Susan Rohde was strangled – doctor

STATE doctor Deidré Abrahams returned yesterday to testify in the murder case against real estate executive Jason Rohde, who is accused of staging the suicide of his wife, Susan, last year.

Abrahams reiterated that she concurred with the autopsy report given by forensic pathologist Akmal Coetzee-Khan, which stated the cause of death was “consistent with manual strangulation and external airway obstruction”.

State prosecutor Louis van Niekerk referred to the bail hearing report during cross-examination and asked Abrahams about the statement made by the defence saying it was “totally consistent with suicide”.

“That is incorrect. The report was consistent with ligature strangulation. When I discussed the case with Coetzee-Khan after visiting the crime scene, he said he observed that the victim was lying on the floor with her head furthest from the door and with her feet towards the door,” she said.

Abrahams, on her first day on the stand, said Susan Rohde had been subdued, swallowed blood and had been in pain before she was manually strangled.

Abrahams added Susan had been alive at the time she sustained rib fractures which would have left her in pain and a “reduced ability to move and reduced ability to defend herself ”.

On Monday, defence lawyer Graham van der Spuy read Rohde’s account of the evening before his wife was found dead in the bathroom of the hotel room at Spier Wine Estate in July last year.

“Jason avoided his wife and Jolene for the most part of the evening. (Susan) danced with other delegates in a provocative manner. She watched Jason and Jolene the entire evening,” Van der Spuy read.

In his plea explanation, Jason admitted to an extramarital affair with Cape Town-based colleague, Jolene Alterskye.

When they got to their hotel room after social drinks, Susan changed into “just a bathrobe”. “Jason wanted to send Jolene a text message and he went into the bathroom to do that. Susan saw him (trying to send the message) and Jason tried to delete the message. That’s when the explosion erupted. Susan went ballistic,” Van der Spuy said. Details of a confrontation and heated exchanges ensued and Van der Spuy read how Jason tried to leave the hotel room with Susan blocking him from doing so.

The following morning, Jason said he found his wife hanging from the bathroom door by an electric cord.

Rohde has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife.