Susan was no suicide risk – psychologist
‘Valentine’s card exposed husband’s cheating’
PSYCHOLOGIST Jane Newcombe has said Jason Rohde’s wife, Susan Rohde, did not exhibit suicidal tendencies. Susan was found dead in a room at Spier Wine Estate on July 24 last year. She was married to former Sotheby’s chief executive Jason Rohde.
Initially it was believed she had committed suicide, but Rohde was later charged and is on trial for her murder.
Newcombe testified in the Western Cape High Court yesterday that Susan suffered from anxiety, not depression. “Susan had several protective factors that would have prevented her from becoming suicidal.
“Her marriage was not the only thing that gave her life meaning. She did not have the belief that an affair inevitably led to divorce and she was very committed to fixing her relationship with Jason.”
Susan first sought help from Newcombe in May last year, about three months after discovering her husband’s infidelity.
“She discovered the affair after she found a Valentine’s Day card in his suitcase. The affair had been ongoing since June 2015. He had stopped the affair and told Jolene he was working things out with her.”
Susan saw Newcombe for eight sessions before her death. In one she discussed communication with Rohde’s mistress, Jolene Alterskye. “She told Jolene she doesn’t blame her because she was not the one who made a promise to her. She was respectful to Jolene, was direct and told her to leave her husband. Susan was a very direct woman,” said Newcombe.
In her therapy notes Susan detailed the change in her marriage: “Although my husband has ended the relationship, he’s become quite aggressive about the way he wants to see things forward. He is becoming frustrated with my anxiety…”
Newcombe said Susan had raised concern over her husband not wanting her to join him at a conference at Spier. “She felt she needed to know for sure if the relationship was over. She was 80% sure it was. She wanted to go and for her and Jason to be strong as an intimate couple to show Jolene there was no space for her… Susan loved her husband and believed he loved her.”
Susan described her husband in the therapy notes as warm and sociable, and said he loved being part of the family. She said their sexual relationship was good, apart from the fact that he made her feel guilty for not performing oral sex. – zodidi. dano@inl.co.za