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

[JudgeJudi]

Court now hears about observable changes in Susan before her death. She apparently lost about 8kg, was preoccupied about her weight and attended gym more often. Also more anxious, looked upset, agitated.

PP also speaks about her findings that Susan slept even less than normal. "Not being able to sleep is a very significant problem. It can also be a marker of a mental illness within itself but even independently... it is increasingly significant"

PP points out significance of getting between 2-3 hours sleep five days in a row. Says she will come back to that later. People described Susan as very anxious, restless and fidgety.

Marriage counsellor recommended Susan be urgently admitted to hospital and considered she may have been a suicide risk. Counsellor was very concerned "about a look in her eyes". Susan apparently didn't want friends or family to know.

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[Tortoise]

The trouble is that Susan could have been suicidal and still been murdered. The perfect victim if you will. It's value is nil in determining whether she actually committed suicide.

IMO.

 

[patCee]

I've made 2 cheese omelettes and been to the looe during this break. How long do they need?

 

[patCee]

The trouble is that Susan could have been suicidal and still been murdered. The perfect victim if you will. It's value is nil in determining whether she actually committed suicide.

IMO.

My thoughts too. I feel uneasy about this analysis, particularly when we don't know what some of her behaviour was in response to in the earlier years. It's implying some neurosis, when it may have been a normal response to certain people or situations. The behaviour Jason describes to Susan was in response to his unreasonable behaviour in the recent months before her death. Susan cannot answer for herself.

 

[JudgeJudi]

PP says Susan chose her own psychologist Jane Newcombe after seeing her lecture on depression and suicide.

In Susan's own handwriting to psychologist, she shares that she thinks she is depressed, she has anxiety a lot of the time, she is quick-tempered, feels she is battling to cope, is questioning everything and has no one to emotionally support her.

Judge Salie-Hlophe: "I am very concerned that your report says this one says and that one says". Says she will focus on PP's professional opinion.

Before judge intervened, PP had been talking about how people mentioned in interviews that Susan's dress sense, behaviour and taste in music had changed. Someone told her that Susan "was making a spectacle of herself".

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[JudgeJudi]

PP says that after being directly asked, Jason said Susan had threatened suicide previously but hadn't thought it possible because she loved the kids. He dismissed it as ranting after she allegedly threatened to jump out the bathroom window.

No one indicated to PP that Susan was afraid of her husband and she did not admit domestic violence to them. PP reads out checklist of questions that professionals would ask to determine whether someone was a victim.

PP says she has treated many women who have been a victim of domestic abuse. She was interested to hear what Jason's psychologist had to say after meeting Susan alone for a session.

PP says that Jason's clinical psychologist revealed that when meeting Susan, she did not express any fear of him hurting her. Her fear was apparently of her husband leaving her.

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[Tortoise]

No chance Perumal will be back on the stand tomorrow. van Niekerk hasn't started yet and court usually wraps up not long after lunch.

 

[JudgeJudi]

PP talks about how Susan contacted her psychologist the night before her death, was crying and anxious about meeting Jolene. And how it took 10 minutes for psychologist to calm her down.

Judge intervenes again: "The impression I got was that Susan was very much in control and had a far more positive rapport with her psychologist than what you are setting out here."

Judge Salie Hlophe continues: "She informed her psychologist that she shook Jolene’s hand. It comes across as if Susan was feeling very positive about herself but what you are relaying here is very negative."

Judge to PP: If I read your conclusion it gives a very sad picture of Susan. PP doesn't comment.

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[Tortoise]

PP was asked to assess Jason to look for any factors that would be congruent or not with intimate partner homicide.

Plus she hasn't even started on THIS aspect yet. She's got too much to say about Susan IMO.

Listening to judge while I'm typing this I don't think she's happy with this report. Just told her she has overstepped the line - commenting on what has been said in court.

 

[patCee]

So far PP's report is so one sided, and not balanced by the context in Susan's various behaviours over the years. Thank goodness for Judge Salie Hlophe, so far.

 

[JudgeJudi]

P is going through observations about Susan by her psychologist. She did not think Susan "was a mouse". She was angry and sad, felt insecure. Testified under cross-exam that "the thought of suicide didn't enter my mind".

Judge Salie-Hlophe: I am not sure, with the greatest respect, if it is your role to set out what was previously testified. That is the role of the court. PP: It is not my intention to do that. Judge: But you are.

Judge Salie-Hlophe says PP has overstepped the line. PP says she will move past what was said in court now.

VDS cuts in and asks PP to give her conclusion about Susan Rhode. PP responds that prior to "this crisis", she had a number of vulnerabilities.

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[Tortoise]

She doesn't appear to have addressed the fact that women very very rarely commit suicide in the nude, (no reported cases according to Dr CW) and they are statistically less likely than men to do it by hanging. I don't have statistics to back this up but renowned forensic pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht testified to it this year in the Rebecca Zahau civil trial.

 

[JudgeJudi]

PP: These vulnerabilities were a personality that was high energy, on the go, busy, she didn't sleep for very long, she was a person who had some insecurities, she was a perfectionist, she wanted the world to just see the good side of her and her family.

PP continues with vulnerabilities: She did not share things that were painful to her with others, and consequently was socially isolated in relation to things that were sad to her. She may have had some genetic risk factors for mood disorder.

PP: With all the info I have from multiple sources, including my interpretation, I would say that she had major depression with the specifiers of anxious distress and mixed mood. That alone increased her risk of suicide very significantly.

PP: What Susan really wanted to achieved that weekend was everyone would see she and her husband were together, that she would prove to herself that she had won over the mistress.

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[JudgeJudi]

PP says that weekend must have ended up the "absolute crushing opposite" of what Susan hoped. "Rather than proving to the world and herself that she had won, it became plainly obvious to her that he still was and he had been lying to her."

PP says she can't say what happened that night. "In a psychiatric sense, and with all the info, I disagree with her psychologist that she was not a suicide risk. I think she was a suicide risk".

Judge Salie-Hlophe says it is prudent for trial to adjourn for the day so everyone can read rest of PP's report. She can finalise her evidence tomorrow. Trial postponed until 9:30 on Tuesday.

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[patCee]

PP seems to have spent her life acquiring degrees and relatively short times in various specialisms. I wonder how much time she had for 'real' living with realistic experiences of the nuances in people's many relationships. The attendance at Susan's funeral indicates that she was experienced as a reliable, trustworthy person to be with, rather than over sensitive or neurotic. Keep away from Dr's as much as possible is my philosophy.

 

[Tortoise]

Old van der Spuy is quite shrewd. I think he could sense Milady was getting worked up and he thought the better option was to get her to read the rest of the report to herself in her slippers with her chamber/home comforts around her, than to have to listen to PP reading it with her cosying-up-nudge-nudge-wink-wink-I-know-best bloody ANNOYING demeanour.

 

[Tortoise]

PP seems to have spent her life acquiring degrees and relatively short times in various specialisms. I wonder how much time she had for 'real' living with realistic experiences of the nuances in people's many relationships. The attendance at Susan's funeral indicates that she was experienced as a reliable, trustworthy person to be with, rather than over sensitive or neurotic. Keep away from Dr's as much as possible is my philosophy.

Did she go to Susan's funeral? What is she a spy?

 

[Hag]

Old van der Spuy is quite shrewd. I think he could sense Milady was getting worked up and he thought the better option was to get her to read the rest of the report to herself in her slippers with her chamber/home comforts around her, than to have to listen to PP reading it with her cosying-up-nudge-nudge-wink-wink-I-know-best bloody ANNOYING demeanour.

Spot on.....

 

[patCee]

She doesn't appear to have addressed the fact that women very very rarely commit suicide in the nude, (no reported cases according to Dr CW) and they are statistically less likely than men to do it by hanging. I don't have statistics to back this up but renowned forensic pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht testified to it this year in the Rebecca Zahau civil trial.

Reading your comment I also thought of why Susan would pick the electrical cord of hair straighteners, rather than her dressing gown belt that was on the bed, to hang herself.

 

[patCee]

Did she go to Susan's funeral? What is she a spy?

Sorry, I was talking about the number of people at Susan's funeral, over 1000 if IIRC, not about PP. I should have explained it more clearly.