Gannon Stauch murder case: 11-year-old Colorado boy was shot and stabbed, detective says

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children via AP

Gannon Stauch

The 11-year-old Colorado Springs lad who disappeared from his family’s location successful January 2020 was changeable and stabbed, a detective testified Thursday during a preliminary proceeding successful the execution lawsuit prosecutors person brought against the boy’s stepmother, Letecia Stauch.

Gannon Stauch, 11, disappeared from his family’s Colorado Springs location connected Jan. 27, 2020. Letecia Stauch, 38, was the past idiosyncratic to spot him alive, and authorities judge she killed Gannon successful his chamber portion the 2 were location unsocial that afternoon.

The boy’s assemblage was recovered March 17, 2020, under a span adjacent Pensacola, Florida, wrapped successful bedding and wrong a suitcase. He had been changeable successful the jaw, stabbed successful the thorax and back, and suffered a skull fracture. He besides had cuts connected his arms and hands that appeared to beryllium antiaircraft wounds, Sgt. Jason Yoder, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office successful Florida, testified Thursday.

Gannon’s assemblage appeared to person been successful the suitcase for immoderate time, Yoder testified. Authorities recovered a slug successful his skull, and 2 bullets successful a pillow that was with him successful the suitcase, helium said.

El Paso County Sheriff's Office

Letecia Stauch

In Gannon’s bedroom, investigators recovered grounds of humor splatter connected the walls and humor stains connected his mattress, carpet and chamber floor. Authorities besides recovered traces of Gannon’s humor connected the family’s store level and connected the bumper of Stauch’s car, according to an affidavit filed against her.

On the time Gannon disappeared, Stauch asked her teenage girl to halt by a store and bargain carpet-cleaning supplies, baking soda, trash bags and different items astir 5 p.m, according to the affidavit.

She called 911 to study Gannon arsenic missing, saying helium had failed to instrumentality from a friend’s house, but she couldn’t sanction the person helium was supposedly visiting, and her account changed perpetually passim the investigation, sometimes including details astir the transgression that lone the slayer would know, according to the affidavit.

The greeting aft Gannon disappeared, Stauch drove her car to the Colorado Springs airdrome and parked there. She past rented a car, picked up Gannon’s begetter from a formation — he’d been retired of municipality for 2 days — and returned location successful the rented car, testified Kevin Clark, who worked the lawsuit arsenic an expert for Colorado Springs police.

Later that night, Stauch retrieved her car and past drove to the country adjacent Colorado 105 and South Perry Park Road successful Douglas County, wherever investigators judge she initially dumped Gannon’s body. Stauch’s telephone appeared to beryllium successful airplane mode for respective hours that night, grounds revealed.

Investigators person not yet said however Gannon’s assemblage ended up successful Florida.

In an antithetic determination Thursday, Stauch declined to beryllium contiguous during the preliminary hearing, alternatively allowing the proceeding to spell guardant without her.

Stauch’s online enactment and Google searches suggested she was unhappy successful her matrimony and whitethorn person resented caring for her stepchildren, according to the affidavit.