LIFE SENTENCE

Stepmom Who Used Insanity Defense Convicted of Murdering 11-Year-Old Boy

Letecia Stauch’s attorneys insisted she was not guilty by reason of insanity, arguing “she was not in her right mind when she did it.”

A Colorado Springs woman was found guilty of brutally killing her 11-year-old stepson by a jury on Monday, bringing to a close a five-week trial during which her attorneys insisted she was “not in her right mind when she did it.” Letecia Stauch, 39, was hit with charges of first-degree murder and tampering in the death of Gannon Stauch, who was murdered in Jan. 2020. The 11-year-old’s body was found weeks later, stuffed in a suitcase under a bridge near Pensacola, Florida. He has been shot, stabbed 18 times, and suffered a skull fracture. During closing arguments on Friday, a lawyer for Stauch reiterated that she was not guilty by reason of insanity, saying the only explanation that “made sense” was that Stauch had “a psychotic break.” But El Paso County District Attorney Mike Allen, who prosecuted the case, argued simply that Stauch’s “freaking out” was not true psychosis, but a calculated performance. “You don’t have to prove motive, but we did anyway,” he said. “This defendant hated Gannon.” Staunch will be sentenced to life in prison on the conviction.