Letecia Stauch will serve the maximum sentence for the brutal killing of her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon. After a jury found Stauch guilty of all charges, Judge Gregory Werner decided to proceed directly to sentencing.

Before handing down two life sentences, Werner called the facts of the case “the most horrific I have ever seen” and listened to statements from Gannon’s family and others affected by the case.

The first person to speak was Stauch’s former neighbor Nicole Mobley, who testified earlier in the trial about Stauch attempting to pay her to lie to law enforcement. “It’s been hard, it’s been heartbreaking. To finally see some justice for him and his family is incredible.”

Janey Cadenas, a resident of Lorson Ranch, recalled how community members rallied together three years ago when they found out Gannon was missing.

“For months and months until he was found, we were all scared to let our kids go outside,” Cadenas said.

“This is the worst tragedy that anybody could ever go through, and every parent’s nightmare.”

Letecia Stauch found guilty of all charges, sentenced to life in prison

Jeff Davenport, Al Stauch’s uncle, also spoke. “The preciousness of an 11-year-old’s life is beyond measure and all other impacts to all the rest of us pale in comparison to the loss he suffered himself. But this now convicted murderer did not just murder Gannon, she murdered all the love and joy and encouragement and security that he would have brought to all those he encountered throughout his life.”

“The impact of her crime is truly incalculable,” he said.

Veronica Birkenstock, the aunt of Gannon’s mother, spoke about forgiveness, and that she hopes Stauch will “turn from her evil ways” in the future. “We showed up for Gannon,” Birkenstock said through tears.

Gannon’s mother, Landen Bullard, previously known as Landen Hiott, told the court that Gannon came into the world fighting— he was born three months premature at 1 pound — and left the world fighting.

Gannon “fought against someone he loved and trusted. Someone myself and Albert trusted, and loved,” Landen said. “For three years I tried to forgive her but I can’t, I don’t want to. … She destroyed dozens of lives.”

“She had everyone fooled,” Hiott told the court, saying Stauch had manipulated her family. “I can’t say that she ruined my life, because that would be some form of sick victory for her.”

Letecia Stauch case timeline: Trial of murdered stepson Gannon nears end after 3 years

Tearfully addressing the court, Al Stauch reminisced about how Gannon loved video games, and said that before he was killed, Gannon had started calling him “dad” instead of “daddy.”

“Now your honor if I have any influence on the final sentence for ‘Tecia, first I ask she be stripped of my last name immediately. It’s nauseating and infuriating to hear her called Ms. Stauch these past three years. Secondly I ask that for every mile she drove Gannon across the country, that she spend one day in solitary confinement,” Al Stauch said.

4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, the lead prosecutor in the case, was the last person to address the judge.

“The defendant manipulated this community, Gannon’s family, the investigation. I’ve been a prosecutor for a long time judge. … I’ve never seen the kind of horror that his defendant brought down on this community and this family,” he told the court. “No matter what the sentence, it will never bring Gannon back. But it will go a long way toward healing.”

Stauch was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, 12 years in prison for tampering with a deceased human body, and 18 months for tampering with physical evidence.

In a verdict returned after approximately eight hours of deliberation, the 12-member jury found Stauch guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree murder of a child under the age of 12 a person in a position of trust, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.

Read The Gazette’s full coverage of the weekslong trial here:

Letecia Stauch murder trial: Latest news and updates