Amy Jacobson 
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Colorado Springs, Colo. – Eugene “Al” Stauch, father of murder victim Gannon Stauch, took the stand on Tuesday, April 5, opening the State’s case. Al was married to Leticia Stauch, the woman on trial for killing her stepson in January 2020.
The week before Gannon disappeared, Al’s mother was in town. That Saturday, January 25, 2020, Al, Gannon, and the family went out to dinner. When they got home, Gannon and his father were standing at the top of the stairs leading down to Gannon’s bedroom in the basement. Al was getting ready to leave with his mom. Al gave Gannon a hug and ran his hands through his hair, something he always did. He told Gannon that he loved him and “you’re always gonna be in my heart, and I’m always gonna be in your heart. I’ll see you when I get home.” “Okay, Daddy,” Gannon responded. “I love you. I’m gonna go finish watching Pokémon.” That was the last time Al saw his son alive.
“When did you first learn something happened to [Gannon],” Prosecutor Michael Allen asks the father. Al, a soldier in the Army National Guard, was out of town at the time of the disappearance of his son. The defendant, Letecia Stauch, told him that Gannon had stayed home that day with stomach, something Al said was not ordinary. Al had back-and-forth conversations (through texts) with Letecia during which she told him about Gannon not coming home “yet” from a friend’s house. Gannon was late.
A Father’s Rush to Get Home
At this time, Al called numerous friends’ parent, none of them had seen Gannon. Letecia informed him that she had called 911, and that’s when he grew worried. Al arranged to take an emergency flight home. A friend drove him to Oklahoma City and he flew out the next day on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.
Despite having a vehicle of her own, Letecia rented a vehicle at the airport to drive Al home in. Letecia told Al that she had one of her coworkers drive her to the airport after she parked her own vehicle at French Elementary School, where she worked at the time. She told Al that they would be doing a lot of driving around searching and she didn’t want to put mileage on her leased vehicle. This seemed odd to Al since it’s not something one would think about during a time of an emergency.
The day Al returned home, January 28, he and Letecia went to a gas station after receiving a tip that Gannon had possibly been seen there. After watching footage of the boy alleged to possibly be Gannon, he realized it wasn’t him. He continued to drive around, searching different places for his son.
Meeting With Detectives
Al, Letecia with him, met for the first time with detectives at a Starbucks. At that time, he gave Gannon’s phone to detectives for them to process. Together, they worked through the story of Gannon going missing an what he (Al) had done as a result. Letecia’s story to the detectives centered around Gannon going to a friend’s house, and not coming home.
Later that day, Al would go for his first interview at the sheriff’s office. Letecia would not be with him this time. During this first interview, Al said he was vague about the details of his and Letecia’s relationship. At this point, he didn’t yet suspect her to be involved in the disappearance. After the interview, he went home to check on the girls before going back out looking for Gannon.
Things Don’t Add Up
During his search, Al decided to go to French Elementary School to look for Letecia’s vehicle. After driving around, 3 times, unable to locate the vehicle, he freaked out. This is when he first realized that she had lied to him. She had told him that she parked her car at the school, but never said anything about moving it. At this moment, he began to question Gannon’s disappearance.
After not locating Letecia’s vehicle, Al called Detective Bethel who told him to return to the sheriff’s office. That’s when he had his second interview with detectives. When asked what he thought he was going to find if he found the car, he responded “My hope was to find Gannon. That was the whole point of search, to find Gannon.”
The next day, Wednesday, January 29, Al was sleeping on the couch when he received a text from Letecia who was in their bedroom. She asked him to come the bedroom and talk to her. This is the first time he would hear the rape story. Letecia told Al that on the day Gannon disappeared, she was raped and beat up; Gannon had also been beat up and taken. The attack happened in Gannon’s bedroom, and she had cleaned up the mess. According to Al, Letecia’s demeanor while telling the story was frantic and all over the place, but she did not cry.
Al thought to himself that this story was “bullshit.” He asked her to stay in the room and he would be right back. His mother and siter had slept in Gannon’s room the night before. He told them they had to get their stuff and get out of the bedroom because it may be a crime scene. He then notified authorities.
Letecia Moves Out
Letecia moved out of the house the same week Gannon disappeared. On January 31, after several call and texts, Letecia came back to the house with her daughter, mother, and brother. Al, Landon (Gannon’s mother), Al’s brother, sister, a daughter, and a deputy were already at the house. The only time Al would be in the same room as Letecia he had the deputy with him. Letecia gathered her things. Al never saw the green suitcase (in which Gannon’s body was later found) leave the house.
After this day, Al would not see his estranged wife again until he saw her in the courtroom. The only communications between them would be through text, e-mail, and phone calls. Her story of what happened the day Gannon disappeared would change several times, involving different people including men named “Eguardo” and “Quincy Brown”.
Further Reading
To read more about this story and the trial of Letecia Stauch, https://truthanddeliberation.com/2023/04/03/trial-to-start-for-leticia-stauch-woman-charged-with-killing-her-stepson/
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