Investigators Still Looking For Clues After Childs Death In 2013

Local law enforcement is still haunted by the tragic death of a 2-and-a-half year old Red Bluff girl. Although the child abuse death of young Scarlett Petersen occurred in 2013, no arrest has been made. The case got new attention last year with the posting of a $10,000 Secret Witness reward. On the morning of August 7th of 2013, an ambulance was called for Scarlett by her babysitters. Scarlett’s condition deteriorated and she was transferred from Mercy Medical Center in Redding to a Sacramento area hospital, where she died of her injuries. Her death was always considered a homicide, with the autopsy naming “suspect non-accidental head trauma”. Although the death by abuse is well documented, the identity of the abuser and the location where the abuse occurred is less clear. The case was initially investigated by Red Bluff Police but they eventually handed it over to Redding Police because Scarlett had been babysat by her uncle in Redding. One of Scarlett’s uncles is Zane Petersen, who’s serving up to 44 years in prison for starting the deadly and destructive Clover Fire the month after Scarlett’s death. However, Zane Petersen has never been a suspect in the death of Scarlett, according Zane’s brother who’s also Scarlett’s father, Travis Petersen. The babysitters that day were apparently Scarlett’s maternal uncle, Shawn Ahern and his girlfriend, Ashley Croom. The Petersen Family says that Scarlett had a previous visit to the emergency room in May of 2013, also after being babysat by Ahern and Croom. In both cases Scarlett had been dropped off by her mother, Sarah Ahern. Redding Police investigators are hoping that whomever is responsible for Scarlett’s death has mentioned something incriminating to someone over the last six years. Tips can be given anonymously at 243-2319 or scsecretwitness.com.

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