Gannon Stauch's stepmom 'violently' killed him in his bedroom, cops claim after finding blood-soaked mattress
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO: The step-mother of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch "violently" killed the boy and "lied to investigators on multiple occasions" about the crime as they attempted to learn what happened to the child, according to a leaked affidavit. The document has been shared across multiple social media platforms and is authenticated by local outlets.
Authorities found Gannon's remains on March 20, months after he was reported missing from Colorado Springs on January 27. The discovery was made after the boy's stepmother, 36-year-old Letecia Stauch, was booked into the El Paso County jail earlier that month on counts of first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with evidence.
The affidavit states that Letecia killed her step-son in his bedroom on January 27, and disposed of his body a day later. "Physical evidence recovered from the residence and inside Gannon's bedroom supports that a violent event occurred in his bedroom, which caused bloodshed, including blood spatter on the walls, and enough blood loss to stain his mattress, soak through the carpet, the carpet pad, and stain the concrete below his bed," the affidavit states, according to the Daily Mail.
The 36-pages-long leaked document also contained pictures of Gannon's room and mattresses, as well as "50 droplets" of blood splatter that were found on the walls near the bed. Authorities also found blood in and on Letecia's Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. The authorities believe that this vehicle was used to dispose o the boy's body off a highway in Douglas County, Colorado.
Gannon's stepmother was arrested on March 2 in South Carolina and was later extradited to Colorado. She faces charges of murder of a child under 12 years of age by a person in a position of trust.
Letecia, before her arrest, had told authorities that she last saw her stepson between 3:15 pm and 4 pm on January 27. She said that he was heading to a friend's house in Colorado Springs at the time. However, the affidavit explains that the 36-year-old was incompetent in providing details about the friends were and the names of their parents. She also could not provide the name of the exact location of the friend's house.
After the stepmother's account, the 11-year-old was originally categorized as a runaway. However, authorities later upgraded his case to that of a missing or endangered person. However, the day officials arrested Letecia in South Carolina, they announced that they suspect the child is not alive.
Letecia became a suspect after surveillance video taken from a neighbor's home captured her leaving the home with Gannon. She left in her pickup truck at 10.13 am on January 27. She, however, returned at 2.19 pm but her stepson was not with her. Officials said there was no footage available which showed Gannon coming in or leaving the house after 2.19 pm. "Gannon likely did return home with Letecia that afternoon," authorities stated in the affidavit.
The document states that the step-mother "lied to investigators on multiple occasions" when telling them what happened and displayed 'abnormal behavior." Authorities believe that she killed the boy on the afternoon of January 27th as she had sent photos of them together from her phone to the boy's father. Police confiscated her phone and internet records, which revealed that she had searched on Google about multiple elements linked to Gannon's murder.
Inquiries on her phone suggested that Letecia was not happy with her marriage or her relationship with her husband's children, according to the affidavit. She had also asked her daughter to purchase carpet cleaner, baking soda and trash bags. Police believe that the items were purchased to clean up the murder scene, the document states.
Gannon's father, who was on a business trip in Oklahoma at the time of the killing, released a statement, saying he was shocked to learn that his son's body had been found.
"My little boy is not coming home. We will never play Nintendo again. No more taco Tuesdays. No more smooth-looking hair cuts. And no more G-man for the world,' Albert Stauch said in a statement. The person who committed this heinous, horrible crime is one that I gave more to anyone else on this planet, and that is a burden that I will carry with me for a very long time."