Judge to decide Friday whether Letecia Stauch is ready for trial

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs stepmother who is accused of murdering her 11-year-old stepson will be back in court on Friday morning.

Last week, Judge Gregory Werner granted Letecia Stauch's request to represent herself at her upcoming murder trial, but warned her how much work she would have ahead of her. By Friday, Stauch will have had roughly a week to receive and comb through 30,000 pages of evidence ahead of her trial. Friday's court appearance will give the judge the opportunity to find out how much Stauch has been able to prepare.

Based on Friday's hearing, Judge Werner will decide whether both parties will be ready for preliminary hearings that are scheduled to begin on March 11. If so, Stauch will appear for a Proof Evident, Presumption Great hearing.

During the Proof Evident, Presumption Great Hearing, the District Attorney's office will likely put witnesses on the stand to show that the proof is evident and the presumption is great that Stauch will be convicted. It also gives Stauch an opportunity to question and learn more about those witnesses and what they're likely to say at trial. There's also a chance that Stauch could be granted a bond at this hearing.

During last week's Arguello Advisement, when Stauch asked to represent herself, she also tried to waive the Proof Evident, Presumption Great hearing because she said she didn't feel she would ever be granted bond. The judge and legal counsel in the room were all unsure if a defendant could even waive a Proof Evident, Presumption Great hearing because in their experience, no one had ever tried before.

"I shudder to think how someone who's not trained in the law and has no experience would have handled something like that that none of us ever saw coming," Judge Werner said, after excusing Stauch to speak with her then-legal counsel to try and look up whether she was even allowed to waive that hearing.

When we spoke to legal expert Jeremy Loew about her trying to waive that hearing, he said it was a red flag about her legal knowledge.

"She has no clue what she's doing," Loew said, pointing out that this hearing can be useful for defendants regardless of whether they are granted bond. "She is completely lost."

Stauch will appear in court on Friday, March 5th at 8:30 a.m. for her status conference. KRDO will be following the hearing and bring you updates as they happen.