Letecia Stauch
Alleged murderer Letecia Stauch, 36, faces another criminal case. She plotted to break out of the El Paso County Jail in Colorado, deputies say. Now this defendant is charged with solicitation to commit escape.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, one of the inmates reached out to a deputy on May 18 to say that she got letters from Stauch. These missives allegedly contained plans for an escape, and the informant said that Stauch “will pass notes to her and other inmates by sliding the notes under their doors or through the door jam.”
The long and short of it is that the inmate said Stauch had revealed escape plans, and was looking for her help. Why did the murder defendant go to this person? The inmate said it was because she was “Italian and kind of the bad boy.” But this “bad boy” said she wanted nothing to do that plan, even when Stauch offered her money, according to this account.
The inmate said she knew about the murder case against Stauch (who is accused of murdering her 11-year-old stepson Gannon Stauch); the informant said she didn’t want to make her own problems worse since she was looking at her own time behind bars, deputies said.
The long and short of the alleged plot is that Letecia Stauch planned on escaping through her cell window by breaking it with a broom handle. She even allegedly measured herself to see if she could fit, according to the inmate.
Authorities said that had more evidence than just the stuff that came from the informant. They claim they did a shake down of Stauch’s cell, and discovered another letter addressed to this defendant’s daughter. It featured the same handwriting as the letters obtained from the informant, and stated if “something comes up on the news like she is no longer in the jail or is missing to not be afraid.”
We did our due diligence and reached out to the public defenders who represent Stauch in the murder case, but note that the office has a policy of not commenting on specific matters.
On Friday, a judge granted the defense’s request for Stauch to undergo a competency evaluation, according to The Colorado Springs Gazette.
[Mugshot via El Paso County Sheriff’s Office]
