The Unbelievable Crimes of Letecia Stauch

The Disappearance

Gannon Stauch, an 11-year-old boy from the Lorson Ranch neighborhood southeast of Colorado Springs, was last seen alive on January 27, 2020. Gannon's stepmother, Letecia Stauch, was the last person to see him alive, with authorities suspecting she killed Gannon in his bedroom while they were home alone​​.

Stauch reported Gannon missing later that evening, alleging that he had failed to return from a friend's house.

However, she was unable to name the friend he was supposedly visiting, and her account of the events kept changing throughout the investigation, sometimes including details about the crime that only the killer would know​​.

The Investigation

In the days following Gannon's disappearance, investigators discovered evidence of blood splatter on the walls and bloodstains on his mattress, carpet, and bedroom floor.

Traces of Gannon's blood were also found on the family’s garage floor and on the bumper of Stauch’s car​​. A 9 mm gun found in the family’s home had Stauch’s DNA on it, as well as the DNA of two other people. The bullet found in Gannon’s head was believed to have been fired from that gun​​.

On February 1, 2020, Stauch rented a van and drove with her teenage daughter from Colorado to Pensacola, Florida. They arrived just after midnight on February 4. They stayed in a hotel about three miles away from the spot where Gannon’s body was later discovered before heading to Orlando and then South Carolina, where Stauch previously lived​.

Stauch allegedly dumped Gannon's body, hidden inside a suitcase, over a bridge near Pensacola, Florida on February 4​. The boy’s body was found on March 17, 2020, under a bridge near Pensacola, Florida, wrapped in bedding and inside a suitcase. He had been shot in the jaw, stabbed in the chest and back, and suffered a skull fracture​.

The Trial

El Paso County Sheriff's deputies announced the arrest of Stauch in March 2020 on suspicion of killing Gannon and hiding his remains​​. Stauch chose to not be present during the preliminary hearing, allowing the proceeding to go forward without her​.

Stauch’s defense attorney suggested that someone else might have entered the home, as the back door to the family’s home was opened 10 times during the window of time in which investigators believe Gannon was killed. He also stated that there was no history of documented child abuse or problems in the home that typically precede child homicides, and said that Stauch’s coworkers and friends described her as a good stepmother​.

Investigations also revealed Stauch's online activity and Google searches that suggested she was unhappy in her marriage and may have resented caring for her stepchildren​. Stauch's trial started three years after Gannon's disappearance and murder.

In May, 2023, a verdict was reached in the case , Stauch was found guilty and has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the crime of killing the child and disposing of his body over a bridge.

The judge, while sentencing Stauch, stated that her defense of being insane and claiming that one of her other personalities killed her stepson was unacceptable as it undermines the struggles of those who are genuinely mentally ill.

She was earlier convicted of first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder of a child by a person in a position of trust, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.

References:

Letecia Stauch: Woman allegedly kills stepson, throws him over bridge in suitcase

Colorado jury finds Letecia Stauch guilty of killing 11-year-old stepson

Letecia Stauch found guilty of stabbing stepson and dumping body in suitcase