Police Believe Stepmom Murdered Boy in His Bedroom Right Before Reporting Him Missing
Weeks after the body of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch was found and more than a month after his stepmother was charged with his murder, Colorado police are finally revealing more details about how and where he was killed. Authorities now say that Letecia Stauch, 36, allegedly killed the boy right in his bedroom on January 27 -- the same day she reported him missing.
The details were shared in an affidavit unsealed Friday by a judge.
“Evidence recovered from the residence and inside Gannon’s bedroom supports that a violent event occurred in the bedroom,” the affidavit read, “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.”
Just one day after cleaning up the grisly murder scene, Letecia is believed to have disposed of the boy's body at a separate location.
Gannon's sudden disappearance seemed strange from the get-go.
Leticia insisted that the 11-year-old had left to play with a friend on January 27, and failed to return to his Colorado Springs home. In fact, when she reported him missing, Letecia strongly implied she thought the boy had run away.
But that version of events didn't sit well with investigators -- or anyone who knew Gannon.
Stauch also provided police with conflicting details in her interviews, which immediately raised some red flags.
Although she initially claimed the boy had gone to a friend's house, her story later shifted to be far more dramatic. According to the affidavit, she suddenly claimed to have been raped at gunpoint by an intruder who then took Gannon.
The bizarre and conflicting stories ultimately led investigators to take a closer look at the stepmother, who was becoming increasingly distanced from her husband and Gannon's father, Eugene Stauch. In fact, Eugene -- who has since filed for divorce from Letecia -- soon began working with authorities to learn the truth about what happened to his son.
In a phone conversation with Eugene, which was taped without her knowledge, Letecia once again changed her story, claiming that a man lying in the middle of the road jumped into her car as it slowed down and raped her before abducting Gannon.
In yet another police interview, Stauch reportedly told police that Gannon fell from his bike and suffered a head injury before he was suddenly abducted by two men.
Eventually, the stepmother's lies ultimately proved to be her undoing.
On March 2, the 36-year-old mother was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, as well as tampering.
Gannon's body was not recovered, however, until more than two weeks later, on March 20, when authorities found the fifth-grader's remains near Escambia River Bridge in Florida.
Gannon's parents were "distraught" over the discovery of his body, said El Paso County Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Allen.
"They were still holding out hope that Gannon would come home alive," the deputy explained.
Authorities believe Letecia Stauch resented her stepson and may have planned his murder.
A search of Stauch’s phone turned up an array of alarming internet searches, including “police steps for our runaway,” “police steps for our missing child,” “find me a new husband book,” “I feel like I’m just a nanny not a step mom,” “husband uses me to babysit his kids,” “I’m just a glorified babysitter,” and “find a guy without kids,” People reported.
According to the affidavit, the stepmother also researched potential jobs and apartments in Florida and California, presumably for after starting a new life on her own.
The police investigation of Stauch's phone also turned up some other eye-opening details.
For one thing, Letecia allegedly had a text conversation with her 17-year-old daughter before she called 911 on January 27 to report Gannon missing. In their exchange, Letecia asked her daughter to buy trash bags, baking soda, and carpet powder, which police now believe she used to clean up the crime scene.
Forensic teams found more than 50 droplets of blood in Gannon’s bedroom -- including inside the sockets of electrical outlets, inside a pair of the boy's sneakers, and inside Letecia's car. In fact, it's believed Stauch hid the boy's body inside her vehicle for more than 24 hours before disposing of it in Florida.
For now, she remains behind bars and has been denied bond. According to People, she has not yet entered a plea.