EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (Scripps News Colorado Springs) — The murder trial of Letecia Stauch, the Colorado woman accused of murdering her stepson in 2020 entered week 5 with the defense calling on their forensic psychologist to testify on Stauch’s competency.
The morning began with learning that the defense’s forensic psychologist met with Letecia Stauch at the jail for about three hours Sunday. One prosecutor said, “I’m at a loss,” because he doesn’t know what was discussed.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
The prosecution said they wanted to meet with the defense’s forensic psychologist before her testimony so he had the ability to cross-examine her.
The first witness called by the prosecution to the stand on Monday was Kevin Clark. Clark used to be an intelligence analyst with the Colorado Springs Police Department, now he is the acting Director of Crime Strategies and Intelligence for the District Attorney’s Office.
Clark began his testimony by describing the neighbor’s surveillance video just after 2 p.m. on January 27 of Letecia Stauch and Gannon Stauch returning home, and the video just before 6:30 a.m. on January 28 of Letecia leaving for about ten minutes then returning home.
RELATED: Psychologist: Letecia Stauch was sane at the time of the crime
Clark testified saying it wasn’t typical for Letecia Stauch to back into the driveway or garage based on other surveillance footage, but on the day Gannon disappeared and the day after, she was seen backing vehicles into the driveway.
Clark said Letecia Stauch used her phone frequently. He said her phone was not being used on the day Gannon disappeared from late morning to early afternoon, when she and Gannon were at Petco, and also when she returned home, the phone wasn’t being used for a period of time.
Clark continued on with what he found on Letecia Stauch’s third phone which was seized in South Carolina. In the notes section was a note from February 19 titled, “In the case of a missing child Gannon Stauch…”
A few other questions in the note include: “Did you accidentally hurt him in a physical way? Did you murder your stepson? Do you know personally who was involved in your stepson’s disappearance?”
Clark also described the web history on Letecia Stauch’s phone from February 20. He said the user searched “fake polygraph test” using Google. Ten minutes later, a fake polygraph website was visited, and after that, the payment screen to pay for a fake lie detector test was visited.
After that, Clark said the user of the phone then Googled, “Can you get away with fake lie detector website?”
Clark said on the evening/night of January 28, Letecia Stauch’s iPhone was placed on airplane mode and off the network just after 7 p.m. Around 9 p.m., data from her Tiguan shows the vehicle was at the S curve near Palmer Lake, where the blood-stained board was found.
Clark said Stauch’s phone didn’t die or run out of battery, but it was off of the network around 9 p.m. The phone was locked and unlocked several times.
Clark reviewed a timeline of events on Sunday, January 26, the day before Gannon disappeared:
6:55 a.m. – Al Stauch’s flight leaves DIA.
2:00 p.m. – A trip to Garden of the Gods with Letecia, Gannon, and Laina.
3:15 p.m. – Harley clocks in at work at Massage Envy.
3:41 p.m. – Selfie photo taken of Letecia, Gannon, and Laina.
4:46 p.m. – Letecia, Gannon, and Laina return home, Harley is still at work.
WATCH: Call Made From Gannon’s Phone After He was Reported Missing
9:46 p.m. – Video taken from Stauch’s phone where you can hear Gannon say, “I’m just worried about my burns.”
Clark said there was no indication that Gannon was outside the home yelling that night.
9:57 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. – text messages between Letecia and Harley about the candle incident involving Gannon
11:30 p.m. – text message from Letecia to Al about the candle incident
On the morning of January 28:
2:48 a.m. – text message from Letecia to Al about how Gannon won’t be going to school and she’ll also be calling off work
3:00 a.m. – Letecia sends a text message to Leslie Hicks, the assistant principal at the school she works at. Letecia said her stepfather passed away and she won’t be going to work.
5:03 a.m. – more texts from Letecia to Al saying she’s exhausted, and Gannon felt really bad about the burned carpet.
5:49 a.m. – text from Hicks asking Letecia if they should find a substitute for today.
8:14 a.m. – photo taken of Gannon sleeping in his bed, Letecia sent this photo to Al.
8:30 a.m. – Harley clocks in at work.
FILE – Gannon Stauch (NCMEC)
8:43 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. – more text messages between Letecia and Al about Gannon asking about bath salts and hanging out with friends.
9:27 a.m. – text messages between Letecia and Harley, where Letecia screen-shotted a conversation about bath salts and sent it to Harley.
9:54 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. – A text message to Al from Gannon’s phone saying Letecia left her phone at home, and to call Gannon’s phone if needed.
10:12 a.m. – Letecia and Gannon left home to go to Petco. There was a four-hour period with no activity on Letecia’s phone. The next phone activity on Letecia’s phone was around 2:30 p.m.
2:26 p.m. – 3:23 p.m. – no activity on Letecia Stauch’s phone
3:15 p.m. – Laina gets home from school
4:19 p.m. – Harley gets off of work
WATCH: Doctor Who Examined Letecia Stauch Analyzes Evaluation
4:51 p.m. – Harley and Laina leave the Stauch home to go to the Dollar Tree to buy cleaning supplies and cleaning products.
Clark testified saying he believes Gannon was killed prior to Laina getting home from school.
6:27 p.m. – text message from Letecia to Al saying Gannon wasn’t home yet.
6:39 p.m. – text message from Letecia to Al saying she’s going to drive around and look for Gannon.
6:54 – 6:58 p.m. – Letecia makes several phone calls to law enforcement to report Gannon is missing.
7 p.m. – 8 p.m. – more text messages with Letecia, Harley, and Al all texting and calling one another at some point. They’re all trying to find more information about where Gannon is.
8 p.m. 10 p.m. – more phone calls and text messages between Al and Letecia Stauch.
10:03 p.m. – outgoing call from Gannon’s phone to Landon’s phone, who is Gannon’s mother. Clark testified saying it was Letecia using Gannon’s phone, and Gannon was not alive at that time.
10:09 p.m. – El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies arrive at Stauch’s home.
10:10 p.m. to 11:49 p.m. – More text messages and calls between Al and Letecia Stauch
11:49 p.m. – Deputies leave Stauch residence.
Clark testified saying other than the first drive with Laina in the afternoon, data and records indicate that Letecia never left the home after that. Clark said it appeared Letecia was on social media more, instead of looking for her stepson.
Clark reviewed a timeline of events on Tuesday, January 28, the day after Gannon disappeared. Clark said there was no evidence that Letecia Stauch went searching for Gannon that morning as she claimed in text messages to Al.
At 8:30 a.m., Letecia Stauch drove her Tiguan to the Colorado Springs Airport to pick up Al. Letecia left the Tiguan in the parking lot before renting a Kia Rio. Clark testified saying Gannon’s body was in the back of the Tiguan.
Letecia then texted Harley and asked her to move her vehicle into the garage. Clark testified saying there was blood on the wooden boards that the car would have parked over.
At 4:41 p.m., Letecia Stauch returns to the airport and doesn’t return the Kia Rio. Clark testified saying it seemed to be a quick check of the Tiguan still parked at the airport.
Between 6 p.m. and 6:50 p.m., Letecia Stauch’s phone data indicates she was at the Stauch home, then went back to the airport in the rented Kia Rio. Clark said Letecia did not return the car properly, and instead, it was found the next day in short-term parking.
Clark testified saying this is when Letecia got her Tiguan with Gannon’s remains and left the airport. Just before midnight on Tuesday, January 28, Letecia left the Tiguan in the parking lot at the Holiday Inn and got into Harley’s car. Clark testified saying Gannon’s body was no longer in the back of the Tiguan at this point.
This story was originally published on May 1, 2023, by KOAA in Colorado Springs, an E.W. Scripps Company.
