Conflicting pathology reports on Susan Rohde death
SHOCKING details about the suspected murder of real estate mogul Jason Rohde’s wife have emerged, with an autopsy suggesting she was strangled and smothered, and injuries to her neck inflicted postmortem.
A pathologist also believes Susan Rohde, 47, died around 5.40am on July 24, it emerged in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
These findings contradict what Rohde and his defence team insist happened – that she committed suicide by hanging herself after 7am that day.
Rohde, the suspended national chief executive of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, is accused of murdering Susan at the Spier wine estate where they were staying for a function. He was arrested at his Johannesburg home on Tuesday and made his first court appearance yesterday.
During fierce arguments in the courtroom, the State remained adamant it had a prima facie case against Rohde.
But his lawyer, Pete Mihalik, was equally firm the State had failed to provide evidence to back up its murder theory.
The State asked for a postponement until next week for further investigation of information that surfaced during Thursday’s proceedings.
Mihalik called the request a “luxury”, claiming his “traumatised” client should be freed. “Every day that my client is in custody he gets broken down more and more.”
Magistrate Greg Jacobs found in favour of the State, postponing the matter to Tuesday and ordering that Rohde remain in custody.
The affidavit of investigating officer Detective Sergeant Marlon Appollis was centre stage during proceedings. It revealed that two days after Susan was found dead, Appollis attended the postmortem conducted by two doctors, a Dr Kahn and a Dr Abrahams, at the Paarl mortuary.
“I was informed at the time that Dr Kahn, with whom Dr Abrahams concurred, was of the opinion that the mechanism of death was manual strangulation,” her affidavit said.
“He indicated there was pathology consistent with smothering and asphyxia. He noted the features of the ligature imprint abrasion mark were consistent with postmortem application to the neck.”
The second post mortem, conducted at the request of Rohde’s legal team, suggested Susan had committed suicide.
According to Appollis’s affidavit, four days after Susan died Rohde was told they were investigating a murder, and he was a “possible suspect”.
Rohde, accompanied by a legal representative, then provided a DNA sample and was medically examined.
Prosecutor Carien Teunissen told the court the only noteworthy factors during this examination were a superficial injury to his middle finger, and another involving his back.
Appollis’s affidavit detailed how investigators had gone to Gauteng on August 17 to gather information.
Appollis said it had become apparent that Rohde travelled extensively and had offshore accounts and assets abroad.
“I was satisfied that there was reasonable suspicion against (Rohde) that he killed (Susan) and formed the opinion that he was a flight risk,” the affidavit said.
Rohde was placed on a precautionary suspension at work.
Yesterday Mihalik hit back at the State, saying that aside from a charge sheet showing they were pushing ahead with a murder case, it had provided nothing.
He questioned why the postmortem report Appollis referred to in his affidavit had not been handed to the court.