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Another trial delay for Letecia Stauch, accused of killing 11-year-old stepson

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Lorson Ranch stepmother accused of brutally murdering her fifth-grade stepson needs more time for medical professionals to complete a mental health evaluation, causing another delay in her trial from the 2020 killing.

Evaluators found Letecia Stauch competent to stand trial twice, which means medical professionals believe she is aware of what's going on in trial and capable of assisting her attorneys with her defense.

However, her attorneys are now alleging that she was not capable of understanding what was going on at the time of the murder. Stauch entered a plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity" in February of 2022.

In order to move forward with that plea, medical professionals need to complete an evaluation at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP).

In court Thursday, Stauch's attorneys communicated to Judge Gregory Werner that those evaluators need more time to complete their report, possibly through May. Stauch's court-appointed defense counsel, Josh Tolini, told Judge Werner that he's planning to go to South Carolina next week to get access to some records for her evaluation. It appears the medical professionals want to complete a follow-up interview with Stauch after they receive access to those records.

Stauch did not appear in the courtroom Thursday, with her attorneys filing a motion to keep her at the jail during the hearing. The judge granted the motion. Stauch has refused to be transported in the past, prompting the judge to tell her that she needs to give the court several days of notice if she doesn't want to be present for her hearings. Without that heads up, a judge will order deputies to physically escort her to the courthouse for her appearances.

Stauch's trial was scheduled to begin at the end of March 2022, but her new plea caused another significant delay in the trial. If evaluators at CMHIP find that they believe she was "sane" at the time of the murder, Stauch's attorneys can bring in their own expert to create a report.

At the hearing where her attorneys entered the "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea, they indicated that they have an out-of-state expert who has agreed to evaluate Stauch and that expert said there is a "high likelihood of psychosis."

Gannon's family is not new to delays in this trial. COVID-19 caused a fair amount of delays at the beginning of the process. Stauch also asked to act in her own defense in February of 2021. Following that decision, she changed her mind and asked a judge for new counsel. Gannon's family has waited since January of 2020 for justice in his case.

Stauch's preliminary hearing in September of 2021 revealed that Gannon went through significant trauma before he died. He was found in a suitcase under a bridge in Florida in March of 2020. He was severely decomposed, fully clothed, wrapped in blankets, and in the fetal position. Law enforcement from Florida told a judge last fall that Gannon had a fractured skull, a gunshot wound in his jaw, sharp force injuries in his chest and back, defensive wounds to his hands, and cuts on his arms and hands.

Stauch's next court appearance is scheduled for June 9, 2022, to give evaluators enough time to complete their reports.

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Sydnee Scofield

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