Woman guilty of murdering missing 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch, sentenced to life in prison
Gannon Stauch's disappearance three years ago prompted national attention during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An El Paso County jury on Monday convicted Letecia Stauch of first-degree murder in the death of her 11-year-old stepson, finding the woman was sane during the brutal attack in the family’s Colorado Springs home three years ago.
Jurors rejected Stauch’s defense that she suffered a mental break and was legally insane when she stabbed and shot Gannon Stauch on Jan. 27, 2020.
The 39-year-old woman was also found guilty of tampering with a human body and tampering with evidence.
Immediately after the conviction, Stauch was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 13.5 years in an emotional hearing during which Gannon’s family spoke about his life and death. The 11-year-old boy was born prematurely and weighed only 1 pound, 6 ounces at birth, his mother, Landen Bullard said. When he was born, his father’s wedding ring fit over Gannon’s arm up to his shoulder, another relative said.
“You came into this world fighting, and unfortunately you left this world fighting,” Bullard said, crying as she spoke in court.
Gannon’s father, Al Stauch, remembered Gannon’s love of video games and sports, as well as his joyful approach to life. He apologized to his son for leaving him alone with Letecia Stauch.
“Gannon, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought you would have been in danger, buddy, or I would not have left you at home with what turned out to be a murderer,” he said, before putting his head down on the podium and weeping. “I’m so sorry.”
Letecia Stauch did not appear to visibly react when the verdict was read; she yawned, fixed her hair and drank water as Gannon’s family spoke. Before she was sentenced, she smiled and laughed while talking to her attorneys.
Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Gregory Werner said the case was the “most horrific” he’d ever seen. He sentenced Stauch to the maximum possible penalties on each charge. He said Stauch crafted a “web of lies” after the murder in an attempt to avoid responsibility and that her claim of insanity did a disservice to people who are truly mentally ill.
“That just isn’t credible,” he said. “You knew what you were doing. You made a number of clear and conscious decisions to cover or hide what you had done.”
Gannon’s disappearance three years ago prompted national attention during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Letecia Stauch reported the boy missing on Jan. 27, 2020, saying he had gone to a friend’s house to play and never returned home, but almost immediately drew suspicion because she gave shifting accounts to investigators.
For weeks, authorities coordinated a massive public search effort for Gannon, while investigators privately zeroed in on Letecia Stauch as the prime suspect in the killing, testimony revealed during the month-long jury trial.
After killing Gannon, Letecia Stauch hid the boy’s body in a remote area along the El Paso/Douglas county line, before moving the body into a suitcase and driving it in a rented cargo van to Florida, where she tossed the suitcase off a highway overpass.
She was arrested and charged with murder on March 2, 2020, days before a construction crew found Gannon’s body on March 17, 2020.
“Gannon was born severely premature and barely filled my two hands the first time I held him,” Al Stauch said Monday. “But at the end of his life, after his body was cremated into a pile of ashes, he was ultimately no bigger than the first time I held him.”
During the trial, Stauch’s defense attorneys claimed she suffered serious childhood abuse that led to the development of multiple personality disorder and that she suffered a mental break when she killed Gannon.
Prosecutors countered that Stauch was sane and motivated by hatred of Gannon. They said she resented caring for the boy and pointed to her extensive efforts to cover up the crime as evidence of her sanity.