Murder charges filed in Cedar City double-shooting

Investigators have charged Thad Robertson in the shooting deaths of two people found Saturday in a Cedar City home.

According to an amended probable cause statement filed Thursday in 5th District Court, Robertson, 54, has been charged with two counts of first-degree felony murder, along with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

The court documents shed new light on the deaths of Diann Bailey, 59, and Jeffrey Lane Hardy, 52, whom police found shot inside a home at 386 N. 400 West on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, a California woman called Cedar City police 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," according to the charges.

Robertson also told his daughter that "a gun was used as a scare tactic and as a result he had shot at least one and possibly two subjects," the charges add.

Officers found Robertson as he was leaving the home and arrested him. Police went into the home and 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.

Investigators found a .357-caliber revolver next to Bailey, and a matching bullet in Robertson's front pants pocket. Robertson admitted the gun was his, according to the charges.

Police also found methamphetamine and a glass pipe in Robertson's pockets, and preliminary test of Robertson's urine showed "non-negative" for the drug, the charges add.

Robertson remained at Iron County jail in lieu of $500,000 cash bail.

A preliminary hearing has been set for March 6 before Judge John Walton.

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.

mmcfall@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mikeypanda