The
#LeteciaStauch murder trial has resumed. The first witness being called to the stand is John Wotton, a corporate security manager with David Budget Group.
Wotton is now describing a report about a rented vehicle’s location and travel from February 1, 2020 to February 6. The rented vehicle had a GPS tracker on it.
It made stops in Pueblo, Dallas, Amarillo, Decatur, Ruston, Gallion, Ferry Pass, Lake City, Lake Buena Vista, Pooler, Conway, Myrtle Beach, etc.
The rental van then ends up in Rhode Island at another rental store location.
John Grassel is the next witness to be called to the stand. He’s a retired detective lieutenant from Rhode Island. He testified saying he was informed about a search warrant on the rental van after learning it was used to transport a body.
Grassel said he took photos of the interior and exterior of the rental van and searched for evidence. They found a dog toy, a Verizon prepaid phone card, and numerous stains throughout the interior of the van.
Grassel said they applied a chemical to test for blood on the mat. There was a colored reaction indicating there was blood or iron on several areas of the mat.
During cross examination, Grassel said he doesn't know how the rental van got from South Carolina to Rhode Island, he doesn't know how many people rented the van in that time frame, and doesn't know whose blood was on the mat. The sample was sent to Colorado.
The next witness is Kathryn Beckel, who was a dispatcher with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in early 2020. She said two phone calls were made on January 27, 2020 from Letecia Stauch, one to the emergency line and one to the non-emergency line.
We’re now listening to the two phone calls, where you can hear Letecia describing the situation, saying he went a friend’s house and hasn’t come back, spelling Gannon’s name, giving a description of Gannon, etc.
Dispatcher: “Who was the last person to see him?" Letecia: “Uh, I guess me?”
Beckel resumed her testimony. Prosecution: “How would you describe the demeanor?” Beckel: “Normally if we had a child of that age who hasn’t run away before, I would expect it to be scared a little more, a little more anxiety.”
Beckel said the first call to the emergency line came in on January 27, 2020 at 6:55 p.m. The 2nd call to the non-emergency line came in on January 27, 2020 at 7:02 p.m.
