EL PASO COUNTY, CO — The murder trial of Letecia Stauch, the El Paso County woman accused of murdering her stepson in 2020 continued Tuesday with the long-awaited sanity evaluations from mental health professionals.
Two witnesses were named as the experts in the evaluation of Stauch's sanity and jurors heard some of that testimony today.
Testimony began Tuesday with FBI Special Agent Kevin Hoyland, who is assigned to the Cellular Analysis Survey Team. He analyzed data on four cell phones including Letecia Stauch’s two phones, Gannon Stauch’s phone, and Harley Hunt’s phone, Letecia's daughter.
Agent Hoyland showed and described his analysis of all four cell devices on January 26 (the day before Gannon’s disappearance) and January 27 (the day of Gannon’s disappearance), and the day after. This also included data from the Life360 Tracking App and Letecia's vehicle.
The analysis corroborates what’s already been testified including:
- Letecia and Gannon going to Garden of the Gods on January 26
- Letecia and Gannon going to Petco on January 27, with Letecia's device being left at home
- Harley Hunt being at work
- Phone calls/text messages to/from Letecia's device on the evening of January 27 including calls to 911
- Letecia going to the airport to pick up Al the morning of January 28
- A stop at Starbucks around 1:30 in the afternoon for an interview with the Sheriff’s Office
Below are some interesting notes that we did not know prior to Special Agent Hoyland provided by Ashley Portillo from the courtroom.
The next witness called to the stand was Dr. Christine Mohr. She’s the first mental health professional to testify in the Letecia Stauch murder trial.
In March 2020, Dr. Mohr was the Mental Health Director at the El Paso County Jail. On March 5, 2020, she did an assessment of Letecia Stauch.
Dr. Mohr said she remembered Letecia being calm and polite throughout their conversations. Dr. Mohr said that given the nature of the crime, and Letecia not having any criminal history, jail can be traumatic and scary, and she wanted to make sure Letecia was safe and stable.
Dr. Mohr said Letecia told her about being diagnosed with anxiety and having general symptoms. Dr. Mohr said Letecia denied having any disorders, in-patient or out-patient treatment and also denied any past suicide attempts.
Dr. Mohr said she placed Letecia on suicide watch, because of the alleged crime and her first time being in jail, and Letecia didn’t agree with that.
When asked if Dr. Mohr noticed Letecia having any mental health issues, she said “not anything overt.” Dr. Mohr said Letecia was anxious and nervous, which seemed consistent with her self-report of having anxiety.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is learned. Tune in to News5 tonight to watch the latest updates of the trial at 4, 5, and 6 p.m.
Follow updates from the courtroom with News5's Ashley Portillo on Twitter. As is normal in Colorado courts, media coverage of the events will be limited. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom to cover the actual trial process. However, anyone can watch using the virtual courtroom option from the El Paso County court system.
PRIOR COVERAGE:
Stauch murder trial enters week four ahead of schedule, verdict possible next week
Jurors watch videos between investigators and Letecia leading up to her arrest
Jurors listen to multiple calls from Al Stauch searching for more answers about Gannon's disappearance
Investigators testify on blood patterns and 'violent' scene in Gannon's bedroom
Letecia Stauch's daughter takes the stand and testifies about her mother's actions
Jurors shown video of Letecia Stauch alleged escape attempt
Jurors see first police interview with Letecia Stauch when questioned about Gannon's disappearance
"I knew she did it," said Letecia Stauch's half brother, referring to murdering her stepson
Testimony from the medical examiner on Gannon Stauch's injuries.
Gannon's father says his ex-wife was 100% sane
READ THE ARREST AFFIDAVIT FOR LETECIA STAUCH
Gannon's father says his ex-wife was 100% sane
Prosecutors challenge insanity claim
Gannon’s disappearance
At the time of his disappearance, law enforcement began a search for Gannon based on information provided by the stepmother who claimed he had gone to a friend’s house and had not returned.
Following several weeks of law enforcement and community-led searches for the missing boy, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office arrested Letecia Stauch in early March on charges of murder, child abuse, and crime of violence before his body was recovered.
Throughout all efforts to locate Gannon, investigators were already focused on Letecia Stauch based on her statements to law enforcement and evidence found at the family home and within her car.
During an initial interview with detectives, Letecia Stauch claimed a Hispanic male had raped her and kidnapped Gannon. According to court documents, she refused to undergo a medical examination to find evidence of a sexual assault and refused to provide any further description of an attacker. She later provided many different versions of events, which investigators detailed in the arrest affidavit.
Investigators believe Gannon was shot, stabbed, and beaten in his basement bedroom by the stepmother on January 27, 2020. A forensic search of the family home found blood stains were found on the boy’s mattress, carpet, baseboards, and electrical socket by his bed.
'My little boy is not coming home': Parents react to news of stepmother's arrest on murder charge
Police say Gannon’s body was loaded into Stauch’s Volkswagen Tiguan to hide his body before she parked the car at the Colorado Springs Airport where she rented another vehicle and picked up his father after he traveled for military service.
One of the areas searched by law enforcement was a stretch of Highway 105 in Douglas County where investigators recovered a piece of bloody wood. The arrest affidavit states investigators believe Gannon’s body was originally dumped at this location using her Volkswagen, but she later returned to the area in another vehicle.
Gannon’s remains were eventually found on March 17, 2020, inside a suitcase dumped under a bridge near Pace, Florida. Investigators believe the stepmother dumped the body during a trip to South Carolina.
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