‘Manual strangulation cannot be ruled out’
Forensic pathologist testifies in Rohde trial
MANUAL strangulation could not be excluded beyond reasonable doubt as the cause of Susan Rohde’s death, defence expert forensic pathologist Dr Reggie Perumal told the Western Cape High Court.
Yesterday, the State pressed Perumal on his post-mortem findings in the trial of former Lew Geffen Sotheby’s chief executive Jason Rohde, who is accused of smothering his wife and later staging the murder as a suicide hanging on July 24, 2016.
Perumal, who did the second autopsy, said in his report the cause of death was consistent with ligature strangulation.
In cross-examination Perumal said the word “consistent” was just an indication of what was most likely, but it did not eliminate other possibilities considered.
“As explained, the findings could well be the result of throttling and manual strangulation. There are two competing causes and injuries could be seen in both scenarios. Due to the ligature mark and saliva dribble, I favoured ligature strangulation more. But there is no way I can exclude beyond reasonable doubt manual strangulation,” he said.
The prosecutor, advocate Louis van Niekerk, questioned the pathologist on the various wounds Susan had sustained.
It is Jason’s version that she fell and hit a retaining wall a few hours before she died, during a fight at the Spier Wine Estate.
Van Niekerk asked the pathologist to comment on an injury above the eye, close to the brow ridge. The injury showed a few blood spatters.
Perumal said it was possible that Susan sustained the abrasion from the fall.
“If she fell, it is more likely to see deeper laceration than a superficial one. I would expect a deeper and larger laceration,” he said, adding that it was also possible that a fist-ring could have caused it.
The expert pathologist said the injuries to Susan’s wrists were probably sustained as a result of being struck or restrained.
Earlier, the court heard objections over Van Niekerk’s line of questioning.
Defence advocate Graham van der Spuy accused Van Niekerk of character assassination. Van Niekerk had poked holes in Perumal’s CV and the numerous cases he listed his involvement in.
Some of the cases include the Oscar Pistorius murder trial and the Henri van Breda case. The inquest into the death of former Zimbabwean vice-president Joice Mujuru’s husband, Solomon, in 2012 was also mentioned. The former army general died in a fire, but was believed to have been murdered.
Van Niekerk submitted judgments from some of the cases where Perumal’s testimony, opinions and/or post-mortem reports were disputed.