Who is Al Stauch? Gannon Stauch's dad says YouTubers who shared son's autopsy photos for money are 'just evil'
DENVER, COLORADO: Al Stauch, father of 11-year-old boy Gannon Stauch who was stabbed and shot to death by his stepmother Letecia Stauch in 2020, has called YouTubers Zav Girl and Natasha Cooper "evil" for sharing the autopsy photos of his deceased son. He said the YouTubers were "just evil" for monetizing the tragedy by charging their followers $3 on Patreon to view the images. Al said seeing photos of his late child's body on the internet was traumatizing for him and Gannon's loved ones.
"We just finished the trial just over two months ago, and now, we’re having to kind of relive some of this stuff and not being able to put it behind us," he told NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin on 'Dan Abrams Live.' Entin said that the YouTubers accessed the autopsy photos after making a Freedom of Information Act request before charging their followers to view the content. The disturbing situation comes after Letecia was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing Gannon in May.
What is known about Al Stauch?
Al Stauch, 41, shared Gannon with Landen Hoitt and welcomed Gannon on September 29, 2008. After Al parted ways with Landen, Gannon started living with him and his stepmother. He was reportedly in Oklahoma for military training when the 11-year-old was first reported missing. Al was the first witness to take the stand in Letecia's first-degree murder trial earlier this year.
During the trial, prosecutors claimed that Letecia killed Gannon to hurt her husband. When Al took the stands, he asked the judge to include a year for every mile she drove from Colorado to Florida to dump Gannon's body in 2020 as part of her sentencing. Al also testified that he immediately got involved in the search for his son after hearing about his missing report back in 2020.
He shared that he started getting suspicious of his wife after she told him she rented a car to search for Gannon for fear of going over the mileage on her lease. "Things like miles on your car don't matter in an emergency," Al told the court. He said Letecia told him she left her car at the elementary school she worked in but he could not find the vehicle in the spot. "I drove around the school three times just to make sure I didn't miss it. That was the key moment. She knows more than she's telling me," he added.
Shortly after, Al called the sheriff's office and told them "something wasn't right." He also co-operated with investigators by taking part in "pretext" phone calls with Letecia. Al said Letecia claimed that a man broke into their home and raped and attacked her before taking away Gannon. However, the former later confronted the killer mentioning how none of security cameras at their neighborhood showed Gannon or the "attacker" leaving their house.
Al also accused Leticia of being "manipulative" and deceptive during their marriage. He said she once sent him an ultrasound claiming she was pregnant with twins but she never gave birth. He was reportedly "confident" the woman never went to a pregnancy-related medical appointment. Al shared that Leticia once told him she was injured at her workplace by either falling or having a bookshelf fall on her but he never saw any injuries. He testified that Leticia often made up stories about burglaries at their home and even claimed Gannon had threatened her with a knife at one point.
The 41-year-old filed for divorce from Leticia on March 5, three days after her arrest over Gannon's murder. In the court filings, Gannon described their marriage as "irretrievably broken" and said he had no intention of paying her spousal support. During his testimony, Al also shared that he last saw his son alive in the airport on Janaury 25. "Me and Gannon were at the top of the stairs and I just gave him a hug. I always used to rub my fingers through his hair. I just told him, 'I love you,'" he recalled.
"And something that I would always tell the kids when I had to leave or when they would go back to their mom's house, you know, 'you'll always be in my heart and I'll always be in your heart and I'll see you when I get back.' And he said, 'OK, daddy, I'll see you when you get back.' I remember it like it was yesterday," the grieving father added.
'I can’t even go on YouTube'
After the YouTubers shared Gannon's autopsy photos, Al spoke to Newsnation and said it was a "dishonor" to his son. "The word I use to describe it is 'evil,'" he stated. "The world got enough information from the trial to have every discussion they want to have. Why do we need to go have (a) Freedom of Information request and pay for this kind of information and then dishonor my son by putting these photos out there like that?" he asked.
Al also shared that the only time he skipped Leticia's murder trial was the day Gannon's autopsy photos were shown in court. "Now I feel like I can’t even go on YouTube without the possibility of accidentally coming across these photos," he mentioned. The man also said that there are people who have found a way to "further the evils committed against Gannon." However, Al added, "But goodness and love will prevail. For every hint of evil concocted, a preponderance of kindness outshines the darkness of those that would deepen our pain."