EL PASO COUNTY, CO — The murder trial of Letecia Stauch, the El Paso County woman accused of murdering her step-son in 2020 continued Monday as the fourth week of the trial began with Jonathan Grusing, a former special agent, taking the stand again.
Grusing testified about his interrogation and interview with Letecia Stauch at the Myrtle Beach Police Department after she was arrested for murder in March 2020.
Grusing testified saying that Letecia would challenge him on knowing statements about where Gannon was. He said, if he wasn’t correct with his guesses about what happened to Gannon, Letecia would get upset.
Grusing said Letecia was reluctant to answer questions and didn’t give him any clues to help find Gannon.
Grusing talked about the different tactics that he used including asking questions about the blood in Gannon’s room. “Since she’s not pushing it to anybody else, she’s basically saying it was her,” said Grusing.
Letecia was talking about God during the parts of her interview shown to the courtroom, saying the truth will come out one day and “show the entire world.”
Grusing was heard asking questions over and over about Letecia’s last image of Gannon. Letecia said she saw nothing negative. “Gannon was happy. Gannon is my favorite stepchild, my baby,” said Letecia. Grusing said she never fully answered what her last memory of Gannon was.
Grusing questioned Letecia asking if she didn’t hurt him, why would it be a problem for her to tell him what her last memory and image of Gannon was? “If she’s saying she’s innocent of this, then the questions that I’m asking should be easy for her to answer,” Grusing testified on the stand.
The video interview ends and Letecia and Grusing walk outside of the room.
Grusing stayed on the stand where he said, “Right outside the door... She said something in a small voice about North Carolina that I couldn’t hear. She said she and I should go to North Carolina. And I asked if Gannon was in North Carolina, and she didn’t answer.”
Grusing testified saying Letecia knew where different lines of questioning would go, and what would be damaging for her to answer truthfully. His testimony ended by acknowledging Letecia never changed personalities, talked in a Spanish accent, or wanted to be called other names.
In the cross-examination for Grusing, Will Cook, Letecia’s attorney, asked about Letecia referring to herself in the third person. He said this was not that unusual or odd to him.
The defense passed the witness. Grusing then testified saying, “Her not being able to articulate a last image of Gannon was very indicative that the last image was awful. I came away with more of a certainty that something bad happened to Gannon.”
District Attorney Michael Allen said they’ll be calling seven more witnesses to testify as they finish presenting the evidence in their case. Two more witnesses are testifying today, with three more tomorrow.
The defense will be calling their witnesses to the stand late this week. Judge Gregory Werner said they’re ahead of schedule and could possibly begin jury instructions on Friday, with the jury reaching a verdict possibly next week.
We’ve learned who a few of the prosecutor’s witnesses are who still have to testify this week:
- FBI Agent Kevin Hoyland
- Dr. Jackie Grimmett with the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo
- Dr. Loandra Torres with the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo
- Dr. Christine Mohr, Larned State Hospital, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
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:
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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