Didn't get a chance to post Nicole's tweets on Thread #67.
Jury is coming back in. Closings will start and prosecution is first
Dave Young is presenting prosecution's closing argument.
Young: "I want to come back to Gannon. Gannon's been in a box back here for the whole trial. This is what the trial should be about.”
Young: "What
#GannonStauch had to tell you through his autopsy in the trial is all you need to know.”
Young: "If his body wasn't found in Florida do you think we'd be talking about insanity in this trial?”
Young calls the bridge inspector finding the suitcase with Gannon's body "divine intervention" leading to the point where we are at today.
We're seeing a diagram of injuries on Gannon's body, not the photos from the autopsy. "Just by looking at these injuries, what does your common sense tell you...Gannon was defending himself, he was fighting off despite having hydrocodone that made him lethargic...she didn't stop”.
"...18 times, 18 times she took a knife, stabbed him. It's not psychotic it is strategic. The stab wounds are to his chest, as Gannon's fighting the stab wounds are to his back. But it's not just the stab wounds...4 separate strikes to his head, wasn't good enough for her.”
Talks about the bullets found in Gannon and pillow and now is showing map of the area of the bridge Gannon's body was found under in Pensacola, FL.
The body had been out there since Feb 4th and found on March 17th in Florida heat. They didn't smell anything until the suitcase was open. Harley said she didn't smell anything and Young is arguing this should give her credibility.
Young: "Did she intent to kill Gannon when she did what she did to him? I would suggest that's not disputable."
Young says the burden is on the state to prove sanity, and they "gladly accept it."
"If you loose your temper you don't get to claim insanity," Young says while reviewing the law and elements with the jury.
Mental disease or defect defined on screen: a severely abnormal mental condition that grossly and demonstrably impairs a person's perception or understanding or reality and it can't be not attributable to the voluntary ingestion of alcohol or any other psychoactive substance.
Young states that Letecia's daughter Harley and husband at the time Al would have noticed/known if she had a "grossly impaired perception of reality.”
Young: "If she was experiencing psychosis of December of 2019, the doctor would have had an obligation to admit her...it's not there.”
When psychologist talks with Letecia after Gannon's body was found, Young points out that Letecia says she wasn't in Florida, not that "Maria did it" or anything about having multiple personality disorder.
There was a two week observation period for first competency evaluation.
Young: "She actually goes to a nurse and says 'can you tell when someone's faking it.'"
Young bringing up that Dr. Torres testified in her evaluation of Letecia on August 4, 2020, she asked her if she has multiple personality disorder and she said no.
Young says Letecia exaggerates in evaluations to the point where even people who are hospitalized for psychiatric illnesses don't respond that way. "Do you think she might be faking it?”
Now talking about 2022, Young says Dr. Lewis told Letecia she recommends she change her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.
Young says for insanity, the law says that you have to go back to the time of the crime, what was her mental state then.
Young asks the jury if it is just a coincidence that Letecia consulted with Dr. Lewis before and then Maria Sanchez comes into play during this last evaluation.
Young points out that during her evaluation with Dr. Lewis, Stauch says that she can't just summon "Maria," she has to come out with a stressor event. Young says that coincidently is what's written in the DSM-5.
Young talking about credibility of Defenses' witness Dr. Lewis: "Money is a strong motivator, having shows on HBO is a strong motivator, having your son in the room filming is a motivator.”
Young: "Dr. Lewis, she didn't know the legal definition of insanity in the state of Colorado ladies and gentleman, the whole reason she came in to testify.”
Watching videos now as Young says he wasn't to show Letecia's demeanor "before, during and after"
We are watching the video where Gannon is heard crying about dropping the candle and burning carpet. The word "Manipulation" is displayed on the screen and Gannon's words "I'm just worried about my burns.”
Young points out Letecia stops recording after Gannon says "I'm just worried about my burns." He asks the jury if stopping the recording then shows "judgement and reflection.”
On morning of alleged murder, Young says she takes picture of Gannon in bed and sends it to Al. Young: "Do you think she wants to prove he's still alive because of how much hydrocodone she gave him?”
Leaving her phone at home, before she and Gannon left the house Young: "Do you think that's an indication she knew what she was doing?"
Young asks what Letecia was doing taking a "sick kid" out to go shopping for dog clothes on day of alleged murder, calling it "narcissistic tendencies”
Young says right before the alleged murder, Letecia moved her car.
Young: "It may not sound like rational thinking, but it's certainly thinking, it's making decisions.”
Young says when Gannon's little sister gets home from school she doesn't let her in the house. "She needs to hide evidence.”
Young: "How can she do this, how can she talk to Gannon's father like nothing happened. Is that traits of an antisocial personality disorder that you can have no sympathy?”
Young says Letecia and Gannon's body leave for the airport. "She's made the decision to rent a car before even leaving the house. Is that evidence of psychosis or that she's thinking things through?”
Young brings up critical point in this case when Al realizes Letecia's car is not where she said it was. That's when he realizes his wife may have done something to his son and tells police that.
Young says texts from Letecia to her daughter Harley, telling her not to talk to police, etc. show she's manipulating.
Young: “She plants seeds, the suitcase is critical." Young says Letecia stated that a man named “Eduardo” took a suitcase when he took Gannon. Young says that's because she knows Gannon is in a suitcase at Palmer Lake, so if police find it, they will think it's this Eduardo.
Letecia's head is down in court right now during these closing arguments.
Picture of Gannon is up on the screen as a news interview with Letecia is playing. You can see emotion on Gannon's biological family's faces. Letecia's head is down.
Young says trackers show she went back to the place she originally dumped Gannon and gets his body. Her brother testified seeing the green suitcase when they had to move suitcases into rental van.
Young calls it "another divine intervention" is when the rental van powers up and gets her location near the bridge where Gannon's body is found. It was set to check location every certain amount of hours.
Young: "There are people who are truly legally insane ladies and gentleman, they don't act like that. If they don't have the capacity to know right for wrong, they won't hide the body. They act like nothing had happened...they also don't lie."
Now defense is up.
Josh Tolini is presenting closing arguments for defense.
Tolini: "There is no answer of motive"...how we can go from a hike on Garden of the Gods, loving kind to rage." Tonlini calls the killing "psychotic rage" brought up by what's happened in her past.
"This is not premeditated murder, this is a psychotic break. That is the only thing that makes sense”.
Tolini says based upon Al's relationship with Letecia and how she treated Gannon, he felt comfortable enough to leave his kids with her when he left for military training in Oklahoma.
Tolini repeats that mental illness from her past got triggered and there was temporary period of psychosis. "There's no rational basis for the murder besides psychosis.'
Tolini: "Somehow that fire set off some type of trigger, maybe some type of trigger that had been disassociated long ago but we have her melt down right after the fire.”
Tolini talks about how in the video with the candle incident, Letecia says she's freaked out and she says they'll have to sell the sofa. "That makes no sense whatsoever."
Brings up at 4:36 am on the morning of alleged murder, how Letecia calls out from work by saying her step father dies. Tolini said the step father is who traumatized her. He points to her texts that she's manic because she's up the entire night not sleeping.
Tolini: "Something is going on in her mind, something is there loosing it and something horrible goes on in the basement where there is a brutal, brutal attack.”
Tolini says how brutal the attack on Gannon is shows that there's a mental break.
Tolini: "What is going on her head, we don't know"
"I would put before you the strongest evidence of dissociation going on here, look at the body language when the sheriff's come in the house looking for Gannon."
Tolini says she is laughing with sheriff's deputies after killing Gannon and that's pointing to dissociation, "She is in a manic situation and her mind is not working.”
Tolini says to go into police two days after reporting a kid missing, with a completely different story shows she wasn't calculated. "That is completely irrational to think that that kind of thing could possibly be believed.”
Tolini: "All of these phone calls with Al are the actions of someone who is delusional...she is freaking out and is delusional in that thought that anyone would believe all of the variations of what she is trying to sell them, none of that makes sense.”
Tolini says Dr. Lewis has decades of experience dealing with people with severe mental illness who committed heinous acts. He says she may have gotten forgetful on the stand, referring to her age. "Do not discount her decades of experience, do not discount her expertise.”
Tolini: "We're not disputing that it was her, but she was not in her right mind when she did it and you heard Dr. Lewis state that.”
Speaking about other doctors prosecution called up, Tolini says none of them deny mental illness.
Tolini: "Whether you call it borderline, DID, that is not the important thing...it's that there must have been psychotic actions going on.”
Tolini: "All of the antisocial personality disorder talk is a smoke screen." Tolini says when the screen is off what's left is disassociation.
Tolini says covering up of the murder does not preclude insanity. "They are not mutually exclusive.”
Tolini: "We're not saying to set her free, to let her go, we're not saying don't hold her responsible. We're saying to consider the mental illness she suffers and send her to CHMIP." He talks about that the conditions are shackles and not great.
Tolini tells jury if they believe this occurred in any state of psychosis, it is their legal duty to find Letecia insane.
They are going to take a 10 minute recess then rebuttal.