Law&Crime Sidebar - 6 Critical Moments from Accused Child Killer Letecia Stauch's Murder Trial So Far

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

As Letecia Stauch’s trial continues, more shocking and incriminating evidence has been presented against the accused child killer in an effort to convict her of murdering her stepson, Gannon Stauch, before stuffing his body into a suitcase and dumping it in Florida. The Law&Crime Network’s Angenette Levy breaks down six critical moments from Stauch’s murder trial so far.Save 10% on your entire POM Pepper Spray order by using code LAWCRIME10 at http://bit.ly/3IGNFxvLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergWriting & Video Editing - Michael DeiningerGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Vanessa Bein & Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. You had received some information, and I thought you said some photographs regarding the defendant's conduct, which potentially could be construed as extending the middle finger or flipping people off including a witness. Letitia Stalk making a scene at her trial for the murder of her stepson, Gannon. It's one of six key moments in Stalk's trial so far. I've covered a lot of crime stories over the years, many of them here at Law and Crime,

and it always makes me think about ways we can all stay safe. Well, Palm Pepper Spray is one thing that can help you do just that. It's a small but mighty self-defense tool. safe and easy, you just point and spray. And if you want to try it, you can get 10% off. Just log on to palm pepper spray.com and use the promo code Law Crime 10. And remember, if you or someone else is ever in trouble, call 911 immediately. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy and welcome to Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. Latisha Stouk claims that she was insane when she murdered her young stepson, Gannon Stouk, in January of 2020. So the question isn't really whether or not

Letitia Stalk murdered Gannon Stalk. We know that she killed him. The question the jury will really have to decide is whether or not Stalk knew what she did was wrong at the time. Prosecutors say on January 27, 2020, Letitia Stalk attacked Gannon in his bedroom. They were living in El Paso County, Colorado. That's in the Colorado Springs area. Investigators claim they found blood on a mattress, walls and floors, as well as in Stalk's vehicle. Deputies believe that Stalk acted suspiciously when the child was first reported missing. Another person who found Stalk acting suspiciously when her son Gannon went missing

was her ex-husband, Al Stouk, Gannon's father. Here's a recorded phone call of Al confronting Letitia about Gannon's disappearance. And I want you to know that no matter what, no matter what, we can work through this together and I can help you, okay? But you just got to let me help you. But I have a very, you told me to be straight up.

I got a very straight up question, okay? Are you ready? Yeah. Did you kill Gannon? I need to know. I need you to answer me. Yes or no right now? I kill Gannon. The answer is no. I can't believe you ask me this. I just got to know you. I told me to be straight up. I got to know what's happening in my son. Tell me why you would think I killed Gannon.

There's a lot of unknowns. I mean, you being straight up again, you change your story again to me for the fourth time. No, I changed my story. You did. This is the fourth version. of the same story, okay? Wow. Like half of what you told me today with the cut foot, and now he's got burned arms and picking it and his butts bleeding. All this stuff is new to what you told me the other day.

And the other day you told me you cleaned up the area where you got raped so nobody would see it, but now you told me you just changed clothes. I just don't know what the hell's going on. I didn't tell you. First off, you never even listened to me about anything that went on. I did. No, you stopped because I listened to you. I listened to you. And then I went and got the guns and put them in the truck. And then I came back and me and Lane and listened to you. Then I stopped and picked your story apart. So get it straight, Tisha. I listened to you. And I said, if I'm wrong about the rape, I will get on my knees and beg you for forgiveness. Did I not say that?

Yeah, but you haven't. Exactly. Because I haven't been proven wrong yet. I want the truth. If I'm wrong, if the police, no matter what they're doing, the FBI, the sex. CBI to CBS, whoever, okay, if they tell me I'm wrong, I will publicly in front of the world get out of camera and tell you I'm sorry. But until that happens, we're going to find the truth. How can you tell me that someone didn't come? I don't understand. How can you tell me that someone didn't do something to hurt me and take in it? I'm not telling you that.

I'm telling you it hasn't been proven one way or the other. You said you banged your head on the freaking table. Now I got to tell them to go check out the table and see if there's. there's any blood or any of your... He knew that. They had already asked that. Okay, but that's the first I heard of it. You see what I'm saying?

You never were told to me. You literally just sat here in a conversation and ask me, did I kill our child? Yes, I did because I, because if you say no, then I can't, I'll stop thinking that you did it. Okay. Now, it's pretty clear that Letitia Stouk is not coming clean about what she knows to her husband, Al, the father of Gannon. And she goes on to tell Al that she would need immunity from prosecution in order to tell him or anyone else what happened to the little boy. During a preliminary hearing back in September of 2021, investigators revealed Stalk rented a budget rental van and information

was gleaned from a cell phone in early February of 2020. In court testimony, data collected revealed the van traveled from Colorado to Florida. Gannon Stalk's remains were found stuffed inside of a suitcase under a bridge in northwestern Florida in March of 2020, about six weeks after Letitia Stalk's trip to the area. An autopsy showed Gannon had been shot and stabbed, and he had defensive wounds on his hands. Macon Ponder testified about participating in a search for Gannon Stalk's remains in Florida. He found a suitcase and described what he found when he opened it. Did you open it? Yes, sir. Tell us about that. I was the first one to unzip it, and before we opened it, as soon as we unzipped it,

we immediately noticed the smell. That's what hit us first. We cover a lot of horrific crimes here on law and crime, and this one really takes things to another level. It's really unbelievable what people will do to one another in these cases. And poor Gannon, a boy who trusted his stepmom having to die like this. Now remember, we know that Letitia Stout killed Gannon. It will be up to the prosecution since Letitia Stouk has pleaded insanity. She said she didn't know right from wrong at the time.

The prosecution really has to show the jury that, yes, indeed, Letitia Stouk knew exactly what she was doing and that it was wrong when she did it. A key witness who took the stand in the trial was CBS4 reporter Spencer Wilson. Wilson interviewed Letitia not long after Gannon was reported missing. Can you talk to me a little bit about him? I don't know what. Gannon is so kind and he loves to play video games. That's one of his favorite things. He loves Sonic and Mario and, you know, he's always helpful. And he was always so helpful with the dogs around the house and we have two little cute dogs.

And he was always like a person I could say, Gannon, can you go do this? And he would do it right away. You know, sometimes with kids, we have to remind him and things like that. And that's okay. But he was so sweet and able to help anyone. He could notice when you're sick and say, are you okay? And such a kind heart. I know you just said that you can't say anything about the investigation,

so you can just say so again if you can't answer this. But is there anything we can hear about the hike? Was there a hike? That just seems like rumors right now. You know what? Could we bring my daughter up here? Because she can go and say that, you know, she came home from work after the hike and she can verify that Gannon was at our home.

Okay. Yeah, that's fine. Do you feel like these are just Internet detectives who think they know what they're doing? It definitely is. And, you know, here's the thing that kind of saddens me. It's like if you're going to talk about someone like that and have a witch on out for them, why would you even care about doing those things? Because this is a child. You're telling me that you're just as mean.

You're just as hateful to talk about someone else like that. That's how I feel. Like we just should not. We should all come together and wait until the end and see what happens because Gannon's going to come home. Any message for Gannon? The message for Gannon I have is Gannon, when you get it. here, you'll be able to truly tell what happened. And then I really hope I get a sincere apology from everyone who has made all those things, especially from my husband.

We just wanted to add a message to Gannon from my family, is that we love you and miss you. And we're going to come home soon. Again, I can't wait. You can come home and let everyone know that you're okay. We love you. Mr. Wilson, did the defendant appear to be of sound mind? to you while you were with her. Yeah. And, Aaron, I'm going to give his opinion regarding what he thought about her mental state at the time. Yes. Did she seem to be able to answer questions to you logically and give coherent answers?

Yes. You mentioned that, to your memory, that she was driving the passenger vehicle? Yes. Did she seem to be following the rules of the road? Yes. Could she stop when she was supposed to stop? Yes. was she driving on the right side of the road as opposed to the left?

That's correct. During that interview, do you remember, is there a point in time where she's referring to Gannon in the present sense and then she changes it to the past tense? Yes. Do you remember when that was? We just watched it. Okay. Sorry.

So as you heard, Letitia Stouk is talking about Gannon in the present tense as if he is very much alive. But then she changes it up, and she's talking about him in the past tense, which is a little bit of a tell. And she also seems to be a little bit more worried about showing that she's innocent rather than being more interested in where her stepson is. Letitia Stouk's daughter, Harley Hunt, was nearly charged as an accessory in this case. She was on that trip to Florida with her mom when the body of Gannon was dumped over that bridge back in 2020, although Harley said she didn't know. that Gannon's body was in the van with them. How was your mom acting as you checked into this hotel room?

She was acting normal. Up until this point, had you ever gone to the back of that van? No. At any of the stops up to this point, had you gotten any change of clothes or gotten any suitcase about the back of the van? No. At any point during this trip to Pensacola, Did you smell anything in the back of that man?

No. Do you know why I'm asking you, do you smell anything in the back of that day? Yes. Why? Because Gannon was back there. How do you know Gannon was back there? Because you guys told me that there was evidence that he was back there. Did you later learn that Gannon's body was found in Pensacola, Florida?

Yes. On March 17th, yes. 2020. How did you learn that? When they arrested my mom and the FBI, like, came to the house and told me. So what happens when you wake up? Morning hours of February 4th, 2020.

What's going on in the room? Tell us about when you checked out and things like that. Yeah, it was just like all the other days we just check out. Afterwards, we go grab breakfast, and then we go to Orlando. Why are you going to Orlando? She was planning that that's where we could stay. I remember her, like, calling apartment places to, like, see if we could live there. As far as you concern, is that where you're going to be living?

Yes. Yes. Ms. Son, I want to ask you a direct question, okay? Okay. Did you help your mother throw that suitcase over a bridge in Pensacola, Florida? No, I did not. On February 4th, 2020. No, I did not.

Now, Letitia's own daughter, Harley, was forced to go on this trip to Florida, having no idea that Gannon Stalk's body was in the back of the van. And suspiciously, she said the entire time they were driving, the air conditioning was on, despite the fact that it was wintertime. She said that she never looked in the back of the van during that long car ride. Harley explained what would happen when she asked her mother about why they were driving to Florida. Did you ever ask your mom? What are we doing? Why are we leaving? It's missing.

Why aren't we out looking for him, that kind of stuff? Um, no, I didn't really question her a lot. Why didn't you question your mom? I would be told that, um, like, I'm being, like, disrespectful or, like, talking back. And what would happen if you were being disrespectful or talking back to your mom? Sometimes she would, like, backhand me. Where would she backhand you at?

To my face. Is that why you just didn't say anything, and you sat in the van and went wherever she was driving? Yes. Overruled. Do you eventually go to Amarillo, Texas? Yes. And do you recall staying the night in Amarillo, Texas?

Yes. And do you remember what hotel you stayed at in Amarillo, Texas? No. Did you stay at a Candlewood Suites? Sounds familiar, yes And do you remember watching some videos of you and the dogs Walking in a Candlewood Suites in Amarinal, Texas? Yes.

On Cross, the defense tried to claim that Harley is a manipulator And used to GoFundMe to gain sympathy You will, at times, manipulate the truth for your benefit. No. And, well, so when you were living in South Korea, So between when your mom got arrested and now, you've been living with some different people. Yes, I lived with one different person.

Yeah, you live with D.D. Yes. You were also getting financial support from Aunt Brenda. Yes. And Brenda had bought you a car. Yes. And then she took that car away from you guys because you guys had a disagreement.

Yes. And it was difficult for you to get back and forth to nursing school. Yes. And so in January of 2023, you set up a GoFundMe page. Yes. And on that GoFundMe page, you say, hi, my name is Harley. For those of you who don't know my story, I lost both my parents a few years ago when I was 17 years old.

That statement seems to imply that both your parents died when you were 17. I don't think it does. No. Okay. Well, your dad had died a long time before that. Yes. And you didn't lose your mom. Your mom was just in prison in jail in Colorado.

I lost her. Okay. But you don't think that that's at all misleading to get people to give you money. Nope. It was for my friends and families so they could have like a sourstice in it to me. We were likely to get more money from people if they thought your mom was dead as opposed to you from mom. No. Now, as the investigation into Gannon Stouk's disappearance moved forward,

Letitia Stalk was interviewed by the FBI. Take a listen to what was found on her phone's search history. As you know in here, I even have what you entered in your phone. The stuff that you've entered and deleted, like blood is spurting from an arterial bleed, direct pressure, not controlling. Do what? I didn't want this up. It's from your phone. Blood is what?

Spurting from an arterial bleed. No. Somebody did it from your phone. I don't like my stepson? No. I don't like my stepson. Should I get a divorce? A really big moment that took place in court that really had nothing to do with the evidence in this case came back on April 14th when Letitia Stalk was flipping off witnesses who were on the stand.

Take a look. What do we see in People's Exhibit 383? People's Exhibit 383. We is a little bit of a different perspective, a little closer where we can see, again, the two sticker scales that were. on the garage floor, we're close to those two-by-fours that were previously mentioned. 3.84? Clearly, the jury in Letitia Stouk's case has not started deliberating, but the judge has pretty much already found her guilty of behaving badly. Listen to this.

You had received some information, and I thought you said some photographs regarding the defendant's conduct, which potentially could be construed as. extending the middle finger or flipping people off, including a witness. The court's camera system recorded Letitia Stalk, flipping the bird to witnesses back on April 14th. Witnesses noticed, as did jurors and the prosecution. That led to a stern warning from Judge Werner. While you have the right to be present for your trial, you also have the responsibility to behave with the respect and decorum required for this formal proceeding.

You also have the responsibility to behave in such a fashion as to make the use of additional restraints unnecessary. Sometimes, during trial, a defendant chooses to act out. The likelihood that that will happen, in my experience, seems to increase the longer the trial takes, and the more serious the charges are. And I know that right now we're in week four, or we finished four weeks, we're starting week five. You aren't the first defendant to act out. Probably not going to be the last. I cannot imagine the pressure a defendant feels during any trial. It's not uncommon for a defendant to disagree with certain testimony or dislike a witness or a victim.

Nevertheless, you cannot act disrespectfully in words or actions. First of all, never help you out. you've already heard one juror submitted a question regarding his observation of your conduct they don't miss anything it also makes your attorney's job much harder they need to focus on the evidence presented and how to counter that rather than your conduct in the courtroom judge warner told letitia stout that he was changing her chair to one that couldn't move or swivel he also warned her that he could have a bolt installed underneath the defense table and then have her handcuffs cuffed to it so she couldn't show her hands. He also told her he could find her in contempt, but the fact that she's facing a murder charge,

contempt probably wouldn't mean much to her. That's it for this edition of Law and Crime's Sidebar podcast. You can listen to Sidebar on Apple, Spotify, Google, and wherever else you get your podcast. And of course, you can always watch it on Law and Crimes YouTube channel. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and we will see you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.