This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Cedar City man who shot and killed two people in his home in 2013 will spend the rest of his life in prison for the crimes.
Thad Robertson, 56, was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder for the February 2013 deaths of Diann Bailey, 59, and Jeffrey Lane Hardy, 52.
On Tuesday, 5th District Judge Michael Westfall sentenced Robertson to two terms of life in prison without parole, state court records show. The judge also ordered Robertson to a one-to-15 year prison terms for possessing a controlled substance, zero-to-five years in prison for possessing a firearm as a restricted person, and a year in jail for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Charging documents state that on Feb. 16, 2013, a woman called Cedar City police from California to report that her father, Robertson, had called her to tell her he was suicidal, had "done something stupid and could not go to prison."
Robertson also told his daughter that "a gun was used as a scare tactic and as a result he had shot least one and possibly two subjects," the charges say.
Officers arrived at the home, located at 386 N. 400 West in Cedar City, to find Robertson as he was leaving. Inside the home, police found Hardy's body — he had been shot twice — and Bailey, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to the hospital and later died.
The Spectrum newspaper in St. George reported that prosecutors believe Robertson shot the two because he was upset about a possible affair between the two victims. During a June trial, however, defense attorney Douglas Terry argued that there was no evidence the shootings were intentional.
According to Utah court records, all three of the people involved in the shooting case have lived at the Cedar City home at one time or another: Robertson has lived there since 2006, Bailey listed it as her address in 2007, and Hardy was living there in 2011.
In July 2007, Bailey filed for a protective order against Robertson, but two weeks later asked a judge to dismiss it, according to court records.
Twitter: @jm_miller