Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 **ARREST** #46

[retrometro]

I'm still stuck on why LS chose the Florida site to begin with. It just seems like a completely random location. Part of me wonders if she had a specific plan to dispose of the body in SC, realized en-route that her plan was too risky, and then decided to ditch it at the first opportunity. Or maybe she thought she was being tailed? Whatever her motivation was, it doesn't feel to me like she put too much thought or advance planning into that site.

 

[kkdj]

Didn’t she apply for a job as a plane stewardess? Wasn’t that out of Florida?
Am I remembering that correctly? if not I’ll delete if in time to.

 

[Lambseatoats]

JMO
I agree and I believe she was heading South on 90 on this map which is the lane on the left side of the screen (her right lane going south) and she would be going downward South on the map. Not sure if others will be seeing this map as close up as I have it blown up.

The way I see it, she was heading south (down) in that left side of screen lane and if you notice when zooming out, she passes over the River first, so if she kept going to where the South and Northbound lanes get real close together, then there is hard ground between the two parts of the same highway 90.

When we saw LE at the scene, it is just like that where the two opposing lanes are very close together and the higher elevated lane is the one on left side of screen going South (down) if driving it. The description from news articles is " around U.S. 90 and the Escambia River Bridge in Pace", so this map matches up to that and looks just like the pictures we saw of LE vehicles when they found the suitcase.

I think she saw the water in the river first when she crossed over the river and she thought because the road is still elevated that she thought it was all still water below because it was dark out when she dumped the suitcase.

Hope this shows up like I am seeing it. You can zoom in and out if it doesnt show. The area where she dumped the suitcase is just south of the "Swamphouse Boat Ramp" which is labeled on this map.

ETA - If you zoom in real close with Satelite view you will even see the large rocks and boulders between the north and southbound lanes.

Google Maps

This is an excellent map. However, the drop site was across the river to the north. Not near the Swamphouse Boat ramp. If you look at 90 going north across the river, it is just past the first '90' marker on the map. There is nothing there. The higher bridge is the one traveling north. I believe she went over the crest, pulled to the left side, and dropped him over the side. If it was night, she wouldn't have been able to see anything beneath the bridge. You can see from your map how wide and spread out this connection of Escambia River is to Escambia Bay. From the height of the bridge, it looks mostly like water far and wide. Not being familiar with the area, she wouldn't know there was no water there. It almost proves that she dropped him in the cover of darkness. MOO

 

[Kittybunny]

Hi guys. I’ve lurked for a long time, finally feel the need to comment on this insane case. I first heard of this case on a different site that had posted the Cousin It video. The narcissism is strong in this one.

One of you said something a ways back that nails it: your narc ex-husband had once told you “this is my world, you only exist in it.” This is TS’s world as well, and means that anyone in it can be used to her best interest.

This is what makes me wonder if her “best” defence (if she’s permitted to present it) is to throw HH under the bus and say HH killed him and every act and lie committed by TS was done to protect her child. Not saying it would work, but it could happen.

It reminds me of a case presented on Forensic Files once. I don’t remember the names, but a woman poisoned her husband with antifreeze, and as they investigated they exhumed her previous husband to find that he also had been killed by antifreeze. Once she knew they were closing in, she drugged her teenage daughter in an attempt to set it up as a suicide including a typed “suicide note” supposedly from the teen admitting both murders (“I know they think you did it, Mommy, but I did it”-horrible crap like that.)

One of the things that caught the wife is that she is an idiot who thought “antifreeze” was actually pronounced “anti-free” and that’s how she said it in an interview and also wrote in the suicide note. (The daughter survived, the mom was convicted).

TS reminds me of that woman.

Hi there! Welcome aboard, and great first post!

I totally remember that case - the woman was so crazy and so evil. You're absolutely right that she and TS are cut from the same amoral sociopathic cloth. I would not at all be surprised if at some point "HH Did It" doesn't come up in her Infinite Magic 8-Ball of T'Splanations!

Unfortunately, her own statements, words, and interviews will damn her because none of her stories are consistent with each other. The prosecutors would destroy her on the stand. Not that that would stop her from still getting up there and throwing out her vomit of lies.

 

[Lambseatoats]

Yet the suitcase remained concealed until March 17. Why would it not have been visible?

Because it was beneath a bridge in an area of no foot traffic. There is no cause to go there unless you are working on some assignment - like the road crew. It would not be visible from the vessels on the river - too far away from the bank. The road moves too fast to stop easily, the walls along the side of the bridge block the view beneath it. I rarely see bicyclists or walking people along the side. The traffic moves very fast right there - I stopped to measure the guardrail and feared for my life. It was perfectly hidden from passerby's.

 

[watergirl62]

Didn’t she apply for a job as a plane stewardess? Wasn’t that out of Florida?
Am I remembering that correctly? if not I’ll delete if in time to.

from Heavy.com
In January 2020, Stauch posted on a Linkedin ad for Frontier Airlines saying she had applied for flight attendant jobs based out of Denver and Miami. That post was made about three weeks before Gannon Stauch went missing.

 

[GordianKnot]

A few other things:

IMO,

If GS had already bled significantly in the bedroom before their afternoon excursion in the truck, I think she would have bought the vinegar and baking sofa during that time rather than texting HH later for it;

One of the best ways to move a heavy item up/down carpeted stairs is if it’s in or on cardboard;

The board could have been used as a ramp to get the box/suitcase into the VW.

Also FWIW a twin mattress is 39x75 and a full is 54x75. Not sure what GS slept on. A platform bed (no box spring) base would be similar to those measurements.

(I worked in furniture/mattress industries for years)

BBM:

Maybe. Maybe not, though.

I don't think TS texting HH to pick up those items moves the needle one way or the other with regard to when the bedroom assault happened.

I say that because either way, TS had likely already spent hours cleaning before she sent that text.

The receipt from DG was time-stamped for 1714 hours.
See page 19, Item 72 of the AA:
https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/04th_Judicial_District/El_Paso/Stauch/Stauch FINAL redacted 040120.pdf

HH would then have had the additional drive time home.

Assuming she drove straight home, she probably arrived back at the house between 5:15-5:30.
TS called 911 at 1855 hours, less than 1.5 hrs. later.

Any way you look at it, those vinegar/baking soda/carpet powder purchases were made less than 2 hours before police were contacted.

Most of the cleaning would have been completed by that point.

I think TS did in fact use the "carpet powder 2 things" (she's such a moron) down in the basement to remove any lingering odor before she contacted LE. I'm thinking that was what LE described as smelling pleasant.
Hopefully, Gannon's little sister was able to tell LE if TS ran the vacuum after she and HH came home that evening.

Of course, HH could have told LE whether or not TS ran the vacuum downstairs.
But as we all know, HH "refused to speak with investigators." So there's that.

Re: the baking soda and vinegar, it's possible that TS may have wanted to keep some reserves on hand in case she came across any bloody areas she missed later on.

She may also have wanted to have her own stash of supplies with which to clean her vehicle.

JMO.

 

[Seattle1]

A few other things:

IMO,

If GS had already bled significantly in the bedroom before their afternoon excursion in the truck, I think she would have bought the vinegar and baking sofa during that time rather than texting HH later for it;

One of the best ways to move a heavy item up/down carpeted stairs is if it’s in or on cardboard;

The board could have been used as a ramp to get the box/suitcase into the VW.

Also FWIW a twin mattress is 39x75 and a full is 54x75. Not sure what GS slept on. A platform bed (no box spring) base would be similar to those measurements.

(I worked in furniture/mattress industries for years)

I agree. Even for LS, it doesn't follow that she would leave a bloody scene at the house (waiting for evening clean-up) while she and GS were on a cross-county trip for pet coats, sporting goods, etc.

Per the AA, LS had both a suitcase and cardboard on her mind when she talked to investigators on Wed, Jan 28. (AA # 37 -- each demanded by rapist E).

I think it's possible LS used the cardboard on the carpet and the plywood over the stairs to maneuver the suitcase to the garage and into the VW.

 

[kkdj]

I’m assuming the suitcase has wheels. It might not have been that difficult to maneuver it with a ramp of some sort.

 

[Seattle1]

I'm still stuck on why LS chose the Florida site to begin with. It just seems like a completely random location. Part of me wonders if she had a specific plan to dispose of the body in SC, realized en-route that her plan was too risky, and then decided to ditch it at the first opportunity. Or maybe she thought she was being tailed? Whatever her motivation was, it doesn't feel to me like she put too much thought or advance planning into that site.

Didn’t she apply for a job as a plane stewardess? Wasn’t that out of Florida?
Am I remembering that correctly? if not I’ll delete if in time to.

Actually, Florida disposal may have been nothing more to LS than a matter of convenience.
Yes -- the AA identified Florida as one of her Google searches possibly related to employment. Maybe we will learn that LS had an interview in Florida at the preliminary. Could also explain LE's inquiry for surveillance specific to Feb 3-5.

 

[MemPat]

I think you're misunderstanding the nature of the AA. Although important, it's simply the instrument investigators use to present the four categories of evidence gathered to establish probable cause required to secure an arrest warrant. We look to the trial for definitive evidence, not the warrant.

There's a lot of room in a warrant when presenting what an officer sees, smells, or hears (i.e., observational, circumstantial, expertise, and information evidence).

MOO

Yes, and if that wild Frazee/KK hearing is any indicator, T's next one should make for some real noise here on WS as we see many of our assumptions go up in smoke (no pun intended).

These evidence-sharing episodes, like the trials, are such a good lesson in not locking yourself into a box.

It's probably a good time to breathe and vow not to be like one of our Frazee buddies - continuing to die on a particular hill even after a plethora of the evidence says you shouldna'.

 

[kittythehare]

Because it was beneath a bridge in an area of no foot traffic. There is no cause to go there unless you are working on some assignment - like the road crew. It would not be visible from the vessels on the river - too far away from the bank. The road moves too fast to stop easily, the walls along the side of the bridge block the view beneath it. I rarely see bicyclists or walking people along the side. The traffic moves very fast right there - I stopped to measure the guardrail and feared for my life. It was perfectly hidden from passerby's.

Would you have know that without checking?
She was presumably a stranger to the area, presumably because we know v little about her extra curricular activities or why she chose Florida as a dumpsite..
Actually, why do people believe she chose Florida when she had so many other choices?
Not that rationality has ever applied here, far as we know..

 

[kittythehare]

from Heavy.com
In January 2020, Stauch posted on a Linkedin ad for Frontier Airlines saying she had applied for flight attendant jobs based out of Denver and Miami. That post was made about three weeks before Gannon Stauch went missing.

Just the job for somebody convicted of calling in a bomb threat, eh? Perfecto.

 

[kittythehare]

I agree. Even for LS, it doesn't follow that she would leave a bloody scene at the house (waiting for evening clean-up) while she and GS were on a cross-county trip for pet coats, sporting goods, etc.

Per the AA, LS had both a suitcase and cardboard on her mind when she talked to investigators on Wed, Jan 28. (AA # 37 -- each demanded by rapist E).

I think it's possible LS used the cardboard on the carpet and the plywood over the stairs to maneuver the suitcase to the garage and into the VW.

Vinegar and bread soda is recommended for cleaning up smells.
Hydrogen peroxide is for cleaning blood.
I'm perplexed at AA timing of actual murder , 'after 2.19pm in the afternoon of January 27th. And the methodology.
Not the evening, not the night of, not the night or day before?
I'll possibly be perplexed for ever, may as well get over it.

 

[O.Incandenza]

I absolutely think it's possible that TS killed Gannon while they were out. As people have pointed out, the AA is just LE's best theory based on the evidence they had at the time. And arguing that he was killed at home was the stronger case for arresting TS when they didn't have a body, since they could just say that the murder occurred when TS was the only other occupant.

However, the thing that still makes me lean towards the AA's theory of death is the amount of effort TS devoted to keeping the SUV hidden away from everyone the next day. I guess it's possible that it could have contained bloody bedding or other items from the cleanup instead of Gannon's body. But I don't understand why she wouldn't have just disposed of those in a random dumpster during the hours she had to herself that morning. Instead it seems like she thought that whatever was in the SUV had to be disposed of carefully in the dark.

But maybe it's a mistake to try to apply reason to the things she did. Under either theory she did about 10 shockingly dumb things that were almost guaranteed to get her caught in the end.

 

[MemPat]

Hi guys. I’ve lurked for a long time, finally feel the need to comment on this insane case. I first heard of this case on a different site that had posted the Cousin It video. The narcissism is strong in this one.

One of you said something a ways back that nails it: your narc ex-husband had once told you “this is my world, you only exist in it.” This is TS’s world as well, and means that anyone in it can be used to her best interest.

This is what makes me wonder if her “best” defence (if she’s permitted to present it) is to throw HH under the bus and say HH killed him and every act and lie committed by TS was done to protect her child. Not saying it would work, but it could happen.

It reminds me of a case presented on Forensic Files once. I don’t remember the names, but a woman poisoned her husband with antifreeze, and as they investigated they exhumed her previous husband to find that he also had been killed by antifreeze. Once she knew they were closing in, she drugged her teenage daughter in an attempt to set it up as a suicide including a typed “suicide note” supposedly from the teen admitting both murders (“I know they think you did it, Mommy, but I did it”-horrible crap like that.)

One of the things that caught the wife is that she is an idiot who thought “antifreeze” was actually pronounced “anti-free” and that’s how she said it in an interview and also wrote in the suicide note. (The daughter survived, the mom was convicted).

TS reminds me of that woman.

Welcome, 95, to the land of posting! I remember that Antifree woman well.....another high-IQ femme fatale like T!

 

[MemPat]

Welcome to WS @95EerWVU. Great first post and I follow your idea.

To be clear, I'm not alleging HH a participant or guilty of any criminal act here but have long believed that whether or not LS testifies or accepts plea deal will hinge on how she feels about HH at the time of trial.

Given her actions, evidence, and pre-arrest statements, LS has already painted herself in a tiny defense box. I very much agree her defense will be the alternate suspect theory.

If HH is cooperating with investigators and expected to be a witness for the prosecution, LS will not act out of truth, protection, or sympathy for her only child but will base her actions on how she sees her jurors. LS already murdered one minor, can she risk attacking the credibility of another minor on the stand? In her head, LS has a significant investment in making herself look good (scholarly, accomplished, hero).

However, if LS believes she's still in control of HH, I think she'll let her lawyer put forth the alternate suspect theory defense without taking the stand. She'll attempt to control and manipulate, squarely from the defense table.

Once convicted, I think it's a given that LS will spend her remaining days retaliating against anybody that looked sideways at her while collecting a posse of inmate supporters -- emphasis on male supporters.

Justice can't come too soon.

MOO

T better stay allied with at least one person on the outside who can keep money in her commissary account! Those Chili Cheese Puffs ain't free.

 

[MemPat]

Vinegar and bread soda is recommended for cleaning up smells.
Hydrogen peroxide is for cleaning blood.
I'm perplexed at AA timing of actual murder , 'after 2.19pm in the afternoon of January 27th. And the methodology.
Not the evening, not the night of, not the night or day before?
I'll possibly be perplexed for ever, may as well get over it.

I would bet T is as perplexed as we are about how it all went down as she was most likely in a frenzy running hither and yon like a wild woman.

I picture her talking really fast to herself as she juggled the stories and solutions in her head.

"It was a fire! A runaway! No! It was a rape! No, two rapes! Four rapes!....." and on and on.

MOO

 

[Seattle1]

from Heavy.com
In January 2020, Stauch posted on a Linkedin ad for Frontier Airlines saying she had applied for flight attendant jobs based out of Denver and Miami. That post was made about three weeks before Gannon Stauch went missing.

This is interesting. Frontier did publish they were hosting an open call flight attendant event in Florida on January 3.

Interested applicants are required to complete a prescreening application and if accepted, the applicant receives an invitation to the open call with details on the location and time.

If LS made the post a few weeks before GS went missing (murdered), she may not have prequalified and not invited to Jan 3 event, or maybe she was applying for a February event-- and why she ended up there with GS in tow. Eeek -- I hate that thought!

 

[kkdj]

Honestly, I think she went to Florida because nobody would imagine she would take Gannon cross the country and dump him in a place she has no roots to. It is rare.
But, did she have some friends there she said she was going to the races with? So, maybe she just wanted to visit and party and thought she'd just drop him off there! How convenient!
But of course, if this be the case, she was just using her friends to give an alibi as to why she was there.