Second evaluation finds Letecia Stauch competent to stand trial for murder of stepson

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) -- Letecia Stauch, the woman accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch, was found competent to stand trial Tuesday.

On Jan. 27, 2020, Stauch called the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and reported Gannon left their home near Colorado Springs and never returned. Police arrested Stauch March 2 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They found Gannon's body in Pace, Florida on March 18.

Since March, Letecia Stauch has been held in the El Paso County Jail. In September, state psychiatrists told the court Stauch is competent enough to stand trial but her attorneys asked for a second opinion. A judge scheduled Stauch's preliminary hearing for March 11-12.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that in the two-day preliminary hearing for March 11 and 12, prosecutors will lay out the evidence against Letecia Stauch. The judge must decide if there's enough evidence to support the charges against her, including first-degree murder. The judge will also decide at the conclusion of the March hearing if Stauch will be eligible for bond.

Stauch appeared Tuesday via videolink from the El Paso County jail.