Mar. 8—A hearing Thursday afternoon is expected to be Letecia Stauch's final court appearance before the start of her trial later this month.

Stauch, 39, is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon in January 2020. Attorneys at the hearing will be asked by Judge Gregory Werner to declare ready for trial, and if both the prosecution and defense declare ready Stauch's trial will go ahead as scheduled.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin March 20, and opening statements are expected to begin no earlier than April 3, even if jury selection is completed before then.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen has said he anticipates Stauch's trial to last six weeks.

Werner said during Stauch's last appearance in court in early February that the jury selection process may take up to 14 days because of the likelihood of many potential jurors being unable to be present for all six weeks of the trial.

Stauch faces 13 charges including first-degree murder, child abuse and tampering with evidence.

At Stauch's most recent court date her attorneys said her second mental health evaluation had been completed, but defense attorney Josh Tolini declined to discuss the findings of the evaluation.

The first mental health evaluation conducted by the psychiatric hospital in Pueblo found Stauch to be sane, Werner said at a hearing in August.

In addition to the first-degree murder case, Stauch also faces a second case in which she is accused of attempting to escape from the El Paso County jail in May 2020.

Stauch was arrested in South Carolina in March 2020 and has been in jail since then after being extradited to Colorado. She faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.