GUILTY South Africa - Susan Rohde, 47, murdered, Stellenbosch, 24 July 2016 - #2

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Hag said:
Thanks tmar. I’ll try it sometime, but was afraid to mess up! Agree, such a waste of time today, embarrassing really. None of the three had read judgement. Really?
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Yes, because if they had, they would be required to answer questions.
Of coarse, they all know.
The Defence is laughable.
Excuses for continual delays.
I now, have learnt to like the Prosecutor, so calm through all this: it is utterly a play ground.
 
Judge wants them to address her on why she should not go higher than the 15 years, because of the gravity and aggravating features.

She will adjourn at 11 for an hour if they need it, to prepare this.
 
Morning tmar!

WS is a nightmare for me this morning.
 
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  1. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098132371197423616
    #Rohde Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe begins: I would like you specifically in your arguments to address me... on the aggravating features of these crimes and why this court should not exceed the minimum sentence of 15 years.
  • Prosecutor Louis van Niekerk: Indeed the court can exceed the minimum of 15 years for the murder. Judge: You don't really in your heads make out submissions that the aggravating features are so grave that it warrants exceeding it. @TeamNews
 
I'm so glad Brenda is there to hear this, since she hasn't read the judgement.
 
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Tortoise, for me also, as it was last night: evening here.
(I cannot even reply to your post).
However, I have posted Live Streaming, and that seems to be working well, at the moment.
Thank goodness.
Did I speak too soon?
 
  1. #Rohde Judge points out that no one has really spoken about Susan here and "what the commissioning of these crimes means for the life she had and what it meant broadly to others". @TeamNews24



  2. #Rohde LVN: Jason was ruthless and basically coldblooded, brutally murdering her without any conscious thought to the devastating effect it would have. @TeamNews24




  3. #Rohde LVN points out Susan's injuries as aggravating factor. "It is indicative of a vicious attack on her. I would submit the accused acted callous and uncaring towards her, very cruel, totally disregarding her as a person, as a wife, as a mother of their daughters.


  4. #Rohde Judge tries to understand State's argument: "He misled her to believe she was in a safe position when in fact she was vulnerable?" she asks. LVN agrees: "She was taken by surprise in this intimate area of the bedroom by him becoming so volatile." @TeamNews24



  5. #Rohde LVN mentions that Jason lived a double life and deceived Susan. Judge wants to know why that makes her murder more aggravating. @TeamNews24



  6. #Rohde LVN continues: "They were in a position of trust with one another despite the circumstances they found themselves in. He was the father of their children… he never started divorce proceedings. She was always of the mind… that this marriage can be saved." @TeamNews24

    #Rohde LVN on aggravating factors: "She was murdered in the sanctity her bedroom by her husband. That was her safe haven. The killer was not a stranger to here. She was vulnerable there." @TeamNews24


  7. #Rohde LVN: The sentence for obstructing the administration of justice should not run concurrently with the sentence for murder because of the circumstances. Here the court has found dolus directus (direct intent) @TeamNews24

 

  1. #Rohde Judge asks State about rehabilitation. LVN says Jason wants to appeal and that crosses out the chance of rehabilitation. She disagrees. @TeamNews24



  2. #Rohde LVN says there are no substantial and compelling factors to deviate from minimum sentence. "The only thing I can think of is the absence of previous convictions and most likely, he will not commit an act like this at all in his lifetime." @TeamNew


  3. #Rohde LVN: The way the accused conducted himself before that weekend, he had ample time to change his ways, to reconsider what he is going to do with his marriage and he chose to live his double life. @TeamNews24



  4. #Rohde LVN says that Jason's 3 daughters have lost their lives as they know it. "Right through this trial, they have not been able to process and properly mourn the death of their mother". @TeamNews24



  5. #Rohde LVN says one can only imagine what went through Susan's mind when she realised her husband was attacking her. @TeamNews24



  6. #Rohde LVN: "I would submit she [Susan] was the heart of this family. She cared deeply and wanted the best for them. It is clear she was extremely well-respected and loved by many friends and her family." @TeamNews24



  7. #Rohde LVN says Susan was highly intelligent, a loyal wife and mother, and played a big role in her community. As a person, she led an honest, ethical life. She was instrumental in creating a safe home for her family. @TeamNews24
 
  1. Judge turns to sentence for defeating the ends of justice. "That had a great amount of aggravating features... it was highly demonstrative of a staging [of a suicide] in the extreme." Why should this sentence not run concurrently with murder, she asks. @TeamNews24
  2. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098138882175057920
    #Rohde Judge asks about the interests of the community. LVN recommends a long custodial sentence. He questions whether community will trust legal system with a shorter sentence. @TeamNews24




  3. #Rohde LVN: "He brought it onto himself and the fall out now is what you see in the suffering of the three kids. They are torn apart. They are loyal towards the accused... They are at a loss what to do." @TeamNews24


 
Doesn't seem like Heads of Argument to me, it seems pretty detailed. She can read what he's written and save our ears.
 
  1. #Rohde VDS: When sentencing, the court should equally consider the nature of the crime, wishes and interests of the community and the accused's personal circumstances. @TeamNews24


  2. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098141659102171136
    #Rohde VDS says that nowhere does the State suggest in papers that the Court should exceed minimum sentence of 15 years of murder. Says LVN was being opportunistic by suggesting this during verbal argument. @TeamNews24

  3. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098141118330519552
    #Rohde VDS: You cannot ignore that my client has at all times maintained his innocence. This means he cannot raise points of mitigation that extenuate circumstances of murder. @TeamNews24



  4. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098140584089399296
    #Rohde VDS: I find it difficult and think court also has a problem in thinking of appropriate sentence. In this case there are even more specific particular difficulties, as opposed to "common, run of the mill cases". @TeamNews24


  5. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098140334519996416
    #Rohde Defence lawyer Graham van der Spuy (VDS) says he is ready to present his arguments. Says his address should take 1.5hrs to finish. @TeamNews24


  6. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098139855404654592
    #Rohde LVN: "I think a sentence between 18 and 21 years... is more appropriate in these circumstances." State finishes its arguments and sits down. @TeamNews24


  7. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098139692753666048
    #Rohde LVN: Should the court decide 15 years is appropriate for murder, I don't think it warrants concurrent sentence for defeating of ends of justice. @TeamNews24


 
  1. VDS says Jason has not been charged or convicted of adultery. @TeamNews24



  2. #Rohde VDS gives background of Jason's affair with Jolene, from the moment his wife discovered a Valentine's card to him trying to juggle both women so he could keep his family intact. The affair caused a chain reaction that led to Susan's death. @TeamNews24


  3. \
    #Rohde VDS: The murder was committed in a moment of passion, absolute weakness and madness, and loss of control in the context of the accused simply having snapped. @TeamNews24#Rohde VDS: This murder was less serious because there was no premeditation. @TeamNews24



  4. #Rohde VDS: Having said that, the law acknowledges that there are different levels and categories of severity and seriousness. It is my contention that this murder is serious but must fall within a lower category of seriousness. @TeamNews24



  5. #Rohde VDS turns to Susan's murder. "It would be extremely naive and irresponsible to attempt to argue that this is not a most serious and severe crime. Of course it is." @TeamNews24


 
  1. VDS No one in their sound and sober senses would wonder around grounds of hotel wearing no shoes and only a hotel robe. Judge adjourns briefly until noon @TeamNews24



  2. #Rohde VDS: There was a jousting and physical confrontation with Jason trying to leave hotel room to go to after party. And his bizarre behaviour of walking through garden with his wife walking barefoot and only a gown on. @TeamNews24


  3. https://twitter.com/JennaEtheridge/status/1098145878987194370
    #Rohde VDS says there is sympathy for Susan because of phoning Jason "3000 times", flying to Cape Town to visit all the sites of his infidelities, checking his phone, might have driven Jason mad but reflects her desire to cling to the marriage and not break up. @TeamNews24


 
We are back. VDS returns to murder. "I can only describe this as a moment of weakness or madness, in which he simply snapped. Court found he punched her on her eyebrow, he exerted force on her to immobilise, he throttled and smothered her." @TeamNews24

VDS turns to society's response to violent crimes. I will never argue that society condones such conduct or views it in anything else but a serious light. Intimate femicide is a serious problem, particularly in SA. @TeamNews24

VDS: Susan's death had a devastating impact on all involved. Court must take a balanced approach in considering all factors. I now turn to Jason's personal circumstances. @TeamNews24
 
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