(NewsNation) — Gannon Stauch’s father said a true-crime YouTuber obtaining autopsy pictures of his deceased son and then charging people money to view them is “just evil.”
Al Stauch misses his son dearly. Gannon Stauch was only 11 years old when he fatally stabbed and shot by his stepmother in 2020.
“He was a fun kid. He was a jokester. He loved to have a good time. Playing video games was one of his passions, as many young boys’ is, and what can I say? He was just my boy,” Al Stauch told NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin on “Dan Abrams Live.”
Finding out pictures of his child’s body were being shared on the internet was retraumatizing for Al Stauch.
“We just finished the trial just over two months ago, and now, we’re having to kind of relive some of this stuff and not being able to put it behind us,” Al Stauch told Entin.
Entin reports the YouTuber going by the name “Zav Girl” made a Freedom of Information Act request for the autopsy photos of Gannon Stauch. Once the pictures were released to the person running the “Zav Girl” account, Entin says she charged her followers $3 on Patreon to view them.
“The world got enough information from the trial to have every discussion they want to have. Why do we need to go have (a) Freedom of Information request and pay for this kind of information and then dishonor my son by putting these photos out there like that?” Al Stauch asked.
The images of Gannon Stauch’s body are so graphic, parts of them were blocked at his stepmother Letecia Stauch’s murder trial. Al Stauch recalled choosing not to attend the day of the trial that his son’s autopsy photos were shown to the jury.
“Now I feel like I can’t even go on YouTube without the possibility of accidentally coming across these photos,” Al Stauch said.
Al Stauch said he believes in freedom of information, but he thinks the problem is not being able to control what someone with bad intentions will do.
“In this instance, someone has taken that and turned it into evil,” Al Stauch said.
After receiving backlash, the YouTuber posted a statement about releasing the images, but it was later deleted.
In part, she posted: “The reality of the situation is that different people feel differently about this. Some people genuinely think making a video including the autopsy photos is bad and I respect their opinion and feelings. Other people, like myself, think of autopsy photos and the coroner discussing/explaining them as interesting and informative and are able to view it all in a more scientific detached way.”
Al Stauch said this isn’t about understanding a case. It’s about respecting his son.
“What I will say to her, or anyone who’s doing these sorts of things, is what I’ve said all along: That this is not about anyone’s opinions or if you view it as a scientific discussion or anything like that. This is about respect for a little boy who tragically lost his life and did not deserve this. We should respect that,” Al Stauch said.
Entin said this one YouTuber’s actions are not a reflection of the true-crime community.
GiGi McKelvey, host of the “Pretty Lies and Alibis” podcast, says true-crime podcasters and YouTubers should never publish things that hurt a victim’s family.
“If we do, we should walk away because you’re not doing it for the right reasons. There has to be accountability and ethics involved in doing true crime on a platform when there is little regulation,” McKelvey said.
She continued: “It’s hard to imagine why anybody would think it would be OK to post these pictures and to charge $3 for people to look at it. It’s almost making this horrible murder into the circus sideshow that you have to pay to see. And I believe that the dead deserve dignity; their loved ones should not have to worry.”
A representative with Patreon confirmed Thursday that Zav Girl’s account has been removed from their platform.
“We removed “Zav Girl” from Patreon for violations of our Community Guidelines for Violent and Graphic Content. To create a safe environment for users, Patreon does not allow content glorifying or promoting violence of any kind,” the spokesperson told NewsNation.
Prosecutors said Letecia Stauch stabbed Gannon Stauch 18 times in Colorado while the child tried to fight her off before she hit him in the head and then shot him. From there, she stuffed the 11-year-old’s body in a suitcase and drove to Florida to dump it over a bridge. She was found guilty of first-degree murder in May and sentenced to life in prison.