Maine State Police have arrested a Wiscasset woman and charged her in connection with the death of a 4-yearold girl last Friday.
Shawna Gatto, 43, was arrested by detectives at her home just before 6 p.m. Thursday and taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. She has been charged with murder, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman of the Maine Department of Public Safety.
State police say the State Medical Examiner’s Office has told them that 4-year-old Kendall Chick died from a blunt force injury to the abdomen, McCausland said.
Gatto is the fiancée of Chick’s grandfather, 53-yearold Stephen Hood, and the child has been living with the two adults for nearly two years.
The decision to charge Gatto was made following a meeting between state police, the Attorney General’s Office and the state medical examiner.
Gatto is scheduled for an initial court appearance today.
No bail has been allowed.
The Lincoln County Sheriff ’s Office and Wiscasset police also have been involved in the investigation.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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