Unraveling the Gannon Stauch Case | A Forensic Odyssey

Gannon Stauch, an 11-year-old boy from Colorado, was found dead nearly two months after he was reported missing by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch. Gannon was initially reported as a runaway, but was later classified as a missing/endangered person. Surveillance footage revealed Letecia leaving with Gannon and returning without him, raising suspicions, and then Gannon's body was found in Florida. His stepmother now faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

In this episode of Body Bags, hosts Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the timeline of the case, from Gannon's disappearance in Colorado Springs to the discovery of his body in a suitcase in Florida, the search warrants and investigation process in Gannon's bedroom, the challenges faced by the medical examiner when examining the body, and determining the cause of death.

 

Time-codes:

00:00 - Introduction.

01:40 - Overview of Letitia Stauch's ongoing trial.

03:55 - Timeline of Gannon's disappearance and investigation.

05:25 - Discovery of Gannon's body in Florida.

08:00- Difficulty in determining postmortem interval and medical examiner's ability to ascertain information.

10:10- Blood detection methods at crime scenes and investigating scenes with cleansers used.

14:20 - Role of forensic pathologists in death investigations and inspecting a child's bedroom for foul play.

17:15 - Search warrant limitations in a residence and police walkthrough.

19:35 - Blood evidence found in Gannon's bedroom and challenges faced by the medical examiner.

21:50 - Establishing identification and cause of death in Gannon's case.

24:10 - Shared jurisdiction and forensic pathologist's expertise in tropical environments.

27:40 - Establishing a timeline of Gannon's death and managing emotions during trial testimonies.

31:00 - Forensic pathologist's clinical and objective testimony and Gannon's injuries.

33:30 - Presentation of Gannon's injuries in court and quantifying drug levels in decomposed bodies.

34:25 - Testing for substances in decomposed bodies, including maggots.

35:45 - Medication found in Gannon's system and detailing his injuries.

37:30 - Differentiating between lacerations and sharp force injuries and interpreting wounds on decomposed bodies.

39:20 - Importance of medical examiner's experience.

39:35 - Outro.

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