COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 11-year-old stepson is now accused of plotting to break out of jail.
Letecia Stauch, 36, solicited help from a fellow inmate to escape from the El Paso County Jail, according to a probable cause affidavit dated Monday.
She is accused of telling the inmate about her plans to use a broom handle to break the window in her cell, and that she had already measured herself to make sure she could fit through. Investigators say they found a note in Stauch's cell with her daughter's name on it telling her not to be afraid if the media reports that she is no longer in jail or is missing.
The fellow inmate told deputies about the plan and gave them notes from Stauch that asked for help. At least one of the notes was partially written in code.
Stauch is being represented by the state public defender’s office, which does not comment on cases.
She reported Gannon Stauch missing Jan. 27, saying he never returned to his Colorado Springs home after leaving to go to a friend’s house. Authorities initially called him a runaway. But three days later, they said he was considered missing and endangered because of his age, the amount of time he had been gone and his dependence on medication.
After a search that lasted for weeks came up empty, investigators presumed the boy was dead and arrested the stepmother in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on March 2. The boy's remains were found in Pace, on the Florida Panhandle.
Investigators believe Stauch killed Gannon in his bedroom a few hours before reporting him missing, then concocted a variety of stories to mislead them.
Evidence of blood was found in Gannon’s bedroom and Stauch’s SUV, according to an arrest affidavit. The document doesn’t describe a motive, but investigators said that based on her internet searches, it seems she was unhappily married and resentful of being treated as a babysitter for her stepchildren.
Stauch is set to appear in court Friday.
