Law&Crime Sidebar - A Child Killer's Footsteps: Gut-wrenching Timeline of Gannon Stauch's Murder at the Hands of Stepmom

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

Letecia Stauch is currently on trial for the murder of her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch. The stepmom is accused of stabbing and shooting Gannon at their home in Colorado, stuffing his body in a suitcase, driving to Florida, then dumping the young boy under a bridge. As the case moves to the hands of a jury, the Law&Crime Network’s Jesse Weber walks us through the timeline of the gut-wrenching murder and the most damning pieces of evidence against her. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaDevil In The DormThe 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.

Wonderly Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wonderly 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. Let's start with the first one. What is it? 6.18 a.m. Do they check in ditches under bridges? A crime analyst takes the stand in the Letitia Stoutt trial and breaks down the intricate timeline of events before and after the death of 11-year-old Gannon Stout. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Long Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. The Letitia Stouck trial has been going on for about a month now out of Colorado, and there is still important evidence and testimony being presented in court.

Now, remember, this is the 39-year-old mother who killed her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stout back in January of 2020. Now, you might notice. I didn't say allegedly killed because Letitia Stalk already admitted that she killed Gannon, stabbed him, shot him, but she is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense highlighted that she has disassociative identity disorder. Basically, the defense is arguing that she wasn't aware of her actions at the time. She didn't appreciate or know what she did was wrong when she killed Gannon. It's a very high burden.

But what we know is that prosecutors say Letitia Stouk attacked and killed Gannon in his bedroom on January 27th, 2020 in El Paso County, Colorado, where they resided. Investigators found Gannon's blood on his mattress and walls of his bedroom, as well as on Stouk's shoe and possibly in her car. They also say her DNA was on a gun connected to the crime, and they were able to track her car to the area where a plywood board was found with Gannon's blood on it. And then, of course, there is her behavior and statements. So Letitia Stow was acting very suspicious when Gannon was first reported missing. She told several different stories about what happened to her stepson. She originally claimed that Gannon was at a friend's house and never returned home, even though she couldn't provide the name of that friend.

Another story was that a man named Eduardo raped her and kidnapped Gannon, and she also claimed to Gannon's father that a man named Quincy Brown took Gannon. Well, what happens? The month after Gannon disappears, Letitia Stouk rents a budget rental van and proceeds to drive her and her daughter all the way down to Florida. Six weeks after that trip,

Gannon Stalk's body is found in a suitcase underneath a bridge in northwestern Florida. So the allegation was that Gannon's remains were in that van. So that's what we know so far. But how does this all fit together? Well, earlier this week, former crime analyst Kevin Clark took the stand and went into extensive detail of the timeline

of Letitia Stouk's activities or alleged activities. I'll give you an example. We're going to start with one time period in particular from 2.29 p.m. on January 27th. This is the day that prosecutors say she killed Gannon to 6.19 a.m. on January 28th. Clark testified about how Letitia Stouk wasn't using her phone. all that much, considering that she usually would frequently use her phone. Before I get into a specific item, was the defendant a fairly prolific user of her cell phone? Yes, lots of activity. All times of the day, essentially? And sometimes at night, yes.

Was there a period of time when there was an abnormal lack of use of her cell phone? There was. What time and date was that? This was Monday, the 27th. late morning into early afternoon. It was about a four-hour period of no activity. So does that coincide with the time frame of when the defendant and Gannon left the residence roughly 10 in the morning to go to Petco and we're gone and then they return to at about 220? That does encompass that time, yes. Is there a period of time when they're back at home after returning from Petco, that Petco run,

where there's still a lack of cell phone activity on the defendant's phone? There is. Did that appear to be unusual based on her prior usage? It did. And then on the night of January 28th, just after 7 p.m., Stouk's phone was placed on airplane mode and remained off network at 9 p.m. when, as I mentioned, they're able to track her car to the area where they found that bloodied board. And speaking about tracking and movements, Clark testifies that surveillance video from

a neighbor shows Stalk and Gannon returning home at around 2 p.m. in January 27th, again, the day they believe that Letitia killed Gannon. And then fast forward to 6.30 a.m. the next morning, Stalk is leaving for about 10 minutes and then comes back. Now, we don't know exactly what she was doing. But by the way, this is after Gannon was reported missing. It's also important to note that on the day Gannon vanished, stoutke is shown on tape backing cars into the driveway. Why is that important? Well, because Clark said after reviewing previous videos, that is not something Ms. Stouk typically does. Okay, and like many other murder investigations, there's the phone data, right? I talked

about the inactivity, but there's so much more here. So Kevin Clark dives into what is found in Letitia Stouk's text messages. Clark starts with text messages between Letitia and Gannon's father, Al Stouk, on the day before Gannon's death. The night before Gannon went missing, Leticia to text Al that Gannon isn't feeling well. The next entry, and it looks like the last entry that you have on the timeline for Sunday night, or Sunday, January 26th, is it 11.30 p.m., what is that? So it takes Harley approximately 20 minutes to get home. Harley's now home when this message from the defendant goes to Mr. Stout.

It's 11.30 p.m. Sunday night, and it reads, Gannon was on the toilet, most of the night upstairs and downstairs. He had a candle on earlier tonight because he said he kept smelling poop from his accidents in his pants. That's what he told us afterwards. And he went for his headphones and dropped it catching the covers and couch, small spot, on fire. I got Lena and dogs outside when we heard fire alarm. But once I got down there to get him, I had to throw another cover on it. It was minimal.

No need to call for help or anything because nothing too bad. He is upset and wrote on the notebook he was sorry. He didn't want me to tell you because he was scared and freaking out about getting in trouble and being grounded. It's stuff we can fix and everyone is okay. I burnt my arm a little, but it's all good. He was more scared and embarrassed. So it appeared that Gannon wasn't feeling well and most likely wasn't going to go to school the next day. And according to what we just heard, apparently there was also an accident that night where Gannon dropped a candle.

in the house that caused him to burn himself. In fact, earlier on in the trial, we heard audio from a video from that night after this candle incident, and Kevin Clark testified to this. Because we got to get it fixed, so the lady, don't be mad at us and kick aside the house. Okay? You got it? You got it? I'm just worried about my friend.

Okay, listen, listen, listen. The next entry is at 9.46 p.m. What is that entry? This is the video taken from the defendant's phone, video number 6-1-15, and it's the video of a candle had spilled, and the defendant is telling Gannon about how they're going to sell items to pay to fix it, and it ends with Gannon saying, I'm just worried about my burns, and then the defendant's saying, so tomorrow, and then ending the movie. It's interesting. It's interesting. But the question, of course, is, is she telling the truth? about Gannon's health. It's awfully curious that he's having these issues the day before she allegedly kills him. And by the way, on an earlier episode of Sidebar, we actually broke down a few of the many lies of Letitia Stout that she told throughout the investigation. We heard earlier in the trial from Leslie Hicks, the assistant principal of Gannon's middle

school, who testified about Letitia Stout texting her in the early morning hours of January 27, 2020. Kevin Clark backed up Hicks testimony, which, the data. The next entry is at 4.36 a.m. What is that? This is a message from the defendant to Ms. Hicks, the assistant principal. And the defendant sent a message saying, I'm sorry for the time of night message, but my stepfather passed away. Someone hit him with a car while he was walking. I can update you at a later time and included a crying face emoji. We had testimony from Dakota Lowry, the defendant's brother. Did the defendant's stepfather pass away on this January 27th date?

No. When did he actually pass away? Do you remember? Was it years before this? It was September 21st of 2006, I believe. Letitia Stouk lies to Leslie Hicks about her stepfather. father. Why is she lying about Gannon? That is the question. And also, Mr. Clark finds it odd that Letitia decides to leave her phone at home. The next entry you have is at 9.54 a.m.

to 9.59 a.m. What is that? So this is getting ready to go on their outing Monday afternoon. So at 954 to 959 a.m., these messages were sent to Mr. Stalk from the defendant. Starts out with saying, left phone at home, call G's on my watch. It may stay connected, and we will monitor it. And then at 959, Mr. Stalk replies with K. And then, oh, I'm sorry. Oh, I think I was going to ask just what you were getting ready to jump into. So that text message about leaving home happens between 954 and 959.

did they actually depart? And when I say they, tell us who the they is? They, the defendant and Gannon, actually departed at 1012. And we see that on video that we've previously admitted Exhibit 41, the surveillance video from 6643 Mandan Drive? That's correct. The next entry you have is at 1039 a.m. to 245 p.m. What is that? So after they leave, from 1039 a.m. to 2.45 p.m., the defendant's phone had no outgoing activity. In fact, all of the incoming calls and text messages, the phone was in fact left at home because here's the tower and sector that's servicing that activity. We know through financials and other investigative leads that the defendant drove the red Nissan truck up to the Petco

on north nevada during this time the phone was active at the house but all incoming activity there was no outgoing activity based on looking at the download and in other data points for the defendant's phone was it unusual for her to leave her phone at home when she would go to the trips to stores or what have you this is the only instance i know of that happening first it seems letitia stout is basically lying to Al, Gannon's father, saying that the phone was left at home, but they didn't leave the house yet. Then there's about a four-hour period where there's no outgoing activity on Letitia's phone. She does respond to a text message from Al, and then there's no activity on her phone until 3.32 p.m. Latisha's daughter, Lena gets home from school at 3.15 p.m.

Letitia's other daughter Harley gets home from work at 4.37 p.m. And then Kevin Clark points out that Letitia Stouk then told her daughters to pick up cleaning supplies and what the significance of that may be. The next entry is at 451 p.m., what is that entry? Right about the time the FaceTime happens, both Harley and Lena leave the house together in the Lajeta. The next entry is at 452 p.m., what is that? The defendant says a text message to Harley saying, carpet powders, two things, baking soda, trash bags. Why is that significant? Cleaning products.

As it relates to cleaning products, what does the investigation show as to the likely time that Gannon was murdered? Prior to Lina getting home from school. On this January 27th? That's correct. Do you ever see through any portion of the investigation from that point, on ever see Gannon alive on any videos, audio recordings, or anything like that? You do not. So you get the implication there about why she wanted these cleaning supplies and the time she

wanted these cleaning supplies. Now, after Harley and Lena return home, Letitia claims to her family members that Gannon is at a friend's house and told them to be home by 6 p.m. She updates Gannon's father, Al, throughout with text messages. She tells Al that she's going to drive around, look for Gannon. But here's the thing. other than that one drive that she ended up taking with her daughter, Stouk doesn't go out again. And what does Clark say that Letitia Stouk was doing instead?

Well, data indicates she was on social media. And then between 654 and 6.58 p.m. on January 27th, Letitia repeatedly calls law enforcement to report Gannon missing. From there, Stouk is in the middle of text exchange and calls between her and her and Harley and Al, but here is something else that is very odd. Later on in the night, there is an outgoing call, but from who? And then 10.03 p.m., what is that? It's an outbound call from Gannon's phone to Landon that lasted four minutes and 28 seconds.

Based on the indications that you testified to earlier, is Gannon alive at 10.03 p.m. on January 27th? No. And yet a phone call is originating from Gannon's phone to Landon's phone, which is Gannon's mother. Is that correct? That's correct. Do we know who was using Gannon's phone at that particular time? It was the defendant. Letitia Stout using Gannon's phone to call his biological mother while he's missing?

That's curious. Police eventually arrive at the home later on in the night. They stay for almost two hours. That's basically the end of the day, the day of Gannon's disappearance. So as we know, Letitia Stouk was arrested on March 2nd, 2020, and Gannon's remains were found a couple weeks later on March 17th, 2020 in Pace, Florida. As I mentioned, the forensics and odd statements and actions of Letitia Stouk are being used by Colorado prosecutors to show that she murdered her stepson.

But now, let's get into the internet searches, which, as we know, here on Sidebar and Law and Crime, those searches tell us so much in these kinds of criminal cases, and they really do here. The analysis of Letitia Stouk's phone gets very, very interesting when crime and intelligence analyst Kevin Clark testifies about what he found in Letitia Stouk's web search history. Here are where Google searches on February 20th, 2020,

almost a month after Gannon's disappearance. As it relates now to those wire-collected phone calls and those specific calls about fake polygraph.com, did you find anything in the defendant's cell phone download that coincided with attempts to get a fake polygraph report? I did. How did you find that information? In the web search and web history portion of the cell phone download, I can see all. all the searches made and then the websites visited. And so just for context purposes, when we were talking about the cell phone usage

on the 27th and 28th, that particular phone we heard testimony from Commander Mitch Mulhulco that it was seized on January 29th. The testimony that you're talking about now as far as it relates to the fake polygraph information, what phone is that specifically? This is gonna be the defense third phone,

the one that we took in South Carolina. She allegedly not only searches for fake polygraph tests, but also then ends up trying to pay for fake polygraph tests results from a company. Now again, remember, under Colorado law, insanity is about whether essentially the defendant knew right from wrong. And when you have someone who is seemingly figuring out ways to fake a polygraph test, that arguably shows she knows what she did will get her into trouble and she's trying to get out of it, right? Give you another idea of that. Listen to what Kevin Clark and investigators found in the Notes app of Letitia Stouk's phone. So we've got the top half of the left side of that page on the screen right now. Tell the jury what we're looking out there.

So this is the notes section of the phone. Many of the phones come equipped with a place you can write down notes and thoughts as a standard part of the phone. So in the notes section of the phone on February 19th at 2020 at 1153 a.m. local time to Colorado. So this was actually 153 p.m. when the defendant did this in her local time out in South Carolina. 153 p.m. you mean? Yes. I say, yeah. I'm sorry, at 153 p.m. Okay. So there's a two-hour time difference between mountain time and east coast time. And so the title of the note is in the case involving missing child, Gannon Stout, do you intend on dot, dot, dot. Now we're going to go over to the right side of page one, looking at the top quarter of that page.

Tell the jury what we're looking at there. Like I previously described the title, if not manually entered, it's going to take the first part of the first paragraph, and this is what you see. So there's a question in the body of the note saying, in the case involving missing child, Gannon Stoke, do you intend on telling the truth, question mark? In the next line? The next one is a second question saying, in the case involving your stepson, Gannon, did you inflict harm on him in any way? And then the third question is, did you accidentally hurt him in a physical way? Then the fourth question is, did you murder your stepson? And the fifth question is, do you know personally who is involved with your stepson disappearance?

Is that the sum of the first page of People's Exhibit 692? It is. Wow. Now again, we know that Letitia Stouk killed her steps on Gannon, but all this activity that took place after his death, just on Letitia Stouk's phone alone, when we're asking, did she fully appreciate what she did? I don't know.

Clark would go into more Google searches that were found on Lettia's phone, and it definitely gets more interesting. What is the next search on February 21st, 2020? 7.23 p.m. need a guy who wants me to move in. The next search on February 21st, 2020? 7.24 p.m. Find a man with a place to let me move in. And then do we have, let me see, four searches on February 22nd, 2020. Yes. What is the first one?

9.50 a.m. change my facial appearance. appearance is misspelled A P-P-E-A-R-M-C-E. And the next search on February 22nd, 2020? Also at 9.50 a.m. drastic ways to change your appearance. The next search on February 22nd, 2020. Two minutes later, see what my face will but misspelled S-I-L-L-P-E- with plastic surgery. And the next search on February 22nd, 2020. Also at 952, plastic surgery, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Did this indicate to you that the defendant is still indicating a willingness or want to change her appearance to evade the investigation? Yes. And then do we have four searches on February 23rd, 2020? We do. What is the first one? 308 a.m. Ganon Stalk found. Was he found on February 23rd? No.

what's the next search on February 23rd 2020 8.24 a.m. replacement passport. The next search on February 23rd, 2020? 3.15 p.m. shock from period, watching someone get shot. Is someone misspelled? Yes, it's spelled S-O-M-E-O-K-E. Is this the first indication that we have? Well, let me back up a little bit. Gannon's body still had not been found by this time, right? Not yet. Is this the first indication that we have of consciousness by the defendant of Gannon being shot? Yes. And then the final search on February 23rd, 2020.

5.13 p.m. face mask that looks real to disguise. Change facial appearance? Dramatic ways to change appearance? Clearly this is someone trying to disappear and get away. No? Again, if she knew killing Gannon was a crime and the police would be after her, she can't really claim insanity.

All right. Now let's get into some of the most disturbing Google searches that were found on Letitia Stouk's phone. And these regarded the state of her stepson, Gannon's body. The date ranges are February 27th through March 1st, and this is still off of the phone number three, the South Carolina phone. Are there seven searches that occurred on February 27th, 2020?

There are. What is the first search? 703 a.m. How do police tell whose body has been found? Considering the circumstances in this case where Gannon's body had not been found for a number of days, almost two full months, does that seem to indicate from your perspective some knowledge that it's going to be difficult to identify Gannon's? remains it indicates me that there's research being done to see how difficult it would be what is the next search on february 27th 2020 7.58 a.m. can god help me escape jail time and escape is mispelled e scea oe the next search on february 27 2020 8.5 a.m. how do period they identify who's

misspelled w hos blood is at the scene the next search on february 27 2020 8.35 a.m. Find people who want to go to period jail. The next search on February 27, 2020. 8.58 a.m. Spanish girl names. Is Maria Sanchez a Spanish girl name? Very traditional, yes. Is little Lucia potentially a Spanish girl name? Lucia is, yes. Of the next search on February 27, 2020. 9.04 a.m. Petco, Nevada, Colorado Springs. was that a point of reference in this investigation three times and then the final search on February 27th 2020 what is it 10 a.m. Find an immigrant who will admit to a crime. It is incredibly chilling to think that this woman was Googling what her stepson's body will look like after

decomposing but it's also so problematic for her because like I said it seems like she's trying to figure out how to get away with this. That's the allegation at least. As I always say It's not my decision. It's not what I believe. It's all up to the jury. It's all up to the jury to determine her guilt. But here's what we know. Kevin Clark was a huge, impactful witness for the prosecution.

And he was able to tie this timeline altogether and make sense of it. And with the trial winding down, Latisha Stouk's defense team will have some very heavy lifting to do to fight for their client. that's all we have for you here on sidebar everybody thank you so much for joining us please subscribe on apple podcast spotify youtube wherever you get your podcast i'm jesse weber speak to you next time you can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on wondery plus join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.