Rothschild remanded back into custody; Coroner says wife was strangled

Springs resident Steven Rothschild, accused of murdering his wife Juanita on Aug. 4, was remanded back into custody at the county’s Main Adult Detention Facility on Oct. 31.

The Sonoma County Coroner’s office also released its autopsy findings this week. Juanita Rothschild’s death was officially ruled to be a homicide, caused by strangulation.

At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, Rothschild appeared before Judge Dana Berrnick Simonds in Sonoma County Superior Court and requested for his current bail of $2 million to be exonerated and requested to return to custody. A new bail, of the same amount, $2 million, was set.

Rothschild’s defense attorney, Steven Galleson, said that his client’s decision to return to jail was largely a financial one.

“The amount of bail and what was needed to secure it was really untenable,” he said.

Rothschild had previously made bail using a Santa Rosa-based bail bondsman, on Sept. 5. Some of the couple’s neighbors in their peaceful neighborhood had not been pleased that he was back in his house.

Rothschild, 72, is accused of murdering his wife, “Nita,” 67, on Aug. 4.

According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Rothschild called 911 just before midnight. He told the dispatcher that he and his wife had been in a fight and she was dead. Deputies and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the condo.

Deputies found Juanita Rothschild unresponsive on the living room couch. According to a Sheriff’s Office statement, she appeared to be seriously beaten but no obvious weapons were found. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.

On Sept. 29, Rothschild entered a “not guilty” plea to the charges.

Javier Vaca of the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office has been assigned to the case.

Rothschild is next due in court on Dec. 18 for a trial readiness hearing, and then for pre-trial hearing on Dec. 21.

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.