On Saturday May 26th, 2018, at approximately 10:24 A.M., the Redding Police Department responded to 1108 Grange Street #B in regards to a call of suspicious circumstances. A neighbor had located a large amount of blood near a vehicle in the driveway and additional amounts of blood leading towards the front door of the residence.
Officers arrived and found the amount of blood caused concern for the welfare of the apartment’s occupants. Officers knocked on the door and heard groaning from inside. Entry was made into the apartment and three people were located down on the floor. All three victims, one female and two males, were suffering from extensive head wounds and were in desperate need of medical attention. The victims were identified as 28 year old Ashley Rae Ross, 25 year old Kyle Richard Byrd, and 26 year old Richard Eugene Ross, all of Redding. The victims were transported via ambulance to Mercy Medical Center for treatment. At this time the two male victims are in critical condition and the female is in stable condition.
Redding Police Department Investigators responded to the scene and began contacting witnesses. Investigation revealed the three victims were brutally beaten to include being struck about the head and face with a garden hoe and a hammer. The attack was carried out by three suspects during the early morning hours of May 26th. The suspects had been socializing at the victim’s residence the previous evening on May 25th, 2018.
Evidence at the scene indicated the garden hoe was used with such force the wooden handle splintered and broke. Additionally, investigators learned the victims were left to languish in the apartment, suffering from serious head wounds and bleeding for several hours until police were notified of the blood outside. None of the suspects had summoned aid for the victims despite knowing they were suffering from severe injuries and were possibly going to die.
Investigators received information indicating that a 17 year old male juvenile, who lived a short distance away, had been at the residence the previous evening. The juvenile was contacted and made suspicious statements. Property removed from the victims’ apartment was located in the juvenile’s residence. The juvenile was interviewed and confessed in his involvement in the attack. The motive for the attack appears to be robbery.
Two additional juvenile suspects, a 16 year old male and a 17 year old male were identified and later located in the area of Martin Luther King Park. They were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Redding Police Department for interviews. Both juveniles confessed to their involvement in the robbery and beating. Additional property stolen from the victims’ residence was located at the home of the 16 year old juvenile arrested near the park.
All three suspects were booked into Shasta County Juvenile Hall on charges of attempted murder, robbery, and conspiracy. Investigators are monitoring the condition of the victims and additional charges may be sought as new information is received.
The names of the three male juveniles are not being released due to their age.
