Mich. v. Michael Jackson-Bolanos

DETROIT, Mich. – The trial of Mich. V. Michael Jackson-Bolanos, charged with the murder of Samantha Woll, began on June 11, 2024 with opening statements. The state laid out a lot of evidence in their opening statement, but the defense gave the jury a lot to think about.

Everyone Can Agree on This

Samantha Woll, a prominent member of her community, was found by a neighbor outside on her lawn, at 6:21 a.m. on October 21, 2023. Her body bloody, barefoot, and cold to the touch. A trail of blood lead from her body to her home, revealing a bloody scene. There was blood smeared on the walls and on the floor.  The Cause of death revealed at the autopsy was from eight stab wounds above the shoulders, focusing on Woll’s head and neck. This both state and defense agree on during their opening statements.

The State’s Opening Statement

“There is a reason we lock our doors at night when we go to sleep. It is because people who lurk in the night; people who could do us harm, and this case is about one such person,” the state begins their opening statement. “A person you will see on one particular night on the prowl in our community, looking for spaces that were not his to go into and things that were not his to take. The most important thing he ended up taking in that night was the life of a woman. A woman named Samantha Woll.”  

The state continues their opening with a tale of a fun night for Woll, a night spent at a wedding and returning home around 12:30 a.m. Her last outgoing text a “heart” emoji sent to a friend at 1:02 a.m. and appearing to go to bed sometime around 1:24 a.m. when her living room motion detector goes idle and the last activity on her phone between 1:29 a.m. and 1:35 a.m.

Something Woll may not have known, according to her front door sensor, it would appear that the door never closed after she returned home. A small mistake many have made in their time but, in this case, would lead to a tragic ending.

A picture of a thorough investigation by the homicide task force, which consists of the Detroit Police, Michigan State Police, ATF, and FBI. The investigation started open-ended and would take 6 weeks to narrow down. At which point, they had two suspects. Suspect 1 was an ex-boyfriend of Molly’s. Suspect 2, the defendant.

The ex-boyfriend spoke to police, willingly, the day after Woll was found dead. Then, on November 7, 2023, he called police during what is being described as a delusional panic attack. After an increased dosage in his depression meds and ingesting cannabis, he was convinced himself that he had killed Woll himself. This despite having no proof or memory of committing the act. No DNA or fingerprints belonging to the ex-boyfriend were found at the scene. Using cell phone data, investigators put him home on the night of her death.

Suspect 2 was a figure seen on camera footage from an elementary school near Woll’s building that picked up a figure in a nearby parking lot, tampering with cars. One of the cars had a slashed tire. This caught the attention of investigators and they looked for other cameras in the area. Able to track the figures motions, the FBI worked with T-Mobile to find devices following the trajectory. They were able it down to the defendant, Michael Jackson-Bolanos.

Jackson-Bolanos left his girlfriend’s home at 12:32 a.m. in Midtown Detroit the night of Woll’s death. At 1:44 a.m. he is in the location of the Lafayette Park neighborhood near Woll’s home. There he stayed about 18 minutes. He returned to his girlfriend’s home at 4:55 a.m. During the time he was out, he was wearing a North Face Jacket and a white backpack.

On November 30, 2023, the defendant was arrested and a search warrant for his girlfriend’s apartment was executed. During the search, officers found the North Face jacket worn on the night in question, with 2 spots of blood. After testing and comparing the DNA to Woll’s, it was concluded to a high probability that the DNA matched. During a search of the defendant’s car, the white backpack was also found. That too had blood on it that came back as a high probability match to the DNA of Woll. Jackson-Bolanos was unable to give an explanation for the blood found on the backpack and jacket.

The Defense’s Opening Statements

“It was not Michael Jackson-Bolanos,” defense said as they started their opening. “She was stabbed 8 times in the neck and back. That would indicate a crime of passion.” He went on to describe the scene and events of that night.

There were bruises and contusions on her face, evidence of a struggle in multiple rooms. There was a high concentration of blood in the hallway. This is indicative of a body having fallen and lying there for a period of time. All of this effort, and nothing of value was taken from the home.

The defendant admits to being in the area that night. He also told police of his having come upon the body and touching her to see if she was still alive. Would this not be a possible explanation for the spots of blood found on the jacket and backpack? The neighbor who found Woll lying outside touched the body to see if she was alive. If the investigators had collected his clothing and done a blood analysis, would they have found trace amounts of blood on him as well?

There were no footprints found in the blood from the defendant to indicate that he had walked around the scene. Given the bloody scene, wouldn’t “he have been covered in blood?” He made no attempt to discard any of the clothes he had worn that night. Yes, his girlfriend had washed the North Face jacket, but she washed it with a load of laundry as she would any other garment.

Yes, they found multiple knives both in the girlfriend’s home, and on the defendant himself, but they were all sent for analysis. None of the knives returned with evidence associating the defendant with the scene. The “only evidence” the state has connecting Jackson-Bolanos to the scene are trace spots of blood on the back of his sleeve. There was no blood on either his pants or his shoes.

Despite his body being photographed at the time of arrest, no signs of having been in a fight or struggle were visible. He made no attempt to avoid law enforcement. In fact, he contacted law enforcement himself several times in an attempt to find out when he could get his knives back.

The ex-boyfriend on the other hand, had already secured an attorney through his parents after he told them what he had done; a story, according to defense opening, he changed after speaking with his therapist. He had a camera system in his house, but law enforcement was unable to extract pictures from his camera due to either having been deleted or some other explanation. As for the cell phone placing him at home, his only alibi, would he have been smart enough to not have brought the phone with him to the scene?

This One’s for You to Decide

At first glance, this appears to be an open and closed case. That is, until the defense offered their opening statement. The statement started a little rocky, but quickly picked up and, in my opinion, was enough to make people stop and think. But that’s not for me to decide for you.

One tragic night. One murder victim. Two Suspects. One defendant, Michael Jackson-Bolanos. Is he guilty of murder or being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

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In response to the state’s demand for an alibi, defense released the following on April 17, 2024.

“Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he
often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of
Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park.”

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by Dennis “Abbadunamis” Mintun, Prison Journalism Project
April 14, 2024

In late February, my state of Idaho tried to execute a person for the first time in 12 years. According to an Idaho Statesman article, the execution team searched for an hour for a suitable vein to inject Thomas Creech with lethal drugs, but was unsuccessful. The execution was eventually aborted and he was sent back to death row. 

Creech has been incarcerated for nearly 50 years and on Idaho’s death row for close to 44 of those years. He has been convicted of five murders and received his death sentence after killing a disabled inmate in his prison in 1981. According to The Associated Press, he claimed to have killed as many as 50 people, but authorities believe the number of possible killings to be closer to a dozen people.  

As you can see, this man was once a bad person. “Was” is the key word in that sentence, because many people believe that Creech changed over close to five decades behind bars.

I have never met Creech, but I have spoken with a couple people who have, and they say he is a better man now — always polite, respectful and ready to help people in need. Creech is highly regarded at Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where he resides. Recently, I was being transported to an outside hospital for an MRI, and the corrections officers transporting me were having a conversation about Creech and how well-respected he was in the prison system. Even the judge who sentenced him to death and a former warden have supported taking him off death row.

Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt told The Associated Press in February that some corrections officers have “grown up” with Creech.

“I don’t want to be dismissive of what he did and the countless people who were impacted by that in real significant ways,” Tewalt told the wire service before Creech’s scheduled execution. “At the same time, you also can’t be dismissive of the effect it’s going to have on people who have established a relationship with him. On Thursday, Tom’s not going to be there. You know he’s not coming back to that unit — that’s real. It would be really difficult to not feel some sort of emotion about that.”

I believe that a person can change for the better, even someone who might have killed close to 50 people. This belief has been shaped over the nearly 22 years that I have spent behind bars. I’ve seen others change, and I have changed myself. I started a new religion during my incarceration, in large part, because of discrimination I faced from churches as a gay man. One of the things we teach is not holding people’s past against them, but accepting them as they are now.    

I wish that we could view Creech’s life that way. But many people have said Creech deserves to be killed. What would that accomplish? Who would his killing serve? 

In this case, it might serve family members of Creech’s victims. At least two family members have publicly called for his execution, asking for closure. 

Yet, we don’t know how every family member feels; and if some disagree with his execution, then how do we decide whose feelings are more valid? 

When I read interviews of victims’ families, it often sounds like they want to get on with their lives more than they want to see someone die. In several instances, family members of victims have spoken out against executions, according to a database from Death Penalty Information Center. 

Sometimes, they believe the inmate can be rehabilitated. Sometimes, they believe life in prison is the right punishment — still harsh, but providing the perpetrator an opportunity to live. Others cite the fact that killing another human won’t bring their loved one back. 

One quote in the database, from the daughter of a murder victim, stood out to me: “I cannot imagine what good it would do to kill a person who is incarcerated and away from the public. No one would be made safer. However, I can think of many people who would be harmed by his death — including his innocent family members and the prison workers who would be asked to carry out his execution. Not a single person would be healed.”

Other family members against executions have said they do not want to contribute to the racial disparities present in executions. As of early 2023, about 55% of people on death row were Black or Latino, compared to 33% of the U.S. population. There’s another glaring statistic from Death Penalty Information Center: “More than 75% of death row defendants who have been executed were sentenced to death for killing white victims, even though in society as a whole about half of all homicide victims are African American.”

Beyond racial imbalances, executing someone has often been torturous — and far from humane — even in modern times. One researcher identified  276 botched executions between 1890 and 2010 — 7% of all executions. For 2022, the percentage of botched executions was clocked at a whopping 35%.  

People have been poked with needles for hours, like Creech. In one case, a man’s arm was cut open to insert an IV. Other people have suffered in pain for extended periods of time, instead of experiencing the quick death they were promised.

Alabama, a notoriously tough-on-crime state, called for a moratorium on executions in 2022 while it investigated multiple botched executions. But earlier this year, the state returned to executions by killing Kenneth Smith with a new method: nitrogen suffocation. 

The state has claimed that Smith’s execution went smoothly, while witnesses have said he writhed violently in pain for minutes. Mississippi, Oklahoma and Louisiana also have approved the new form of execution, and other states could follow. 

We had a chance to reconsider the inhumanity of executions; but instead, we just moved forward and found a new way to kill people. 

I am not necessarily protesting the death penalty categorically; but if the state is going to carry out killings, then it should explain why those killings are necessary and why they benefit society.

The specter of dying as a punishment for killing someone has also not stopped murders. If a person is intent on taking a life, they are probably not going to stop and say to themselves, “I might be put to death for this.” Either they believe they will get away with killing someone or they don’t care about the consequences. It doesn’t make sense to kill someone to show that killing shouldn’t be done. 

In my view, state executions just introduce pain and suffering into more people’s lives. And if it’s true that “hurt people hurt people,” as the saying goes, then we are contributing to further harm down the road.

Creech’s next execution attempt has not yet been scheduled, but the state will try again eventually.

(Additional reporting by PJP)

This article first appeared on Prison Journalism Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Dennis “Abbadunamis” Mintun is a writer incarcerated in Idaho.

More by Dennis “Abbadunamis” Mintun

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OXFORD, Mi. – Represented by Attorney Marielle Lehman, James Crumbley appeared in court yesterday after a motion was filed to excluded three of the witnesses the prosecution plans to call.

Prosecution plans to call two former Oxford High School students to testify about what they witnessed in the hallway during the shooting on November 30, 2021. Prosecution argued that the students give a unique perspective given that they are the only two surviving shooting victims from the hallway. Defense argued the testimony is irrelevant; the only purpose being to “inflame the jury” and would be “highly prejudicial.” Prosecution also plans to call the former owner of the gun used in the shooting.

Judge Cheryl Matthews said that while she previously was against the testimony of the former gun owner, she now feels that he “may have information on the condition of the cable lock” and will allow the testimony. Matthews is taking more time to decide whether to allow the testimony of the two former students.

James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the shooting at Oxford High School by his son, Ethan Crumbley, who is currently serving a sentence of life in prison. His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty last month of four counts of manslaughter. Crumbley’s trial is set to begin on March 5.

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GREENSBURG, Pa. – Lauren and Jacob Maloberti, charged with the death of their 5-year-old adopted son, appeared in today. Her for a motion hearing and pre-trial conference, him for a pre-trial conference.

At 9:37 a.m. Lauren was brought into courtroom 6 of the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Jacob followed 5 minutes later. At first appearance, she comes out shackled, smiling, and waving. Her long, reddish pink hair draping down her back. After being taken to her seat, she continues to smile, act flirty, and mouth “I love you” to her family in the galley. He comes out, shackled and subdued. He appears quiet, closed, and timid.

The cases of The Commonwealth vs. Lauren Maloberti and Jacob Maloberti are called together at 9:45. Defense counsel of Lauren Maloberti begins with a motion to compel discovery, claiming the commonwealth has yet to hand over the additional medical files needed for their expert to complete his report. The state acknowledges the need to get together the pediatric medical records of Landon Maloberti, the alleged victim, and phone records.

After some back and forth, Judge Mears agrees that the “commonwealth has to use due diligence at all times” but does not “see a need for a discovery schedule.” Jacob’s defense counsel agrees with the judge the same goes for her client as well, and a thirty-day continuance is granted. The defendants are led out of the courtroom and that concludes today’s hearing.

To read more on the Maloberti case:

Parents Charged in Murder of Five-Year-Old Adoptive Son – (truthanddeliberation.com)

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. – In the files of case # 20CR1358, Colorado vs. Letecia Stauch, are 2 letters written 6 months apart. Both letters addressed to Judge Gregory Werner. The first letter written approximately 5 months after the arrest of Stauch. The other written almost a year after the arrest. Below are those letters, in full.

Letter #1: August 12, 2020

Letter #2: February 21, 2021

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Co – “Al Stauch, Gannon’s father, capital F-a-t-h-e-r” is how the victim impact statement began after all others had their say. He then read a few words from his new wife, Melissa, before reading a poem. The poem is titled Invictus and written by William Ernest Henley. It’s the same poem he quoted at Gannon’s memorial in Colorado Springs in August 2020. Below is those words Gannon’s Father shared “to say [he] alone controls [his] actions and reactions.”

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,   
  Black as the Pit from pole to pole,   
I thank whatever gods may be   
  For my unconquerable soul.   

In the fell clutch of circumstance 
  I have not winced nor cried aloud.   
Under the bludgeonings of chance   
  My head is bloody, but unbowed.   

Beyond this place of wrath and tears   
  Looms but the Horror of the shade, 
And yet the menace of the years   
  Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.   

It matters not how strait the gate,   
  How charged with punishments the scroll,   
I am the master of my fate:
  I am the captain of my soul.

A Father’s Words to the Court

“Gannon was born severely premature and barely filled my two hands the first time I held him. At the end of his life, after his bad was cremated into a pile of ashes he was ultimately no bigger than the first time I held him.” This is the image Gannon’s Father begins his speech with, that of an 11-year-old boy being reduced to nothing more than a tiny pile of ash.

For those who followed the trial, they are aware that the prosecution began their case in chief with 2 days of testimony from Stauch. Trial watchers heard the steps taken by Stauch from the moment he learned of Gannon’s disappearance. Watchers heard hours of recorded phone calls between Stauch and his son’s murderer.

This testimony not only opened the trial with high emotions, it went a long way to show not only the lengths a father will got to bring home his son, but to also ease any doubt of Stauch’s innocence in the death of his son anyone may have been harboring. Stauch addressed these doubts in open court. “I’ve been questioned, compared to my abusive father, and ridiculed for my approach to finding Gannon,” Stauch said. “I hope now that the world has seen that I was assigned the most arduous task of finding Gannon in the only place possible for him to have been, in the mind of a killer. Were my efforts fruitful? I believe so. But, from the moment I did not see the Volkswagon Tiguan at French Elementary on that Tuesday evening, a clear direction for finding Gannon pointed directly and precisely at [Letecia]…It was only by the grace of God that Gannon’s precious body was finally found.”

Just feet from the woman Stauch once married, the woman who murdered his son, what words does he have from her. Stauch spoke of Gannon’s last words and asks what they were. Stauch spoke of the woman she once was, a “beautiful, extremely intelligent woman.” He addressed the woman she became, a “murderous, narcissistic, and arrogantly flippant human being.” But it’s the simple question of a parent that stands out. “Why couldn’t you just let him be a momma’s boy? That’s all he wanted to be. He just loved his momma.”

A Father’s Words to His Son

Before he finished addressing the court, Stauch took a moment to address Gannon. “Gannon,” he said through tears, “I never in my wildest dream ever thought you’d be in danger buddy, o I would not have left you at home with what turned out to be your murderer and the last person to ever see you on this earth.”

Directly to the court, Gannon’s Father directs his final words, “From a proud and broken father, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”

More From the Sentencing of Letecia Stauch

The Judge Gets the Final Word: The Sentencing of Letecia Stauch

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. – After 20 days of trial and approximately 8 hours of deliberations, the jury in the trial of Letecia Stauch trial came back with a verdict. Stauch was found guilty on all 4 counts, the most serious being first-degree murder and murder of a child under 12 by a person in a position of trust.

Both the prosecution and defense in agreeance, it was decided sentencing would be immediate. Judge Werner excused himself for a half hour to address the jury before returning to the courtroom where we heard victim impact statements. Victim statements were followed by the final words before sentencing was handed down. Those words belonged to a visually emotional Judge Gregory R. Werner.

The Betrayal

“Ms. Stauch, you betrayed the person you loved enough to marry. You told your husband lies and took away someone he loved. You took away every day that Mr. Stauch or Ms. Hubbard could have had with their son. When you take a life, regardless of how you do that, you forever alter the future. Neither Mr. Stauch or Ms. Bullard will ever see their son graduate from high school, go through the joy and the pain of that first love, or get married. They will never know what impact their son would have had on the world had he lived to become an adult. And, had Gannon’s body not been found they never would have known what happened to Gannon.”

The Motive

As Werner continued, he hit the different aspects of Stauch’s case. A key point in the defense’s closing was the lack of motive. In a trial, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove motive, but most people have come to expect one. “Claiming a lack of motive is a common defense tactic, and it can be a sound strategy” Werner said. “The truth is, however, that it only takes a moment to make a bad decision that results in disastrous consequences. An 11-year-old boy with burns who feels that he’s not being take care of…it is not hard to imagine Gannon saying something like, ‘You’re not my mom. I want my mom. I want my dad.’ And that would be enough to make you really angry, but anger is not an excuse.”

Anger is a common reason behind many acts of violence. So is jealousy, hatred and resentment. This case seems to have all of the above. Werner expressed this when he said to Stauch, “It’s clear that you hated and was jealous of Landon Bullard. You saw yourself as a better mother than she was.  It’s clear you had some resentment from being left with Mr. Stauch’s children…It’s clear you felt trapped. You wanted out…I can imagine you saw your whole future consisting of taking care of Mr. Stauch’s children and that is not the future you wanted. You took all of that out on Gannon.”

The Lies

Then there are the lies. There were too many to count. Stauch told “lie upon lie, but [she] slipped up at various points and let kernels of truth escape” and that, according to Werner, played a big part in her getting caught. But what did all of those lies have in common? In all of the versions of the truth she told, she was “always the victim…in all of them, [she] could claim it wasn’t [her] fault.”

The Sentence

After Werner put into words what so many were thinking, the time came to address the final piece of the trial process, sentencing. “One of the purposes is to impose an appropriate sentence for the criminal conduct that occurred. Another purpose is to punish an offender by imposing a sentence that take into account the seriousness of the offense. Yet another purpose of sentencing is to prevent crime and promote respect for the law.”

“This is not the first murder case that has come before me,” Werner says, directing his words to Stauch. “This is not the first case I’ve presided over which involves harm to a child…I have had a number of cases which have demonstrated one person’s capacity for cruelty. I can say, without hesitation, that the facts of this case are the most horrific I have ever seen. You’re conduct in this case deserves the maximum punishment that I can impose under Colorado law.”

With those closing words, Werner sentenced Stauch to 2 life sentences without the possibility of parole for the charges of first-degree murder and murder of a child under 12 by a person of trust. In addition, she received 12 years for the charge of tampering with a deceased human body and 18 months for tampering with physical evidence.

More Articles on the Trial of Colorado vs. Letecia Stauch

Trial to Start for Letecia Stauch, Woman Charged with Killing Her Stepson

State’s Exhibit #35, The Phone Call

Father of Murdered Child Testifies

Internet Searches Give Jury A Look into Defendant’s State of Mind

The Defense’s Case, A Win for The State?

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NAMPA, Idaho – Originally scheduled for April 13, 2023, the preliminary hearing for Raul Cuevas has been continued. The hearing is rescheduled for May 25, 2023, at 8:30 a.m.

Cuevas is charged with Murder I in the death of Jesus Urrutia on March 29, 2023. Urrutia allegedly murder Cuevas’s mother, Michelle Luna, the night prior.

To learn more about the case of State of Idaho vs. Raul Alexander Cuevas:

Man Charged with Murder of Mother’s Killer

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. –  After the state’s 17-day presentation of their case in chief, the defense got their chance to present witnesses. The list of witnesses consisted of two experts, Drs. Ronda Niederhauser and Dorothy Lewis.

Defense Witness #1: Dr. Ronda Niederhauser

The first to take the stand was Dr. Niederhauser. The testimony of Niederhauser was short and straight forward. Niederhauser met with Letecia Stauch twice, December 5 and 13, 2019. The first visit was prompted during an appointment between Stauch and her primary care physician. Stauch was having stress and anxiety related to harassment at her current job. Stauch was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and recommended that she get a prescription for hydroxyzine to help with sleep and anxiety, and see a therapist.

During the follow-up appointment with Niederhauser, it was discussed that Stauch decided to quit her current job for another, and Niederhauser reported that the symptoms of anxiety had begun to lessen. Niederhauser provided a letter to Stauch’s employer to relieve her of her contract on medical grounds. There were no more appointments between Niederhauser and Stauch.

The state went further into Stauch’s symptoms and Niederhauser’s impressions of her mental state during the cross-examination. Stauch self-reported trouble sleeping and moderate anxiety but denied suicidal or homicidal ideation and Niederhauser had no concerns that she was a danger either to herself or others. Stauch was also found to not have any signs of severe mental disorders.

Defense Witness #2: Dr. Dorothy Lewis

After a delay in proceedings by the tardiness of Dr. Lewis, the defense presented their second witness. Lewis interviewed Stauch for a total of 14 hours in November 2022. Stauch’s defense attorney, Josh Tolini, was in the room at the time of the interviews. Defense entered into evidence the videos of the interviews for the jury to view but did not present them in the court room.

Defense begins by having Lewis define dissociative identity disorder (“D.I.D.”). Lewis sees D.I.D. as a type of “self-hypnosis” caused by early, ongoing physical or sexual abuse that can no longer be coped with. The alter, according to Lewis, “takes on characteristics of the abuser.” During cross-examination, Lewis is asked whether Stauch turned into her alleged abuser, James. Lewis responds with the same question. No altar named James is ever revealed. Lewis does, however, speak of an altar named Maria she describes as “harsh, angry, [and] hurtful.”

Testimony moves to the events leading up to the death of the victim, Gannon Stauch. On this topic, Lewis is unclear about what Stauch told her versus what she read. Lewis testifies to Stauch telling “numerous” and “mindless” stories which Lewis cannot think straight. “She makes up the darndest stories,” Lewis says, “I don’t think she knows what happened.” Claiming that at the time Stauch tells the stories Stauch doesn’t believe them.

Lewis found that Stauch has “many of the signs, symptoms, and behaviors of dissociative identity disorder” but does not give specifics. “About the time Gannon was killed, she was psychotic at the time…I don’t think she knew what she was doing.”

Dr. Lewis, The Cross-Examination

After defense’s direct of Lewis, she was cross-examined by Prosecutor Dave Young. The 2-day cross-examination opens with questioning Lewis on whether she looked at the Colorado statute regarding sanity before rendering an opinion. Lewis responds, “I did but I’d have to refresh myself” and is unable to give the Colorado law she used to render her opinion, asking Young to read her the law before she can say.

The next topic of concern is the EEG Lewis claims would have helped with her more fully render her opinion. “Do you recall being asked to testify why you wanted and EEG done,” asked Young. To which Lewis responded, “I do not know what you’re talking about…It was my understanding that the court had refused the funding.” The request for an EEG and MRI was withdrawn by defense on October 3, 2022 after receiving an e-mail, introduced by prosecution, from Lewis giving them the go ahead to withdraw the request.

The first time Lewis spoke with Tolini was in February 2022, after which Stauch changed her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Lewis testified to assuming when she recommended this change of plea. She had not reviewed anything on the case at the time she made the recommendation.

Lewis claims to insist that there have been evidence pointing to D.I.D. long before she comes on the case. This evidence in large part comes from those who know the subject to be evaluated as they can testify to changes. Lewis did not speak to any family of friends of Stauch. Lewis “asked the attorney with who [she] could speak, and [she] was not put in touch with any of these people, so [she] didn’t use them.”

“Why didn’t you refuse to testify because you didn’t have done what you wanted to have done,” Young asks. To which, Lewis responds, “I don’t know. I probably should have.”

“Did the thought ever cross your mind that [Stauch] could be faking it,” Young asks. “No, it did not occur to me,” Lewis responds.

The State Questions Lewis on The Day Gannon Died

The answers to questions about the day Gannon was killed did not have solid answers. Stauch texted her boss during the early morning of January 27, 2020, claiming that her stepfather was killed crossing the road and she wouldn’t be able to work. Stauch’s stepfather was killed in 2004. To this, Lewis says Stauch “clearly was not thinking clearly or accurately. It’s one of those excuses a person of her intellect would not be expected to volunteer. You would almost say there’s a stupidity about it but she isn’t stupid.”

“Could it be she just didn’t want to go to work that day,” Young asks.

“Unlikely, but possibly,” Lewis responds.

Stauch called into Gannon’s school that same morning informing them he would not be in that day. “Nothing psychotic about that,” asks Young.

“At the time I read that, and became aware of it, I was puzzled because I thought, gee, he must have been dead then…it really did not make sense to me,” Lewis responds. “Gannon couldn’t go to school, but I learned, subsequently, that he is reportedly dead a lot later than that so it’s a puzzle why she called in to say he couldn’t come in.”

Young then digs deeper into Lewis’s thought on Stauch’s mental state on this day, asking Lewis if Stauch has the capacity to know right from wrong. “I don’t know,” Lewis says. “That’s a leap if you can’t talk to the person. I don’t know.”

I Don’t Know, and I Can’t Say

Is she legally insane at the time,” Young asks.

“I don’t know. I would have to know a whole lot more,” Lewis responds.

“If you don’t know a lot more, can you come in here and say that she was legally insane at the time she went to Petco?”

“I can’t say, because I don’t know enough about it.”

“Did she have the capacity to know right from wrong?”

“I don’t know that.”

“Based on the stab wounds alone, did the person doing that have the capacity to form the intent to kill?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“The fact that she gets a gun. Does that tell you she had the capacity to form the intent to kill?”

“I don’t know.”

But Did She Know Right from Wrong?

“That she moved the body from the storage room to the Tiguan to the airport. Does that show that she had the capacity to know right from wrong?”

“I don’t feel qualified to conclude that. She certainly had the capacity to move it from one place to another, for one reason or another, and certainly seemed to be keeping it a secret of some sort…She knows she could be in great trouble if this is not hidden.”

“Did she have the capacity to wash away the incriminating evidence by washing the Tiguan?”

“Yes.”

“She goes back to the area in Palmer Lake where the body is. Is that evidence she knows right from wrong?”

“In my opinion, that’s evidence of stupidity.”

The Defense Gets Another Chance with Lewis

At the conclusion of Young’s 2 days of questions and videos of the interviews between Lewis and Stauch, and Stauch’s attorney, Josh Tolini, the defense has the opportunity to question Lewis again. Re-direct is kept short.

In regards to the EEG and the e-mail of Lewis telling defense to withdraw the request, Lewis explains “It was not something I was going to get hung up on at that point in time.”

Is there a rational explanation, other than a psychotic episode or any type of motive? Lewis is “unaware of any motive that makes sense.”

Before sitting down, Tolini gives Lewis the chance to sum up her thoughts. “What you call it,” Lewis says, “is so much less important than what you understand about it…signs, symptoms, behaviors…very odd relationships…I don’t care what you call it…the person is living a psychotic life.”

Who Benefited More?

Niederhouser’s testimony was straight forward and spoke of Stauch having no signs of severe or debilitating mental illness in the defendant and of the two days Lewis was on the stand, the majority of the evidence presented, and questions directed to her were from the state. Lewis seemed to get lost often and go into word salad. She is uncertain of many facts of the case, and unable to give solid answers to the state’s questions. Defense got in a few good questions, with decent answers. Was it enough? Did the testimony of the 2 doctors help the defense or the state?

To learn more about Colorado vs. Letecia Stauch:

Trial to Start for Letecia Stauch, Woman Charged with Killing Her Stepson

Father of Murdered Child Testifies

State’s Exhibit #35, The Phone Call

Internet Searches Give Jury A Look into Defendant’s State of Mind

About Post Author

jphiggs

joe@make-n-mod.com

https://truthanddeliberation.com

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