Mother of slain Lake County woman speaks of loss

Sarah Welch Bacon first lost her daughter during a custody struggle when the girl was 4 but had always imagined they would someday be reunited. Sixteen years later, that hope has been shattered.

Hannah Welch, 20, was shot dead last week at her Lake County home, allegedly by her father, a man family members say had a history of mental illness and anger problems.

Steven Miller, 39, is being held in the Lake County jail on $2 million bond, charged with murder.

“The last time I saw her was five years ago on her 15th birthday,” Bacon said. That’s the same age Bacon was when she gave birth to Welch.

“I did not have the time to spend with her as I’d liked. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

She said her daughter wanted to be a singer. According to officials at Middletown High School, she had been in the school’s choir.

“She was happy. She liked to sing,” Bacon said.

Welch also was a member of the Future Farmers of America and loved animals of all kinds, family said.

Bacon lost custody of her daughter soon after she was born but was able to regain custody when she was 4. But after the child’s paternal grandmother, Evelyne Miller, talked Bacon into sending the child for a visit, the child never returned to her mother in Siskiyou County.

Evelyne Miller has not responded to requests for an interview.

Bacon said Miller suffered a brain injury about the time his daughter was born and reportedly was on disability as a result.

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said detectives are investigating reports that Miller suffered from mental health problems.

A motive for the shooting remains undetermined, Martin said.

It occurred just after 8 p.m. Wednesday inside the Hidden Valley Lake subdivision home that Welch, her father and her grandmother shared.

During the incident, Miller allegedly also pointed his rifle at his mother, sheriff’s officials said. It’s not clear whether it was before or after the fatal shot was fired.

Bacon said she didn’t like that her daughter lived with others, but thought they might be able to give her a better life than she could.

“I thought she was safe,” she said.

A funeral service has yet to be scheduled for Welch.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473.