A judge on Friday granted a defense motion for a competency evaluation for Letecia Stauch, the stepmother charged in the slaying of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, a move that will delay legal proceedings against her.
The order by 4th Judicial District Judge Gregory Werner came at a hearing where prosecutors announced that an expert had obtained a portion of remains found last March in Florida and offered a second opinion that the remains are those of Gannon.
“It is Gannon,” lead prosecutor Michael Allen told the court. Further study was expected on a molar obtained by the prosecution.
A Florida medical examiner handling the autopsy tentatively has identified the remains as Gannon’s, but the report is not complete, Allen said.
The judge’s competency ruling pauses the case against Stauch, 36, until the judge determines whether she is mentally fit to be tried. She is charged with first-degree murder and multiple other counts in connection with Gannon’s killing.
The evaluation will be conducted at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. The judge said it would take about 90 days to complete, but Allen acknowledged the timeline could be wrinkled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Werner scheduled a Sept. 8 hearing to receive the state’s competency report.
If state experts conclude Stauch is incompetent, prosecutors said they will exercise their right under Colorado law to request a second evaluation, resulting in further delays. Any dispute among experts as to Stauch’s mental fitness would be resolved by the judge at a hearing.
If Werner finds her incompetent, the charges would remain in abeyance while state psychiatrists provide care meant to restore her mental fitness. If that happens, Stauch could be held for indefinite treatment, up to the rest of her life, under the first-degree murder charge.
Wearing a standard orange jail jumpsuit with her hands cuffed behind her back, Stauch spoke just once to acknowledge that she had been advised by her attorneys about the competency challenge, answering, “Yes, your honor.” She sat with her head tilted downward, letting her long dark hair hide her face from the gallery.
The ruling came at a status hearing meant to determine the next steps in the case against her.
During the brief proceedings, prosecutors also filed a new solicitation to commit escape charge against Stauch, alleging that she offered to pay a fellow inmate up to $75,000 to help her escape from the El Paso County jail.
Al Stauch, Gannon’s father, sat in the gallery for the hearing. He was on a military assignment when his son was reported missing by Leticia Stauch on Jan. 27. He filed for divorce after she became a suspect. Gannon’s mother, Landen Hiott, and his aunt Victoria Birkenstock were among three relatives who watched via video link, Allen said.
Remains believed to be Gannon’s were found March 18 in Santa Rosa County on the Florida panhandle, east of Pensacola, authorities said.
Investigators suspect the boy was killed with a knife or other weapon while lying on his bed in his basement bedroom, likely on the day he was reported missing, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said in an arrest affidavit.
Authorities haven’t disclosed how they believe the remains ended up in Florida. Letecia Stauch was arrested March 2 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
During a news conference after the hearing, Allen said he warned Gannon’s family to expect a slow-moving prosecution now that a competency challenge is filed.
“Really, it’s just going to slow things down, tremendously,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was provided by the Colorado Springs Gazette, per a judge’s orders for shared media coverage. The Gazette reporter was the designated print media representative allowed in the courtroom.
