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

[JudgeJudi]

Trial resumes today with the cross-exam of SAPS Mechanical & Metallurgical Engineering head, Colonel Daniel Poolman. He used tests to determine whether the electrical cable found around Susan's neck was used to hang herself.

Defence hands up a list of admissions by Rohde as an exhibit. The defence and State had been consulting for a while over these. Usually saves the court time.

Poolman explains how most materials have an elastic stage where they will go back to original condition if force is released. When stretched too far, the material will be deformed and not go back to normal.

Poolman shows how he tested electrical cord found around Susan's neck. "If I have more than 40kg fully on the one end, the cable is going to fail," he says. The court previously heard that Susan weighed more than 50kg.

Poolman clarifies that he did tests on both single and double strand of electrical cord. With double strand, it was found the cord was almost twice as strong and could hold around 77kg without failure.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Defence now refers to the bathroom door where Susan's body was found. Door lies on its side in court. Van der Spuy says another door was fitted. His expert s complain that they can't do experiments because of different conditions and evidence is lost.

Defence: If full weight of deceased had been suspended with a single cord, the cord would have failed? Poolman says that is correct. Defence says other scenario is a person partially touches floor. Poolman can't comment.

Poolman was asked to measure the bathroom door but doesn't know why. It's a 2m high door, with a width of 80.5cm.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Poolman excused from the stand. Next witness is Captain September, who was on duty at Stellenbosch on 24 July 2016 and went to Spier with patrol van.

September: Radio control room said there was alleged suicide at Spier. Security took me to the hotel room and I parked outside the room, behind an ambulance.

September: I opened the bathroom door from the outside, entered and saw a woman lying on her back on the floor. She was wearing a white gown and also saw a cellphone lying on the cupboard, a bottle of red wine & tissue with red stain near body.

I saw blue-coloured marks on her thighs and body. I left the bathroom and closed the door. Also saw a black electrical cord hanging behind the door. I wrote a statement on the bonnet of my patrol van. Handyman Desmond Daniels introduced himself to me.

September: I asked a constable to take statement from Desmond Daniels. I saw that he was given chance to go through it and then signed it. I later took statement to police station and stamped it.

Captain September now being cross-examined and has handyman's statement in front of him. VD Spuy wants to know why case number is not on there. He puts it to him that he did not have a number. September says that is incorrect.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Defence says its impossible that September filled in certain forms on day of death because case number indicates wrong month. September explains that number changed because investigation changed from inquest.

Defence has photocopy which shows the first case number was registered at 7:04pm on 24 July 2016, many hours after September said he received it. September says system may have been faulty or too many dockets so night shift recorded it on system.

Defence says chances extremely high that September not telling truth. September replies that body would not have been removed from scene if he didn't have case number much earlier. He was also off-duty for a while by 7:04pm.

September excused from stand but asked to bring case number book to court so his version can be tested. Next witness is another policeman.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Constable Donreto Fernandez said he was called to Spier on the morning of 24 July 2016 to assist with the scene.

Fernandez: I took statement from handyman Desmond Daniels on bonnet of patrol vehicle and asked him to recall what happened.

Fernandez agrees with defence that he can't remember the oath being administered at the time that Desmond Daniels signed the affidavit. When he wrote the statement, he says he doesn't think case number was available at that time. He is excused from stand.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Adams spoke with Rohde's domestic worker Lucy and she said he was never violent to his wife or family. He didn't take statement initially because he needed an interpreter. Later he was told she did not want to speak.

Adams says it is completely false that he had asked domestic worker if Rohde bribed her to say nice things about him. Defence says he never made statement about her because "it was favourable to accused". Adams is excused.

Spier general manager Joep Schoof called to the stand. He has been at Spier since December 2013. "It's about empowering team members to make the right calls, creating right culture and trusting them to make right connections with guests".

Schoof: I received a call about incident on Sunday morning from weekend duty manager. I basically split up task ahead in different sections. Made sure team looked after members and provided counselling, get security in, get guests out so police could do job.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

Schoof says all Spier workers were offered counselling as "they are not used to dealing with such events and felt it was the right thing".

 

[Tortoise]

Trial resumes today with the cross-exam of SAPS Mechanical & Metallurgical Engineering head, Colonel Daniel Poolman. He used tests to determine whether the electrical cable found around Susan's neck was used to hang herself.

Defence hands up a list of admissions by Rohde as an exhibit. The defence and State had been consulting for a while over these. Usually saves the court time.

Poolman explains how most materials have an elastic stage where they will go back to original condition if force is released. When stretched too far, the material will be deformed and not go back to normal.

Poolman shows how he tested electrical cord found around Susan's neck. "If I have more than 40kg fully on the one end, the cable is going to fail," he says. The court previously heard that Susan weighed more than 50kg.

Poolman clarifies that he did tests on both single and double strand of electrical cord. With double strand, it was found the cord was almost twice as strong and could hold around 77kg without failure.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

Thank you JJ.

Was the cord double wrapped around her neck or is that defence question irrelevant?

 

[JudgeJudi]

The State is saying Susan couldn't have committed suicide as alleged by the defence. She was found flat on the floor with a single cord around her neck and the other end of the hair appliance was tied to a hook near the top of the door. Her feet were closest to the door. The cord did not correspond with how the body was found.

The single cord could only support 39kgs and Susan weighed 52kgs. Tests showed it started to fail at 40kgs, however no sections of the cord were overly stretched or deformed which you would expect to see if the cord failed. The cord was not tight around her neck and the marks around her neck weren't consistent with a suicide.

The State was making the point that even if a double cord had been used, it wouldn't fail even if it was stretched for 10 minutes and would support a weight up to 77kgs before failing.

 

[JudgeJudi]

A policeman and the general manager of Spier Hotel & Leisure on Tuesday both denied telling a State witness what to say in the murder trial of former property mogul Jason Rohde, in the Western Cape High Court.

The defence had recently raised concerns that Desmond Daniels, a maintenance worker at the Spier estate in Stellenbosch, may have been coached.

The trial was postponed until April 23 to allow the State to finalise its witness list.

[url]https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/spier-manager-policeman-deny-coaching-state-witness-in-jason-rohde-trial-20180327[/URL]

A month to finalise a witness list? You couldn't make it up. OISA

 

[JudgeJudi]

Poolman also commented on the ligature mark on Susan’s neck.

He said based on his experience, which include the engineering and forensic work in vehicle accidents, that for a mark to be on the front part of the neck, Susan must have been strangled from behind.

https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/new...ered-susan-rohdes-weight-court-hears-14115178

 

[tmar]

A policeman and the general manager of Spier Hotel & Leisure on Tuesday both denied telling a State witness what to say in the murder trial of former property mogul Jason Rohde, in the Western Cape High Court.

The defence had recently raised concerns that Desmond Daniels, a maintenance worker at the Spier estate in Stellenbosch, may have been coached.

The trial was postponed until April 23 to allow the State to finalise its witness list.

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/...g-state-witness-in-jason-rohde-trial-20180327

A month to finalise a witness list? You couldn't make it up. OISA

Let us hope they are back today, and have had SUFFICIENT time to finalise this list. :thinking::thinking:

 

[tmar]

Let us hope they are back today, and have had SUFFICIENT time to finalise this list. :thinking::thinking:

[FONT=&quot]SOUTH AFRICA[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][h=1]Estate agent witnessed Jason Rohde and his wife arguing before her body was found[/h][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]23 April 2018 - 16:16BY PHILANI NOMBEMBE[/FONT]

 

[tmar]

[FONT=&amp]SOUTH AFRICA[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Estate agent witnessed Jason Rohde and his wife arguing before her body was found

[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]23 April 2018 - 16:16BY PHILANI NOMBEMBE[/FONT]

Below, more info

[h=3]Estate agent witnessed Jason Rohde and his wife arguing before her ...[/h]

https://www.timeslive.co.za/.../2018-04-23-estate-agent-witnessed-jason-rohde-and-his...

23 April 2018 - 16:16 By Philani Nombembe. Farrah Ameermia. Image: Facebook/ Farrah Ameermia. Murder accused millionaire Jason Rohde's extra-marital affair with one of his staff members has popped up yet again in his trial. Farrah Ameermia‚ who was a real estate agent intern at Lew Geffen Southeby's International ...

​

 

[JudgeJudi]

Businessman Jason Rohde's murder trial resumes today with the testimony of investigating officer Marlon Appollis.

Sergeant Appollis, a member of Stellenbosch police's serious violent crime unit, was asked to assist at Spier on Sunday 24 July 2016.

Appollis has been part of SAPS for almost 15 years. Six of those years dealing with murders and inquests. He has dealt with "quite a number" of suicide cases.

Appollis: My duty was to investigate the cause of death. Someone explained to me that a woman in the room at Spier committed suicide.

Appollis: I went to investigate for broken windows and doors outside the hotel room. Asked whether there were trespassers on the premises. Couldn't find anything strange. Waited until scene was processed and body removed.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Appollis: I went into the bathroom after Susan's body was removed. In the bedroom, a cellphone was pointed out and put into a forensic bag. There was also a black handbag and personal items.

Appollis: I also found what looked like a note that was burnt to me. I didn’t exam it. It was burnt out. I went through a black bag and there was a laptop, bank cards. There were payslips inside belonging to Mr Rohde.

Appollis: We usually look for suicide notes. In the black bag, I found a note and it appeared to me that Mr Rohde was involved in an extramarital affair. I went through bedroom looking for a suicide note, diary, just something, but I couldn’t find anything.

Appollis took out basin pipes in hotel bathroom to inspect for signs that someone had washed their hands of blood. "I was taught that any inquest is dealt with like a murder so I make sure of everything". No traces of blood found.

Appollis: I found valuables on scene like an Apple laptop, USB drives, watch with broken strap, bank cards, modems. I sealed these items and booked them in at police station for safekeeping.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Appollis: From my experience with inquests, people usually leave notes in diaries, papers, magazines, or on their cellphone. I was looking for anything pointing to a suicide. Couldn't find anything. Doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't a suicide.

Appollis says that after meeting with Jason on 28th July 2016, there was a request the following week by attorney to hand over pink bag found on scene with clothing inside.

Appollis looked for fingerprints on hand basin, footprints on edge of bath and prints at the window but could see none were lifted.

Appollis says he looked for Jason the day of his wife's death and couldn't find him after back and forth between Spier and police station. He was given Peter Norton's number for Jason's whereabouts. "He told me Mr Rohde was already on a flight to Lanseria".

Appollis met up with Captain Mofokeng at Spier a day after Susan's death. Mofokeng was part of the Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering section of the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Appollis says Mofokeng was needed to determine whether bathroom hook could carry Susan's weight of 51kg. The hook was intact. Defence objects because they had no idea Mofokeng's affidavit would be presented today.

Court says the State may proceed. Appollis says he was not present at time Mofokeng tested left bathroom door hook.

Appollis attended the autopsy on 26th July 2016. "Dr Khan mentioned that she didn't hang and was strangled with a hand. That's how I understood it. My next step was to register a murder docket."

Appollis: After I had reports and registered murder case, I made contact with Jason Rohde and asked him and his colleague [Mark Thompson] to see me. We made an appointment for 28 July 2016. Thompson saw me first.

Appollis: I explained Rohde's rights in his attorney's presence and told him I see him as a possible suspect in this murder case. They handed me a statement but took it back before I could read. Up to now I have not received it.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Appollis says he took more than one statement from Spier handyman Desmond Daniels because something he said about seeing Susan's legs was not clear to him.

Appollis: The third statement dated 9 November 2016 was for Desmond Daniels to explain to me exactly what he saw to make it easy for everyone, including court, to understand.

State done with questions. Defence asks for postponement so it can prepare and consult with experts. Jason Rohde stands up and smiles. Trial postponed until Thursday.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[tmar]

Appollis says he took more than one statement from Spier handyman Desmond Daniels because something he said about seeing Susan's legs was not clear to him.

Appollis: The third statement dated 9 November 2016 was for Desmond Daniels to explain to me exactly what he saw to make it easy for everyone, including court, to understand.

State done with questions. Defence asks for postponement so it can prepare and consult with experts. Jason Rohde stands up and smiles. Trial postponed until Thursday.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

What, another delay!!!

 

[JudgeJudi]

Amazing, they started exactly on time. Jenna Etheridge, my favourite reporter, is tweeting.

Jason Rohde's murder trial resumes today with the cross-examination of the investigating officer Marlon Appollis.

Defence tells investigating officer Jason has been very helpful and cooperative with police. IO agrees that their first meeting was. After that, he says if he wanted anything, he had to deal with Rohde's legal team.

Defence says on day his wife died, Jason Rohde wrote a statement to explain what happened. He waited long at Stellenbosch SAPS to be examined by district surgeon and it never happened.

Defence: "He flew back to JHB to break news to his children that their mother had died. He sat for three or four hours at CT airport trying to get onto plane and arrived in JHB that evening." IO says he can't dispute that.

Defence: On 25 July 2016, you phoned Jason to ask him to point out where his wife had fallen and what had happened at Spier. He agreed to fly down and then met at your offices, because he was told he would not be granted access at Spier. IO disputes this.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24