On 03/09/16, Wednesday, at 2143 hours, Deputies with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 20096 Sugar Plum Way, Redding for a reported domestic violence incident in progress. A family member of Rosanna Baker, 36 years old, reported they received a telephone call from Rosanna that Rosanna’s husband, Timothy Baker 38 years old, was pointing a firearm at Rosanna and threatening to kill her.
At 2153 hours, deputies arrived at the residence and attempted contact from outside the residence however there was no response from anybody inside. Deputies utilized a PA from a patrol vehicle to attempt contact however none was made. While on scene, deputies heard the faint crying of a young child coming from inside the residence. Based upon the reported circumstances and the belief an emergency existed, Deputies made entry into the residence through the unlocked front door. Inside Deputies found a 2 year old male behind a baby gate in a bedroom on the south end of the residence. The toddler was upset however was not injured.
Upon further searching of the residence, deputies entered the master bedroom on the north side of the residence and located Rosanna and Timothy Baker with apparent gunshot wounds. Rosanna was lying on her back on the bed with bleeding to her forehead from an apparent gunshot wound. Timothy was found lying on his back, on the floor near the foot of the bed with severe bleeding to his head due to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound under his chin. The condition of the wound indicated it was a close contact type wound. Timothy’s body was lying in front of the bedroom door that at the time of the deputy’s entry was closed and bodily force had to be used to open the doorway. Lying next to Timothy was a 22. Caliber, bolt action rifle that had a spent casing in the chamber and additional live rounds in the attached magazine. Both Rosanna and Timothy were declared deceased on scene. The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Major Crimes Unit responded to assist.
Detectives and Crime Scene personnel worked through the night processing the scene and speaking with some relatives and friends of the couple. Based upon the initial crime scene investigation it appears Timothy shot Rosanna at least one time prior to shooting himself in a murder-suicide incident. Initial investigation revealed there have been some ongoing, unreported to law enforcement, domestic violence incidents with the couple. The toddler was released to family members on scene without incident. It should be noted that based upon the condition of the crime scene, the master bedroom door being closed, blood evidence inside the master bedroom, detectives firmly believe the toddler did not witness the shooting.
Detective continue to follow up in an attempt to determine what has occurred in recent days, weeks and months in an effort to discover what lead to this tragic shooting. The Major Crimes Unit is asking if anyone has information about what may have lead up to the shooting to contact detectives at 530-245-6135 or at mcu@co.shasta.ca.us.
