MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW/FOX21) — Letecia Stauch will be extradited back to Colorado to face murder charges in connection with the disappearance of her stepson, 11-year-old Gannon Stauch.
LINK: Neighbor with video evidence in Gannon Stauch case reacts to stepmom’s arrest
Stauch made her first court appearance Tuesday morning in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She did not fight extradition back to Colorado.
Stauch was arrested Monday on multiple charges, including first-degree murder (child under 12 – position of trust), child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.
‘Justice will be served’: Gannon Stauch’s mother gives emotional statement
Gannon, 11, was last seen Jan. 27, when Stauch reported him as a runaway. An intense search began quickly after his disappearance, focusing first on areas surrounding the Stauch family home on Mandan Drive in Security. The search later expanded to multiple areas throughout El Paso and Douglas counties.
On Monday, law enforcement in Myrtle Beach arrested Stauch in connection with the boy’s disappearance.
Stauch was an employee of Horry County Schools in South Carolina from November 2010 until she resigned on June 29, 2015,according to a spokesperson for the school district. Stauch worked as a para-professional from 2010 until 2012, then as a special education teacher.
As of 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time Tuesday, Stauch had been released from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in South Carolina. Authorities said that for security and safety reasons, they would not disclose when or how she will be taken back to Colorado.
El Paso County’s Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Allen sat down with FOX 31 Tuesday to discuss the extradition and what’s to come after Stauch returns to Colorado.
“This will be a long drawn out process,” Allen said, adding “Typically, cases like this, we won’t see a trial scheduled for probably a year from today’s date, maybe later than that. This can get frustrating for the family.”
Allen says the next big stage will be when the District Attorney’s Office formally files charges which could happen in the next five to ten days.
Stauch will be held on bond when she returns to Colorado.
After the formal charges, a date for preliminary hearing should come next.
“That [preliminary hearing date] will be a very, very big day to give people a glimpse of what the investigation uncovered,” Allen said.
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