COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Scripps News Colorado Springs) — Testimony in the second week of Letecia Stauch’s murder trial opened with a review of the autopsy report showing Gannon’s injuries.
According to the medical examiner, Gannon was shot, stabbed, and beaten before being placed in a suitcase and dumped on the side of the road in Florida.
FILE – Gannon Stauch (NCMEC)
Susan Ignacio is an associate medical examiner in Largo, Florida. She testified there were 18 sharp-force injuries and four lacerations associated with blunt-force trauma to Gannon’s body. Ignacio said some of the injuries are consistent with defensive wounds.
She also noted hydrocodone was found in the victim’s system during the autopsy. She said it’s unusual to find this prescribed controlled substance in a child’s system.
READ MORE: CO v. Letecia Stauch: Daily Trial Updates
The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound and blunt force trauma to the head.
Al Stauch, Gannon’s dad, was called to the witness stand. He testified about how he injured his finger in May 2019 and got prescription medications to deal with the pain, including hydrocodone. He said only he and Letecia knew where it was kept.
The next witness to be called to the stand was Andrew Cohen, a special agent for the FBI since 2014. District Attorney Michael Allen said Cohen will be testifying more than once during this trial. Special Agent Cohen said he was involved in the wiretap investigation into Letecia Stauch. He said it was apparent that Letecia was switching the way she was communicating after Gannon’s disappearance.
Cohen said Letecia had her original phone taken by law enforcement shortly after Gannon was reported missing. He said, Letecia then bought a phone from a Walmart in Trinidad, Colorado, then left the state. He said the phone was purchased using a name that wasn’t hers.
The courtroom listened to four wiretap phone calls initiated by Letecia in February 2020. Cohen said the phone number that Letecia called was connected to a website for fake polygraphs. On one of the wiretap phone calls, Letecia is asking about a report she made to the fake polygraph company that included questions about infidelity.
Cohen said Letecia had contacted Al Stauch, Gannon’s father, about the results of the fake polygraph. She told him she had passed the polygraph test, and continued vouching for her innocence and that she had nothing to do with Gannon’s disappearance.
WATCH: Lieutenant Testifies To Search For Gannon
The next witness to be called to the stand is Christina Cervantez. In Early 2020, she was an evidence technician with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Cervantez said she received several phone calls from callers saying they would like certain items and pieces of the property back that belonged to Letecia Stauch.
Cervantez said she received several phone calls from Letecia herself, and several phone calls that allegedly sounded like Letecia, where she claimed to be her daughter, Harley. Cervantez told her they cannot release any of the items because they are being held as evidence in the case.
This ended Christina Cervantez’s testimony.
Letecia Stauch appears in court (KMGH)
The next witness to be called to the stand is Detective Michael Bauman, a digital forensics detective with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. He said his job is to find and preserve data that may be evidence on electronic devices like computers, cell phones, and DVRs.
Detective Bauman said he created a report for two devices during the Stauch investigation, a cell phone that belonged to Letecia, and another cell phone that was seized from Letecia when she was in South Carolina.
The next witness called to the stand was Detective Christina Perry, with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. In early 2020, she was assigned to look into social media pages to gather more information or find any notable leads into Gannon’s disappearance.
Perry testified saying after she learned that Letecia had a rental car, she searched for Letecia’s car at local schools and at the Colorado Springs Airport, and she said they could not find Letecia’s car.
Perry said she was there for a conversation between Harley, Letecia’s daughter, and law enforcement after Gannon’s disappearance. Perry said anytime she mentioned anything about Gannon’s disappearance, Harley refused to say anything. Perry said she found that odd.
Detective Perry said they searched local dumpsters, a landfill, etc. to find evidence, but they didn’t find anything. Perry said she was also made aware of a $2,600 transaction from Harley’s account to Letecia’s account after Gannon’s disappearance. Perry said this made investigators think that she was moving money to be able to flee the state.
Perry also testified saying Letecia showed up late for an interview at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Perry said that Letecia was driving the vehicle they had been searching for, and she said it appeared that Letecia’s vehicle had just been washed.
Perry said investigators got a tracking warrant to be aware of Letecia’s location, and a tracking unit was placed on Letecia’s vehicle.
Clips of surveillance video from a neighbor’s home were then played for the court, a few away from the Stauch home. You can see Letecia walk to the vehicle and back the vehicle into the driveway. Gannon then walked to the vehicle and got inside. The vehicle left at 10:15 a.m. January 27. The vehicle is then seen returning around 2:30 p.m. Perry said Letecia got out of the vehicle, and there was also a shadow with what appears to be Gannon stepping outside of the vehicle.
Cross-examination for Perry is was quick. She testified saying she watched more than 40 hours of surveillance video, and did not hear gunshots. She was also asked if the utility workers outside of the home were interviewed and heard gunshots. She said she didn’t know.
This ended the testimony of Detective Perry.
The next witness called to the stand was Detective Tim Ferrell, with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. He described what he saw at the Stauch home on the night of January 28, 2020.
Detective Ferrell said detectives found a pair of shoes on the washer/dryer that seemed out of place, with a pink residue on the soles. He said investigators had suspicions that it was blood, and the shoes had attempted to be washed.
Letecia Stauch is in the El Paso County jail on a charge of first degree murder. (El Paso County Sheriff’s Office)
MORE: Detective Explains Evidence Found in Gannon’s Bedroom
Ferrell said detectives also observed and took photos of evidence in and around the home. He said there were burn marks on the couch in the basement and a piece of carpet that had been cut out. Ferrell also said there were trash cans in the backyard, which included the piece of carpet that was cut out. They also found a candle with a piece of fabric inside the candle that didn’t match the burned carpet or the couch.
Ferrell said detectives then went to Gannon’s room and took all the blankets and sheets off of Gannon’s bed. He said there was a discoloration on the mattress. Photos of all of this evidence are being shown to jurors too. Ferrell said detectives also found guns in the master bedroom, including the master bedroom closet. Ferrell said, “Something seemed off. We couldn’t put a finger on it”.
Ferrell said that’s when they had more suspicions of what had happened to Gannon. He said, “We were concerned based on her (Letecia’s) actions, and how she was acting… That there may be something more than we know at this point.”
On Friday, jurors in the Letecia Stauch trial learned more about the evidence in the case, including the suitcase Gannon Stauch’s body was found in, the 12-hour stay at a Florida hotel a week after her stepson disappeared, the local school she just got hired at, and suspicious text messages with her neighbor.
This story was originally published on April 10 by KOAA in Colorado Springs, an E.W. Scripps Company.
