Thread by @AshleyPorteeyo

The murder trial for #LeteciaStauch continues this morning. The defense is expected to rest their case, and closing arguments are expected as well. I’ll be in the courtroom bringing you the latest information throughout the day. #GannonStauch
@KOAA

@KOAA We've been let into the courtroom. So far it's a full gallery. Gannon's family is not here yet. Letecia Stauch's attorneys just walked into the courtroom and patted her on the shoulder.

@KOAA The council is reviewing jury instructions right now. There’s been discussion about a request for instruction on evidence that wasn’t actually presented. From what I’m understanding, I believe this is about the discussed jail visit for Stauch during the beginning of the pandemic.

@KOAA Judge Gregory Werner will give jury instructions soon. The judge expects closing arguments to begin around 10 a.m., and take up to an hour for each side, and then a rebuttal close from prosecution.

@KOAA Gannon Stauch's family has arrived. His father Al Stauch, and mother Landen Hiott, are among those in the courtroom.

@KOAA Right now, Stauch is talking to her attorneys. She's wearing a teal color today.

@KOAA Jurors are now in the courtroom.

The defense has rested their case, which means they have presented all the evidence in their case. Prosecutors do not have any rebuttal evidence.

Jury instructions are being handed out to the jurors. The judge is explaining how closing arguments will go. Jurors have also been told they will not be able to leave the building today.

All the jurors are looking down at their instructions right now, and listening intently to Judge Werner.

Among the charges Letecia Stauch is facing are murder in the first degree, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with physical evidence for the death of Gannon Stauch that occurred on or about January 27, 2020.

I am sitting directly behind Letecia Stauch and the defense table. I can see Stauch looking at the jury instructions on a laptop that is sitting in front of her.

Among the charges #LeteciaStauch is facing:
- Murder in the first degree after deliberation
- Murder in the first degree of a child under 12, position of trust
- Tampering with a deceased human body
- Tampering with physical evidence

Stauch is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Judge Werner is going over the instructions of how jurors will also be answering the question of Stauch being sane or not insane as the crimes were committed.

Judge Werner said if Stauch is found not guilty by reason of insanity, Stauch will go to the Department of Human Services, until she no longer requires hospitalization or suffers from a mental disease or defect.

Jury instructions also state that if Stauch is found not guilty by reason of insanity, she will not be tried on these charges again.

The court is in recess until 10:05 a.m.

Closing arguments in the murder trial for #LeteciaStauch are underway.

Prosecutor Dave Young said it’s been a long trial and jurors have sat through a lot of evidence. “I want to say thank you for that. You guys have been very attentive. You’ve asked some very good questions that I’m going to use in my closing argument,” said Young.

"Gannon’s been in a box for the whole trial. This is what the trial should be about. I’m not doing this to get sympathy from you. I’m doing this to tell you what Gannon had to tell you through this trial through the autopsy is all you need to know," said Young.

Young asked, "If his body wasn’t found in Florida, do you think we’d be talking about insanity in this trial?"

Jurors are now looking at the autopsy report of Gannon Stauch.

“Just by looking at these injuries what does that tell you? Gannon was defending himself, he was fighting off. Despite having hydrocodone in his system, despite being lethargic. He was able to fight her off… 18 times she took a knife and stabbed him," said Young.

"As Gannon is fighting, the stab wounds are to his back. But it’s not just the stab wounds. She has to use judgment and reflection to get another weapon. What that weapon was, who knows. But she got another weapon and hit him in the skull several times," said Young.

“Why do they drive all the way from Decatur in one night and drive to Florida? Why did she want to get to Florida? The Gulf of Mexico,” said Young.

Young asked, “Does she think there’s water underneath the bridge? Is that logical thinking when you cross the bridge and can’t see anything… She gets rid of the body. Does she ever think the body is going to be found again?”

Young talked about Macon Ponder, the bridge inspector who found the suitcase in Florida. “They dump it out and see the most horrific thing they’ve probably seen in their lives, Gannon’s body in a fetal position… Wearing the same clothes he’s wearing when she killed him."

When talking about the definition of insanity, Young said, “These words mean a lot. This is not something you’re going to find in the DSM5… This is a legal definition of insanity… The law presumes everybody to be sane.”

Young asked, so what does insanity mean? She was so diseased or defective in mind, she couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. But “If you lost your temper, you don’t get to claim insanity.”

Young goes over the legal definition of insanity: “Mental disease or defect means only those “severely abnormal mental conditions that grossly and demonstrably impair a persons perception or understanding of reality.”

“Do you think Harley might notice she might have a grossly and demonstrably mental condition?... Do you think Al stauch might have noticed for it to be grossly and demonstrably… What about her brother? Dakota Lowery? You think he might have noticed it," said Young.

Young talked about Dr. Niederhauser and Dr. Mohr, who worked with Stauch. Dr. Niederhauser worked with Stauch in December 2019. Stauch told her she has general anxiety. Dr. Mohr worked with Stauch after she was arrested. Stauch also told her that she only had general anxiety.

Young said it wasn't until June 2020, where Stauch brought up questions about her competency.

Young said in July 2020, Stauch went to the state hospital and was evaluated. “It was a two week observation period where nurses and employees are watching her. She actually goes to a nurse, ‘can you tell when someone is faking it?’”

Young said, Stauch said, ‘I’ve got bipolar disorder. I’m a manic depressant. I ramble. I’m a manic depression, that’s my mental illness.’ Nothing about dissociative identity disorder, which according to Dr. Lewis she’s had since a very young age. Nothing about Maria Sanchez.”

Young asked, “Do you think she might be faking it? During that evaluation No history of inpatient treatment of psychosis either during that evaluation."

Young said during the second competency evaluation with Dr. Grimmett in December 2020, “Now she starts talking about dissociative identity disorder and bipolar disorder… She says she has four distinct personalities. None of those four were Maria Sanchez.”

Young said Stauch pleaded not guilty by reason insanity in February 2022. He said Dr. Lewis recommended that Stauch change her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Then Stauch went back to the state hospital for a sanity evaluation.

Young said, “What is the defendant saying now? She’s not bipolar. Now she’s created more personalities as part of dissociative identity disorder. Is it a coincident that she’s consulted with Dr. Lewis prior to this? And now Maria Sanchez comes into play during this evaluation.

Dr. Torres and Dr. Grey asked if they could talk to Maria. “We saw how that happened on Wednesday. It was magic according to Dr. Lewis,” said Dr. Young. Dr. Torres and Dr. Grey said Stauch has a personality with borderline and narcissistic features.

Young talked about how Dr. Lewis testified, “She’s acting… You have to look at her demeanor and manor while testifying. She wouldn’t answer any of my questions because she didn’t want you to know the answers… She shows up to court late. Talk about narcissistic tendencies.”

Young continued to talk about Dr. Lewis and asked, “Are they going to do a documentary if she says she’s sane? I think it speaks for itself how she testified.”

Young said, “Dr Lewis, she didn’t know the legal definition of insanity in the state of Colorado ladies and gentleman. The whole reason she came into testify.”

The video that’s been played for jurors several times as Gannon is asking about his burns, is played again for the jurors. Young asked, “Why did she videotape this? Do you think it was about Gannon’s burns?”

Young said, the next morning, Stauch texted her assistant principal saying her step father was killed. “Could it possibly mean she knew what she was going to do? Because shortly after that, she calls Gannon’s school and says he’s not coming in. And then texts Al."

Young said then she takes a picture of Gannon in bed. “Why did she take a picture of Gannon in his bed in his bedroom and then text it to Al?… 'Look Gannon’s alive. He’s here, he’s sick, he’s in bed.'”

Young asked, “You think he might be lethargic from the hydrocodone? You think she wants to prove he’s still alive because she knew how much hydrocodone she gave him?”

Young asked, “Do you think it’s that far fetched she knows Gannon had been poisoned and she knows something might happen to Gannon?”

Young asked, “How could she do this? How could she talk to Gannon’s father like nothing happened? Is that traits of an antisocial personality order? The fact you can be so cold and callous and act like nothing happened. And she does it through the whole day. You guys know that.”

Young is talking about how Letecia put Gannon’s body in the back of her Tiguan, then dropped it off at the airport, and rented another vehicle. Then Letecia picked Al up. Young said Letecia returned to the airport, presumably to check on the Tiguan with Gannon’s body in it.

Young said Al then went to French Elementary School that day. “When he sees the Tiguan is not there, he now knows that his wife had something to do with the disappearance of Gannon… and the investigation now looks at her.”

Young said Letecia then drove the S curve in Palmer Lake. “Why is she going out to hide the body there? Probably because it’s a good location. She can’t keep it in the Tiguan. Did she know right from wrong?”

Again, I am sitting directly behind the defense’s table and Letecia Stauch. Her head has been down during most of the closing arguments by prosecution.

Prosecutors then played the KKTV interview that Letecia did after Gannon’s disappearance. Words like "was" and "manipulation" kept showing up on the screen.

During the video, photos were shown of Gannon in bed, the blood evidence in his room, the GPS data from her phone and car, the area where the blood-stained piece of wood was found, a map of of her drive to Florida, and where the suitcase with Gannon’s body was found.

Young went over several of Letecia’s stories about what happened to Gannon. “Eduardo, immunity, Quincy Brown, several different versions of that, bike accident, uncle Matt. The one that is really significant is, 'When she says I’m so sorry Al, I wasn’t telling you the truth.'”

Young said, “What people who are truly legally insane do under these circumstances… They don’t act like that,” as he points to Letecia Stauch.

Young said, “There is only one right verdict in this case and that’s guilty to every charge that she’s charged with.” That ended closing arguments by prosecutors.

Closing arguments in the murder trial for #LeteciaStauch from defense are underway.

Josh Tolini began with, “the one thing they cannot answer is motive. Motive of how we can go from this picture on the hike at Garden of the Gods, loving and kind, to less than 24 hours, 18 stab wounds, four blunt force trauma injuries, and shot.”

“This wasn’t a preplanned, calculated killing for some game. This was a psychotic break fueled by rage, attacking a demon from the past,” said Tolini. “This was not pre-mediated murder. This was a psychotic break. That is the only thing that makes sense.”

Tolini said this was the biggest investigation in the history ever of El Paso County, and no family members ever said anything bad about Letecia and Gannon’s relationship.

Tolini said the fire from the candle incident set off some trigger, and Stauch had a meltdown after the fire. He said she wasn’t sleeping, and was manic at the time. She was texting throughout the night and early in the morning.

Tolini said, “Something is going on in her mind. Something in there is losing it. Something occurs in the basement, a brutal attack with rage… The brutal attack is the strongest evidence in this case.”

Tolini said there are only two things that account for her actions at this point in time. It’s either dissociation or she puts what happened to Gannon, that brutal attack, into a place in her mind that she doesn’t remember.

Tolini said, “The strongest evidence of dissociation of what’s going on here, look at the body worn camera when they come in that night looking for Gannon.”

Tolini said, “A horrible attack has just happened, and she’s acting and presents herself to these police laughing, joking, being incredibly friendly just after this has happened.”

Tolini said, “Because at that time she has dissociated this horrible act that she has committed. There is no other logical explanation of how she is doing that.”

Tolini reiterated that Stauch was not sleeping at all, and she was in a manic situation and her mind was not working. He added, what she did and all the stories she told, was irrational.

Tolini said, “It makes no sense for somebody who has pre-planned to brutally kill Gannon, then to report him missing right away, and then a matter of three days later to go police with a completely illogical story… None of that is rational. None of that makes sense.”

Tolini is now talking about Dr. Lewis, the defense’s psychiatrist who conducted a sanity evaluation on Stauch. Tolini said she’s 85 years old, and has been researching people with mental illnesses for decades. “She was groundbreaking in her field,” said Tolini.

Tolini said Dr. Lewis has more expertise on this subject that anyone else in the country. He admitted that Dr. Lewis confused some things with her memory during her testimony. “I’m not disputing that… Do not discount her decades of her experience. To not discount her expertise.”

Tolini said that Dr. Lewis said, “Mrs Stauch is one of the most mentally ill people she’s ever dealt with.” Tolini said, she didn’t endorse that it was Maria who did this. What she said was that Stauch dissociated the memory of the homicide because she can’t bear to deal with it.

Tolini said Stauch cannot accept the idea that she committed this brutal, horrible homicide. “To accept the fact in her mind would crush her, would crush her soul, would crush her identity. So she’s trying to come up with another fantasy of what happened.”

Tolini said all the doctors agreed Stauch has some kind of mental illness, but they didn’t agree with which one she had.

As jurors heard during testimony, with borderline personality disorder, people can suffer from psychosis, become irrational and dissociate with things they cannot deal with.

Tolini talked about Dakota Lowery’s testimony, who is Letecia’s half brother. He said Lowery testified that Letecia would leave knives with him so he could protect himself from something or someone. “You have the connection of Gannon being stabbed with a knife 18 times.”

Tolini said, “We are asking you to find her not guilty by reason of insanity… We’re saying for you to take into account the mental illness that she suffered.”

The defense is finished with their closing arguments.

Court is in recess for about 10 minutes. Prosecutors will have a rebuttal when we return.

After closing arguments, Letecia Stauch's lawyers once again, patted her on the back.

District Attorney Michael Allen is beginning prosecutor’s rebuttal. “The only fantasy in this courtroom that this defendant, this stepmother who killed Gannon had a psychotic break.”

Allen: “This defendant hated Gannon. You know that because she searched it. ‘I hate my stepson’… She wanted to hurt Al. She wanted to hurt Landon for that matter. She did to the core. They will never recover from what she did to them.”

Allen said she wanted to leave Al and their marriage before Gannon was killed. “In fact it does prove motive.” Allen talked about Al saying, “He never saw a single sign from her. What he didn’t know, he couldn’t see into her heart, or the hatred she had for Gannon.”

Allen said, “That freaking out that she’s doing is acting… She knew Gannon was done that day. That’s why she calls Gannon out of school later.”

Allen said based on her internet searches, Stauch was calculated, manipulating, and lying to everyone. “She deflects the blame and makes herself the victim.”

Allen said the candle incident makes no sense. “Because she wants to make it Gannon’s fault. Mr. Stauch told you the answer to that question. Harley told you the answer to that question. He didn’t play with fire. He didn’t light candles randomly.”

Allen asked, “Does it make more sense that this defendant burnt him?”

Allen talked about the hydrocodone. “That’s why he’s lethargic, he can’t get out of bed early, like he normally would. Walking slowly to the pickup truck in the morning, because he’s under the influence of hydrocodone.”

Allen talked about the picture from the hike at Garden of the Gods. These were, “Proof of life pictures pictures she is sending out to prove to the world she has nothing to do with what she was about to do… It was a way to cover her tracks and it starts early.”

Allen said everything Stauch has done in her life was manipulated and calculated.

Allen said, “The biggest investigation that El Paso county has ever seen, that involves the FBI. That’s who she is, she is a storyteller. Telling fantastic stories is not psychosis. It’s who she is,” as he points to Letecia Stauch.

Allen said Dr. Lewis didn’t even know what the definition of insanity is in Colorado.

During rebuttal from prosecutors, #LeteciaStauch is still seen with her head down most of the time, and looking forward at other times.

Allen said, “There’s plenty of evidence to find this defendant guilty… Why do all the things she did if she didn’t know right from wrong?”

“This woman doesn’t have a diseased mind. She has no psychosis… Family members gave the answers to you. Harley said it. Dakota Lowery said it. Al Stauch said it.”

Allen asked, “Why blame others?” On the screen are bullet points of information

Other words that show up on the screen with a mugshot of Letecia Stauch: Unreliable, hated, planned, premeditated, burned, poisoned, attacked, beat stabbed, shot, manipulated, ran, fled, dumped, murdered

After a quick glance at Al Stauch, he has a tissue in his hand, and is wiping away tears. You can hear sniffles and emotion coming from the side of the courtroom where Gannon's family is.

A photo of Gannon is now being shown, and jurors are hearing the 911 call from Letecia Stauch on the day Gannon was killed, as she’s reporting that Gannon is missing.

Allen said, “Gannon deserves justice. This defendant deserves to be convicted. Gannon Jacob Stauch. 11 years old. Find the defendant guilty… Gannon deserves it. He deserves all of the justice that you can give him.”

Al Stauch, Gannon's father, now has his head in his hands, and is weeping, as he’s being comforted by family members around him.

Many in the courtroom are sniffling and wiping away tears, as Gannon’s photo of him smiling, is still being shown on the screen.

The judge is thanking the jurors for being here and being attentive throughout.

#BREAKING: Jury deliberations are underway in the murder trial for #LeteciaStauch.

The judge said once he is advised that a verdict has been reached, he will let the right people know. We’ve also learned that the District Attorney’s Office for the 4th Judicial District will update the public on social media once a verdict is reached.

Correction, @CoCourts will be updated the public on their Twitter, once a verdict is reached.

Whenever a verdict is reached in the murder trial for #LeteciaStauch, @CoCourts and @4thJudicialDA will share an update on Twitter.