Just days after Letecia allegedly provided Al with five different stories explaining how his son disappeared, the suspected murderer commissioned a fake polygraph test writes Detective Jessica Bethel of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Letecia Stauch allegedly paid to have the results of a fake polygraph test sent to her just days after El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies believe she stuffed her stepson's body in a suitcase, drove 1500 miles cross-country, and hid his remains under a Florida bridge.
That fake polygraph test never got sent back to Letecia however, because management at the company "blocked" its release, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Letecia would be arrested and charged with the murder of her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, a few weeks later, and now, three years later, her murder trial is finally underway in Colorado.
Jury selection begins on Monday and is expected to last two weeks as lawyers try and find impartial jurors for a case that made national headlines.
Inside Edition Digital previously reported that Letecia allegedly told myriad stories about the disappearance of Garrett to both the boy's father, Al Stauch, and sheriffs' deputies.
Just days after Letecia allegedly provided Al with five different stories explaining how his son disappeared, the suspected murderer commissioned a fake polygraph test, writes Detective Jessica Bethel of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in an affidavit submitted to the court.
Det. Bethel claims that Letecia allegedly spoke about taking a polygraph with two individuals in phone communications intercepted by investigators on Feb. 17.
The following day, investigators again intercepted a call made by Letecia, this time to a number associated with fakepolygraph.com.
Letecia allegedly asked about a confirmation number for "a test she paid for," then called back a second time when she still had not received her test, the affidavit says.
"During this call, Letecia inquired about an email she received," Det. Bethel writes. "The unknown male stated that her report was blocked by management based on the content of the questions, and stated that with any illegal activities they reserve the right to not to send the report."
Det. Bethel claims that Letecia then asked: "What do you do now, just delete it and go on about life and keep the money?"
To that, the unknown male allegedly responded: "Yes, we do indeed."
The investigations unit with the EPSO then used the same number Letecia called to speak with an employee of the company, who provided law enforcement with the questions Letecia allegedly selected for her polygraph along with her answers.
- Do you intend to answer these questions regarding your stepson truthfully? (YES)
- Is your birthday August 4, 1983? (YES)
- Did you participate in any way in causing harm to your stepson? (NO)
- Did your stepson return with you to your home? (YES)
- Did you participate in any way in causing the death of your stepson? (NO)
"I submit to the court that if Letecia had nothing to hide, she would not have to pay for fake polygraph results," Det. Bethel writes in the affidavit.
Letecia was arrested in South Carolina on March 2 just a few days after a judge signed off on the arrest warrant, and then extradited back to Colorado.
LETECIA STAUCH PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT
Gannon's body was discovered in a suitcase under a highway bridge near Pensacola, Florida, two weeks later.
At Letecia's preliminary hearing in September 2021, Sgt. Jason Yoder, of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office testified that bridge inspectors with the Florida Department of Transportation found Gannon's body wrapped in blankets and stuffed in a suitcase while doing construction.
Sgt. Yoder said Gannon had been shot in the jaw, stabbed in the chest and back, and suffered a skull fracture. The boy also had defensive wounds covering his arms and legs and a bullet lodged in his skull, according to Sgt. Yoder.
Sgt. Rosario Hubbell of the EPSO testified that the bullets came from a gun that was present at the Stauch home which had traces of Letecia's DNA.
He then testified that two days after Letecia first claimed that an alleged rapist abducted Gannon, she rented a van and drove 1,500 miles from Colorado to Florida.
The trip took three days, and upon arriving in Florida after midnight on Feb. 4, Letecia checked into a hotel located just three miles from where Gannon's body would later be discovered, according to .Sgt. Hubbell's testimony.
Letecia initially entered a plea of not guilty following her arrest in March 2020, then changed that to not guilty by reason of insanity in February 2022.
The judge allowed for this change in plea without first having the results of a sanity evaluation, and court filings obtained by Inside Edition Digital show that 13 months later the defense still has not provided that paperwork to the court.
Authorities allege that Letecia murdered Gannon on January 27, and then worked to hide his body before calling law enforcement to report him missing.
Opening statements in the case are scheduled for April 3.
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