Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Robert Cash, the Steamboat Springs man accused of shooting his wife and then himself at their west Steamboat home in June, was taken to Routt County Jail at about 3 p.m. Wednesday and later was booked on charges of at­­temp­ted first-de­­gree murder.

Cash was not officially booked when he arrived because he was exhausted from the transport. Steam­­boat Springs Police De­­partment officials said more charges would be added later.

Police have said Robert Cash shot himself in the chest as officers approached his home June 11. He was flown to St. Anthony Central Hospital on the Front Range. Police also said Cash shot his wife, Rhonda, in the neck earlier that morning. Rhonda Cash survived the shooting, and officers found her in a bathroom at the home. She also was flown to St. Anthony.

Police said last month that Rhonda Cash was making progress in her recovery and was able to walk short distances after the bullet was removed from her spine. No update about her condition was available Wednesday.

Steamboat Springs Police Chief JD Hays said Wednesday that Robert Cash was kept for a time in the jail ward at Denver Health Medical Center.

Police and Robert Cash’s family previously have said he was in a coma. In late June, Cash’s brother-in-law said he was able to open his eyes but that the prognosis for being taken off life support was unknown.

Hays said the decision to move Robert Cash to Routt County was made Wednesday between the doctors at the hospital and the contracted nurse at Routt County Jail.

Routt County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Mellisa Baum­­gartner said the jail’s nurse is hired through an outside company and spends about two days a week at the jail. She said if there is an emergency, jail deputies can call for emergency help from Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue paramedics.

Baumgartner said Robert Cash was not immediately officially booked because he was exhausted and not fully coherent. His first court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. today.

Robert and Rhonda Cash were going through a divorce at the time of the shooting, and their divorce case also is scheduled for a review in court this week.