DENVER (AP) — A lawyer for a Colorado woman who repeatedly stabbed and then shot her 11-year-old stepson before driving his body across the country says the brutality of the attack is the strongest evidence that the killing was the result of a “psychotic break.”
The claim came during closing arguments in Letecia Stauch's trial in the killing of Gannon Stauch.
Her lawyer says a “psychotic break” is the only explanation that makes sense. But the district attorney said they had shown that Stauch killed the boy because she hated him and saw it as a way to hurt her husband, whom she planned to leave.
Closing arguments, and a rebuttal by the prosecution, wrapped before lunch. Jurors began deliberating after the lunch break Friday afternoon, but the jury did not reach a verdict by 5 p.m. Friday.
Deliberations will continue Monday.
Denver7's Colette Bordelon is in the courtroom tracking the latest developments Friday. Follow along with her on Twitter below or here, @ColetteBordelon
