Susan Rohde’s state likened to post-traumatic stress disorder
SUSAN Rohde slipped into a state similar to posttraumatic stress disorder when she discovered that her husband‚ Jason Rohde‚ was having an affair.
Her psychologist‚ Jane Newcombe‚ came to this conclusion after analysing hundreds of WhatsApp messages sent between Susan and Jason in the months leading up to her death in July last year.
Jason Rohde is on trial for her murder but he claims that she had been depressed and committed suicide in the bathroom of their hotel suite.
Newcombe testified in the Cape Town High Court that she had been shocked when she was initially told that Susan had taken her own life.
Based on their eight therapy sessions before her death, she did not perceive Susan as suicidal or depressive.
Defence advocate Pete Mihalik accused Newcombe yesterday of being incompetent and claimed she had misdiagnosed Susan with anxiety rather than depression.
It emerged in court that Rohde had an affair with real estate agent Jolene Alterskye.
Mihalik quoted numerous WhatsApp messages, including one in which Susan told Rohde: “Sometimes I just want to die.”
Newcombe said that this and many other exaggerated messages should be seen in the context of their fights caused by the affair.
She said that in January‚ even before Susan found out about the affair‚ she had already been suspicious. Their relationship had appeared rocky and in February‚ after learning about the affair‚ Susan had sent Rohde a curt message – “I hate you”.
“I think it’s clear that Susan speaks with exaggerated phrases. When she says ‘I hate you’‚ I suspect she uses it in the same way children use it with their parents to exclaim intensity‚” Newcombe said.
Once Susan found out about the affair, she had clearly been in shock as she had only sent a single message to him in three days.
In March, Susan told Jason about her suspicion that Alterskye had stayed in their family holiday home in Plettenberg Bay.
“When someone has an affair, their partner has to play catch-up when they find out about it,” Newcombe said.
“It’s very similar to grief‚ it’s trauma‚ a huge shock and betrayal.
“It’s similar to PTSD but it doesn’t fit that description because her life is not physically in danger. It’s an emotional sense that she would experience as life-threatening.”
She said Susan had been committed to trying to make their marriage work‚ but every time she inquired about the affair Rohde would withdraw. She would panic and this would lead to emotional outbursts.
Susan also sent her husband quotes from British writer Sylvia Plath‚ who suffered from depression and committed suicide after allegedly finding out her husband had an affair.