Gannon’s parents speak after stepmother arrested for murder

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Gannon Stauch's biological mother and father were both at a press conference Monday trying their best to hold it together after Gannon's stepmother was arrested for allegedly murdering their son.

"I never thought I’d be standing here. This is a nightmare," said Landen Hiott, Gannon's birth mother.

Hiott struggled through tears to speak in honor of her son, to make sure his spirit lives on.

"I really am not in the correct mindset to be even standing up here, but if I had to say one thing: when he said Gannon is no longer with us, I’d have to say Gannon is with us," she said to the crowd.

Hiott then addressed her son’s alleged murderer, Letecia Stauch.

"This person, the stepmom, that I even trusted, she will pay 100% for this heinous thing she did," she said.

While Gannon's father, Albert Stauch, didn’t talk at the podium, he did give a statement for officials to read. It was one that was difficult for public information officer Jackie Kirby to get through.

"The person who committed this heinous horrible crime is the one that I gave more to than anyone else on this planet, and that is a burden I will carry with me for a very long time," said Stauch in his statement.

Above all, Hiott and Stauch thanked everyone following the case who made space in their hearts for their fun-loving 11-year-old boy.

“After the stories of people from all over the world, he’s not only my hero now, he’s the world’s hero,” said Hiott.