Jury deliberation in Letecia Stauch murder trial to continue Monday

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Jury deliberation in the murder trial for the El Paso County stepmother accused of killing her young stepson will continue Monday, May 8.

Letecia Stauch is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, stuffing his body into a suitcase, and dumping him under a bridge in Florida.

The prosecution and defense provided closing arguments Friday.

The prosecution emphasized that the five-week trial had been about Stauch and her mental state, rather than Gannon.

"This is what the trial should be about," said Prosecutor Dave Young, while holding a picture of Gannon.

Young used Gannon's autopsy and injuries — 18 stab wounds, four blunt force traumas to the head, and a gunshot to the jaw — to show Stauch knew what she was doing and "didn't stop" despite Gannon fighting her off.

First-degree murder requires a suspect to "knowingly" kill "after deliberation" and "with intent," according to Colorado state law. Young points to Stauch's actions after Gannon's death as proof that Stauch knew what she was doing when she allegedly killed the 11-year-old and hid his body.

During the prosecution's closing argument, Young tried to poke holes in the defense's insanity plea, stating Stauch knew what she was doing and alleging that her dissociative identity disorder (DID) symptoms weren't brought up until after Stauch met with psychiatrist Dr. Dorothy Lewis, the defense's expert witness.

Prosecutor Dave Young stated, "There is only one right verdict in this case and that's guilty for all charges."

During the defense's closing arguments, they alleged Stauch had a "psychotic break" and that she had a "loving relationship" with the children up to that point. They use the brutal attack against Gannon as proof a sane person would never use that much force to kill an 11-year-old.

"The brutality of the attack is the strongest evidence of a psychotic break," said Defense Attorney Josh Tolini.

They also referred back to Lewis' testimony, who claimed Stauch was "one of the most mentally ill people she ever worked with," reaffirming the alleged claim that Stauch has DID.

Tolini claims Stauch's changing stories and lies about what happened are evidence of DID and her dissociating herself from the killing.

The defense also brought up Stauch's alleged childhood abuse, stating she had to "protect herself" with knives during her childhood and it's possibly connected to stabbing Gannon.

Earlier in the trial, the defense admitted that Stauch did kill Gannon - just that she had "no idea" what she was doing.

The prosecution was allowed a chance for rebuttal, where 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen reiterated Stauch planned the attack and knew what she was doing. He said no other doctor found DID symptoms with Stauch, except the defense's expert witness Dr. Lewis.

He reminded the jurors that all the family members and friends of Stauch that took the witness stand said she could distinguish right from wrong and that they never noticed any psychotic behavior from her.

Allen said the brutal attack didn't come from a psychotic break but from Stauch's hatred for Gannon.

"Gannon deserved protection, to live and to grow up and have his own family," Allen said. "She took it all away.”

The jury began deliberation just after 1 p.m. Friday. At 5:18 p.m., the State's Court Administrator's Office announced the jury had left for the weekend. Deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.