The Colorado Springs Gazette final

New evaluation for Stauch complete; trial in stepson’s death set for March 20

BY ZACHARY DUPONT zachary.dupont@gazette.com

As the trial date for Letecia Stauch — accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon in January 2020 — grows ever closer, she appeared in court on Thursday to begin ironing out logistics and scheduling of the upcoming trial, slated to begin March 20.

Judge Gregory Werner began the motions hearing asking Stauch’s attorney, Josh Tolini, about the status of the sanity evaluation ordered by the defense.

The sanity evaluation being conducted by a defense expert is the second to be done on Stauch. The first evaluation was conducted by the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo in 2022.

Stauch’s defense counsel told the court in early October that her second sanity evaluation would take place in late October or early November, and a report would be filed to the court 30 days after the evaluation. No report has been filed, Judge Gregory Werner said.

Tolini told Werner that the second evaluation was delayed due to him contracting COVID-19 at the time it was supposed to take place, so they were forced to reschedule. However, Tolini informed the court that the evaluation has been completed, and the report will be sent to the prosecution by Feb. 13.

Tolini did not disclosure the findings of the second sanity evaluation. At a previous hearing in August, Werner said that the first evaluation conducted by the Colorado Mental Health Institute found her to be sane.

Delays in the case have occurred, in part, because of the need for the sanity evaluation; initially, Stauch pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in February 2022, Werner granted her permission to change her plea to not

guilty by reason of insanity.

The rest of the hearing was spent discussing the logistical challenges the court faces with the upcoming jury trial, which 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen stated might last more than six weeks.

Werner said that jury selection for the trial alone could take up to 14 days due to the likelihood of many jurors being unable to be present for all six weeks of the trial.

Werner set April 3 as the earliest date that attorneys can begin opening statements, even if jury selection is completed earlier than expected.

Two outstanding defense motions for a change of venue for Stauch’s jury trial and a motion to waive the jury trial entirely in favor of a court trial were not ruled on by Werner at Thursday’s hearing.

If a court trial took place instead of a jury trial, Werner alone would listen to evidence and testimony presented and then make a verdict of guilty or not guilty — there would be no jury present. At previous hearings Allen has objected to a court trial, and Werner spoke negatively about the idea.

Stauch faces 13 charges for allegedly killing Gannon including first-degree murder, child abuse, two counts of tampering with evidence and more.

In addition to the first-degree murder case, Stauch also faces a second case in which she is accused of attempting to escape from the El Paso County jail in May 2020.

Stauch was arrested in South Carolina in March 2020 and has been in jail since then after being extradited to Colorado. She faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

Stauch will return to court for the final time before her jury trial on March 9 for a pretrial readiness conference.

LOCAL & STATE

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2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/281775633306717

The Gazette, Colorado Springs