Defense in Rothschild murder case called cruel, unjust

By Rebecca Bell

The Sonoma Valley man who beat and strangled his wife to death, was sentenced on October 30 to the minimum six years in prison. 

Steven Rothschild, age 73, admitted to killing his wife in their home in August of 2017.

A jury found Rothschild guilty of voluntary manslaughter in September of this year. Deputy District Attorney Javier Vaca had argued for a first-degree murder conviction, which would have carried a much lengthier sentence. The jury, however, decided on the lesser charge.

Rothschild never denied killing his wife of 36 years. Instead, his attorney Stephen Gallenson defended Rothschild’s actions by arguing that his wife Juanita was emotionally abusive.

But Juanita’s friends, who called her Nita, were adamant that she was unfairly demonized in the trial. About 20 of her friends attended the sentencing. Many of them wore white t-shirts with the words “Justice for Nita” written in red.

Nita had no close living blood relatives. Her closest relative, Kathleen Gullahorn, was the wife of Nita’s deceased cousin. Gullahorn read a statement to the court during the sentencing hearing. Her words echoed the sentiment of many of Nita’s friends.

“To have her character defamed in such a cruel way was unspeakable,” Gullahorn said. “The defense strategy of putting the victim on trial was despicable.”

She added, “the portrayal of Nita as a mean-spirited, controlling bully is totally contrary to all the evidence of her caring and commitment to friends and family.”

While reading her statement, Gullahorn often choked back tears.  She described Nita as, “a generous, loving and nurturing person.”

Gullahorn implored the judge to give Steven Rothschild the maximum sentence allowed by California law.  The defense argued for the minimum sentence of probation.

Judge Dana Simonds instead issued a midterm sentence. She listed several mitigating factors. These included the defendant’s age, that “he has no history of violence,” and that “he admitted wrongdoing at an early stage.”

A comment from Judge Simonds best summed up the sentiment of all involved. She said, “Nita did not deserve to die. She did not deserve to die in the manner in which she died. It is tragic. This whole thing is tragic.”