Week 3 Day 11
4/19/2023
The
#LeteciaStauch murder trial is resuming now. Jurors are listening to the rest of the FBI-recorded phone call between Al and Letecia on February 15, 2020.
Al is heard being frustrated with Letecia as he’s trying to get answers about what happened to Gannon. Letecia at one point said, “I’m tired of being portrayed as the killer of a child I love.”
Al: “I want the truth right now and I’ll be willing to meet you… The biggest thing between us right now, is the truth. You give me the truth, you get your meeting.”
Al: “Give me the truth.” Letecia: “I gave you the truth." Al: “You walked me through 27 versions of a fake bulls**t lie.”
Al and Letecia are heard arguing about Gannon’s mom, Landen, being at the Stauch home after Gannon’s disappearance. Al is frustrated because he said Letecia and her daughter Harley Hunt packed their bags and left the Stauch home, saying, "You guys left. You bounced."
We’re now listening to another FBI-recorded phone call between Letecia and Al, where an FBI agent was coaching Al and suggesting questions to ask. This phone call is just over an hour long.
Al: “I feel like this is all my fault in the end because I was gone when it happened.” Al then began asking questions about the puddle of blood in the corner of Gannon’s room where his bed was that seeped down to the concrete floor.
Letecia then accused Al and others of walking into Gannon’s room and contaminating his room with blood. Letecia said whatever blood was there was from the burn on his arms, and a cut on his foot.
Then Al said he saw surveillance video of Gannon walking to the truck, and he said it looked like Gannon was sluggish and drugged. Letecia said, “Like really, Gannon drugged?!... He was probably very tired.”
Al then put FBI Agent Amber Cronan on a three-way phone call with him and Letecia. Letecia said she’d call the FBI agent back in a few minutes and hung up the phone.
FBI Agent Amber Cronan was called back to the witness stand after the hour-long phone call was finished playing for jurors. Agent Cronan testified saying it seemed like Letecia cared more about herself than what happened to Gannon.
“The significant pause in her speaking when they hooked up the 3-way call gave me the impression she might have been reluctant to speak with me,” said FBI Agent Amber Cronan when testifying about Letecia Stauch.
We’re now listening to the phone call between Letecia and FBI Agent Amber Cronan. Letecia was asked to describe in detail what happened on the day of Gannon’s disappearance. This phone call is nearly a half hour long.
Letecia explains trying to get Al a bike from Craiglist, going to Dunkin’ Donuts, and Petco twice.
Letecia then explained how when she and Gannon got home, Letecia heard a loud noise downstairs.
Letecia said when she went downstairs, a man was standing near the storage room.
Agent Cronan is back on the witness stand.
She testified saying there were multiple different stories that Letecia told about Gannon’s disappearance.
She also acknowledged there was no evidence to support there was an intruder and no evidence to support someone kidnapped Gannon.
Since Letecia and Harley left the home after Gannon’s disappearance, Al didn’t know where they were staying. During this phone call on February 15, 2020, Letecia said she’s staying at a woman named Michelle’s house in Monument.
Previous testimony in the trial indicated that Letecia was already on the east coast by mid-February.
FBI Agent Amber Cronan is back on the witness stand. She testified saying there was not a real person by the name of Michelle in Monument. During the phone call, Letecia said she was at Michelle’s house after Gannon’s disappearance.
Agent Cronan testified saying she has dealt with people with severe mental health issues. “It’s different. They may not have logical reasons for what they do,” said Cronan. She acknowledged that Letecia had logical reasons for what she was doing throughout the investigation.
During cross examination Letecia’s attorney asked Agent Cronan how long she viewed Letecia. Cronan said she wasn’t personally interacting with her. She also said if there was something they wanted to know during the phone calls, they would give Al a note.
Letecia’s attorney then asked why Letecia wasn’t arrested, because she was telling a lot of different stories and admitting Gannon’s blood was in his room. Cronan said an arrest wasn’t made because they didn’t have probable cause yet, and Gannon’s body was not found yet.
Jonathan Grusing, a former special agent, is the next witness to be called. He was assisting with the FBI-recorded phone calls between Al and Letecia Stauch.
Grusing said his goal was to have Al continue talking to Letecia so they could find out what happened to Gannon. “If we don’t accuse Letecia of killing Gannon, she would continue talking with us,” said Grusing.
Grusing testified saying Letecia would give up small hints and clues as her stories kept changing. He said she would also shift blame to other people, including Al and Gannon’s biological mother, Landen.
Al called Letecia saying he found out that the information about Quincy Brown isn’t true. During the phone calls, Letecia said the man in the home was Quincy Brown, and that Brown assaulted her and Gannon, and then took Gannon. Brown was actually a local registered sex offender.
Al said it was brought to his attention that Quincy Brown’s family said Brown has been in Mexico for the past two years.
Grusing took the stand again, and he said they advised Al to remind Letecia she’s a good person and a good parent. We’re now listening to another phone call between Al and Letecia. This one is just over 40 minutes long.
During this phone call, Al told Letecia, “I fully believe something happened and it was an accident and you panicked… I know that you did something, and I know that you’re responsible.”
Al said he’s “worried to death” that one day he'll have to testify about what happened, and he won’t know what to say, except that Letecia lied to him over and over, and didn’t tell the truth.
Al said he hope it doesn’t come down to murder because he hasn’t seen his son in three weeks. He then asked Letecia again about the blood in the corner of Gannon's room, saying he saw it and it was Gannon's blood.
As the FBI-recorded phone calls between Letecia and Al Stauch are playing in the courtroom, Letecia has her head down most of the time or her head in her hands.
Al: “What I think is that you did it. What I know is that you’re involved somehow… and you dumped his body somewhere.”
Recess break until 3:25 pm MT
Today, we’ll finish listening to three more FBI-recorded phone calls between Al Stauch and Letecia Stauch a few weeks after Gannon's disappearance.
The murder trial for
#LeteciaStauch will resume Friday morning at 9 a.m. Court will not be happening on Thursdays, as the judge has other obligations.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
