Letecia Stauch murder trial Day 3 in El Paso County

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The trial of Letecia Stauch, the El Paso County woman accused of murdering her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon, finished its third day Wednesday.

Grim testimony came in the afternoon from Macon Ponder, a Florida Department of Transportation bridge inspector who found Gannnon's body, and Jason Yoder, a major crimes detective with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office -- an agency that covers two counties of the same name at the Alabama-Florida state line.

Ponder said that he and a co-worker were conducting a regular inspection of the Escambia River Bridge, just north of Pensacola, Florida, when they found a suitcase near a pillar under the bridge.

"We didn't open it immediately," he explained. "We came back to it an hour or two later. It was pure curiosity (for us). It was very heavy, so we thought it was waterlogged. I opened it and the smell was overpowering. I saw two little feet (covered by) two football socks, and I immediately knew it was a body. I turned away. My co-worker is a volunteer firefighter, and he's more familiar with a scene like that. I was thankful he was there."

Macon said that Gannon's body was wrapped in several blankets and a pillow in the suitcase; the Stauch family turned away, painfully, as a photo of Gannon's body was shown to the jury.

The nearby Santa Rosa County Sheriff's office initially responded to the scene, and Yoder was present, as well.

"I looked on missing children list sand found Gannon's flyer bearing some resemblance to the body found," he testified. "Dental features stuck out the most I attended autopsy next day, then contacted Colorado authorities for positive identification."

Yoder said that he also found two bullet fragments in the suitcase.

Next on the stand were two members of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office: A major crimes detective who found brushes and scissors in the dishwasher -- with one brush having carpet and hair fibers -- and a deputy who was the first to respond to the missing report on Gannon.

Earlier Wednesday, Al Stauch -- Gannon's father -- finished two days of testifying about phone conversations with Letecia, recorded by the FBI.

Al had left town for a military-related training two days before his son disappeared, and said he became suspicious of how Letecia treated Gannon's sister in the day the boy was reported missing.

"She didn't allow (the sister) back in the house when she got home from school," he said. "I don't know any reason why she wouldn't have allowed her back into the house. I don't know. Something going on that she didn't want (the sister) to see. If there was nothing going on in that house, why could she not come in the house that day when she got home from school?"

Al defended Letecia's mental state several times when questioned by prosecutors.

"I wouldn't have gone on that trip," he said. "I did have the flexibility to cancel my training and move it to another time, if need be. I would not have left the house and left the kids there if I'd had any concerns, or if she showed signs of a mental crack approaching."

However, on cross-examination by the defense, Al admitted that he had accompanied Letecia to Fort Carson at one point to see a mental health professional.

"But I didn't go in with her, I just stayed in the waiting room," he said.

Al also admitted that Letecia had quit eight jobs in three years, and that the professional had advised her to quit a job because of anxiety.

He also admitted during cross-examination that he made several comments to investigators, such as: "I thought she was just a person of interest at first, then I felt it was highly likely she was involved.  I sit back and remember it. Play it in my head over and over again. I was going crazy. Sometimes, living with her was like being on a rollercoaster. Sometimes, she wanted to be with the kids. Sometimes, she left the kids to fend for themselves."

During the phone conversations that were heard in court, Letecia cried and rambled about Gannon's disappearance -- first saying that she didn't know where he was, then blaming it on Gannon being hurt after falling off his father's bicycle and a man who she said took Gannon under the premise of helping him.

"I wasn't trying to see what information the FBI could get out of her," Al insisted. "I was just trying to find my son."

Letecia sat with her back to people attending the trial Wednesday; Al referred to her not by her name or as his ex-wife, but by "the defendant."

During opening statements Monday afternoon, the defense admitted Letecia did commit the crime - just that she had "no idea" what she was doing.

RELATED: Defense admits Letecia Stauch killed her stepson, but had ‘no idea’ what she was doing

Gannon Stauch was first reported missing from his Lorson Ranch home on Jan. 27, 2020. His stepmother was arrested in early March 2020 for his death. Later that month, on March 17, 2020, his body was found stuffed in a suitcase under a bridge in Florida. According to the autopsy, he had been shot, stabbed, and had a skull fracture.

4th Judicial District Attorney Michael J. Allen began the prosecution Monday by saying the defense will attempt to prove that Stauch is insane. However, his team claims Stauch was able to tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the alleged crime.

Tuesday, Gannon's father, Al Stauch provided more emotional testimony.

RELATED: Father of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, whose stepmom admitted to killing him, testifies

The trial is expected to last at least six weeks; the trial will stop Thursday and resume Friday.