could still be coming. They've set aside six weeks total for the trial - but the DA estimating it will take closer to four weeks. The judge needs both sides to get their list of witnesses to the court by 2/11/22. He's working on a jury questionnaire now - it's about 4 pages. Audio streaming only for jury selection. Jury selection will go as long as need be until they reach a panel of 70 people before attorneys start challenging jurors. There will 16 people-12 jurors & 4 alternates. Allen said opening statements could begin the afternoon of the second Monday of trial. That's April 4. Trial will be held Monday through Friday, starting at 9am. Judge Werner's recommending attorneys use privacy screens on their laptops in court.
2/8/22 Update: Murder: Motions hearing on 2/11/22 & review hearing for escape attempt on 2/11/22. And pretrial readiness hearing on 3/17/22 & review hearing for escape attempt.