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

[JudgeJudi]

I was involved in a trial recently, being the victim.
The accused used 'major depressive disorder', delaying the trial on several occasions:
producing Medical Certificates, and Psychiatric Reports.
Finally, after > than 3 years, these tactics no longer worked for him.
He LOST!!!!!
His LIES did not work. :loveyou::loveyou:

I'm so sorry that you've been a victim and had to endure a trial and all that that entails.

It seems to me that nearly everyone charged with a serious crime these days allegedly has a mental health issue. Maybe if everyone was tested, psychologists could find something wrong with all of us, but that isn't a licence to commit murder or other heinous crimes.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Cross-examination of Desmond Daniels to proceed at WC High Court. Daniels is a maintenance worker at Spier Wine Estate and was the first person to see Susan Rohde's body. (@ChristinaPitt94)

Jason Rohde's lawyer Adv Graham Van der Spuy has started with cross-examination of Desmond Daniels.

Van der Spuy questions Daniels on whether he has discussed his evidence in chief with anyone, including Spier Wine Estate legal representatives. Daniels says no.

Prosecutor corrects Daniels and Van der Spuy objects to the interruption. "My lady, I am cross-examining the witness. It is unconscionable that my colleague interjects," says Van der Spuy. Daniels changes his answer regarding who brought him to court.

Daniels assures the court that his memory has not faded with time. "So you have an unusually good memory?" asks Vd Spuy. Daniels says yes.

Vd Spuy points out that Daniels only made a note in his notebook only states: "Toilet door Nicholas 08:15." Vd Spuy says Daniels did not record what he observed. "So all we have to rely on is your good memory?" asks Vd Spuy.

Vd Spuy questions whether Daniels has received any formal education. Daniels says he went to school until std 8.

Daniels says he usually fixes toilet seats, taps and electrical issues. Vd Spuy asks how he fits into the picture if a guest calls reception for assistance with a locked bathroom door.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Daniels explains that he would have to establish why the door is locked. He received the complaint from the control room to go to Rohde's hotel room.

Daniels says he has never unlocked a door from the outside by using a screw driver in the groove. "How did you know it would work?" Daniels says he was trained to do it.

Vd Spuy asks if Daniels is trained to install a door. Daniels says no, but everyone in maintenance is trained to do a specific job.

Daniels had previously testified that a door could be open with a teaspoon or coin. "How do you know that?" Daniels says he has used this method on other doors long ago.

Vd Spuy: When you saw this naked white lady who wasn't breathing, you used the hotel room phone to call reception? Daniels: I called the control room.

Daniels said it took 15 minutes for the first person to arrive. Then the duty manager arrived.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Vd Spuy asks Daniels to show entries in notebook after August 2016. Daniels can only show entries up to September.

Vd Spuy puts it to Daniels that if this notebook records his daily activities, he clearly didn't fill it in properly.

Vd Spuy asks Daniels who taught him to unlock a door from the outside with a screwdriver . Daniels says a supervisor taught him.

Daniels said that he didn't know if there was someone on the other side of the locked door. Vd Spuy: but if a door is locked from the inside it stands to reason that the person who locked it must be inside.

Daniels says it can be locked from the outside. Vd Spuy: You keep harping on about that, but you're not answering the question.

Vd Spuy: you must've known the door was locked when you tried to open it. Daniels said Rohde told him the door can't open and then he tested the handle. Vd Spuy: but you never mentioned the handle before

Vd Spuy: if the door is locked from the inside why did you open the door? That is for the guest to do. It is private territory. Daniels says he just did what the guest told him to do.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Vd Spuy: when you opened the door what did you see?
Daniels: Her legs. From the knees to the ankles.

Vd Spuy: Why did you only open the door 15 cm?
Daniels: because I saw the legs.
Vd Spuy: When you opened the door was there resistance? Daniels: No it was easy.

Vd Spuy: I'll tell you why you only opened it 15 cm, it's because Mr Rohde opened the door and there was resistance.

Vd Spuy: you said she was stark naked when you saw her?
Daniels said yes. Vd Spuy: you say you saw her entire anterior? Daniels: Yes

Vd Spuy: Were you shocked when you saw her naked body? Daniels: I was shocked to see a person like that. Vd Spuy: what else did you observe? Daniels: She wasn't breathing.

Vd Spuy: how could you tell she wasn't breathing? It's not an easy thing to observe.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Vd Spuy: What happened to the affidavit made a week later? Did you get the dates mixed up? Do you not want to give me the affidavit? Daniels: No comment.

Vd Spuy: If you can't give an explanation about that third statement, then the affidavit I just handed up is your 4th statement at least. Daniels: No comment.

Vd Spuy: You are trained as a pastor so you know how to speak. You have answered every question with "no comment". Where did you learn that phrase "geen kommentaar"? Daniels: No comment.

Vd Spuy: Can you tell us, with your good memory, when did you sign the affidavit? Daniels: On the 8th month. Vd Spuy: Where do you get that date? Point it out on the affidavit. Daniels does so.

Vd Spuy: When did you sign the affidavit in front of the commissioner of oaths? Daniels: On 9 November 2016.
Vd Spuy: That is almost 4 months after the incident.

Court is adjourned until tomorrow 10:00

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Sorry Tortoise and tmar. I fell asleep during the lunch break.

No wonder van der Spuy wanted that two week break. I was totally unprepared for what happened after lunch. This witness was annihilated this afternoon. I'm at a complete loss to understand why he has repeatedly said 'No comment', but whatever his reason, the State's case looks to be falling away. The pathologist, Coetzee-Khan, did poorly in the witness box and now we have the events of today. Things are not looking good at all.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Very poor quality tweets last night but no-one else was reporting.

Daniels demonstrated how he found the cord around Susan’s neck and the number of times it was looped around the hook on the bathroom door. VdS said this was inconsistent with what he had previously demonstrated to the court. (None of this was tweeted yesterday) "You looped it around the hook 10 times. You barely made four loops last time," VdS put to him, but Daniels stood by his demonstration and refused to change his answer, responding with a simple "No comment".

After Daniels replied “No comment” to a series of questions, VdS told the court, "My lady, I am concerned that this witness has been coached. “Who were you with at lunch time today?" Daniels said he had lunch on his own. VdS said, "I saw you with the lawyer from Spier. I have witnesses who saw you with the lawyer at lunch time". “No comment”.

Daniels made 3 police statements: The first was on the day of the murder, the second was made a few days later, and the third one was made a week thereafter. VdS said, "I don't understand. You make a statement when the facts are crystal clear in your mind. Why were you asked to make a second statement?" Daniels explained that the police wanted to check whether he was sure of the facts.

VdS then tested Daniels' memory by asking him to check the dates on the three statements.
Daniels had correctly remembered the dates of the first two statements but incorrectly recalled the date of the last statement. It wasn’t made a week after the second statement but was in fact made four months after the incident.

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/...rned-that-states-witness-was-coached-20180314

 

[JudgeJudi]

Cross-examination of Desmond Daniels resumes.

Vd Spuy starts by asking Daniels about whether he spoke with lawyers at a coffee shop at lunchtime. Daniels denies that he spoke with lawyers.

Vd Spuy puts it to Daniels that Rohde called the switchboard at 08:22 to complain that the bathroom door was locked from the inside. Daniels previously testified that he got the call at 08:15.

Vd Spuy refers to official Spier telephone records. Daniels disputes the official record. He stands by his testimony that he received a call at 08:15.

Vd Spuy questions Daniels on the time line. If Daniels got the call at 08:15 and it takes 5-6 minutes to get to Rohde's room. He would've arrived at 08:21. Daniels gives no explanation.

Vd Spuy says Daniels cannot comment because his testimony is incorrect and untrue. Daniels disagrees.

Vd Spuy says the employee on duty in the control room on July 24, 2016 was a woman and she received a call from Rohde. Daniels previously said he was instructed to go to Rohde's room by a man.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Vd Spuy: Are you saying the employee is lying? Daniels: No comment.

Vd Spuy points out that first witness Mr Thompson said it takes less than a minute to get to Rohde's room from the breakfast room. Daniels said maintenance room is closer to Rohde's room than breakfast room and it took 5 min to get there.

Vd Spuy said Mark Thompson testified that he arrived at Rohde's room at 08:35 and Daniels wasn't present. Daniels previously testified that he left the room at 08:40.

Vd Spuy: Every piece of external evidence points to you being incorrect in everything you have said. Daniels: I stand on my point.

Vd Spuy has had problems with expert engineers and will not be able to proceed with Colonel Daniel Poolman's cross-examination today. His cross-examination will take place on 27 March.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[JudgeJudi]

Daniels said he spoke to no one after he left the hotel room. Vd Spuy says state witness and guest William Lee said he saw Daniels exit the room and then spoke to him.

Vd Spuy said Mr Lee said Daniels told him: "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. She hung herself." Daniels denies this.

Mr Lee said he then knocked on the hotel door and went in asking if everything was ok. Lee said he saw the unclothed bottom half of a woman.

Lee said that it was clear that someone was giving Susan Rohde CPR. Vd Spuy asks Daniels if he saw Jason Rohde giving her CPR. Daniels says no.

Daniels previously said he had made a phone call from the hotel phone in Rohde's room. Vd Spuy said according to the telephone records no call was made from that room on that morning. Daniels stands by his point.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[bajas]

Seems like Daniels is not advancing the State's case at all.

 

[JudgeJudi]

In previous testimony, Daniels had said the cord was found in such a way that the curling iron pointed upwards. When VdS asked him to repeat the demonstration, Daniels was unable to duplicate the result.

The Judge intervened and said that Daniels was not an expert on knots and that it made little sense for him to repeat the demonstration. She said VdS's line of questioning amounted to "badgering of the witness". "I don't appreciate your body language and tone. He [Daniels] is not an expert and he cannot show how the iron was knotted". VdS objected to the Judge’s intervention on the basis that the court was interfering with his legal right to cross-examine the witness and argued that the court had assisted the witness every step of the way.

Daniels had previously testified that he had never seen Rohde give Susan CPR, yet in his signed affidavit he stated, "I saw Mr Rohde [try] to give this person mouth-to-mouth." VdS said his testimony and the statement could not both be true. Daniels eventually conceded that he had seen Rohde perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He also questioned Daniels' timeline of events and said "Your entire version of events up until the moment you arrived at Mr Rhode's door is untrue and dishonest”. "Every piece of external evidence points to you being incorrect in everything you have said".

Cross-examination resumes on Monday.

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/witness-grilled-on-curling-iron-cord-in-rodhe-case-20180315

 

[JudgeJudi]

Spier maintenance worker Desmond Daniels is back on the stand and still being grilled by the defence on his version of what he saw the day he found Susan Rohde's body in a bathroom in 2016.

The State objects to defence lawyer Graham Vd Spuy going over the same aspects with Daniels as during cross-exam last week. Judge says some aspects are for argument later. VD Spuy says court is not entitled to "inhibit" his cross-exam.

Defence puts it to maintenance worker that he can't remember how cord was hooked & its position around Susan's neck. "You are either trying to reconstruct what you saw or you have been told what to say". Daniels replies with: no comment.

Defence says evidence was destroyed by removing the hotel door where Susan Rohde was found. Daniels says he did not remove door or know about it, nor did he replace it. Defence will lead evidence about door later. Daniels excused from stand.

[URL]https://twitter.com/TeamNews24[/URL]

4 tweets in 2:30 hours!!!!

 

[JudgeJudi]

The next State witness who will be called is Mark Holmes, Susan's brother, who flew in from Australia.

Holmes, who lives in Melbourne, said he was informed that his sister had committed suicide as he got off a plane in Australia in July 2016. He's known Jason for 25/26 years. Defence objects when he is asked what he thought about cause of death

Holmes: Jason phoned a few days after Susan's death and was sobbing profusely. "He told me I killed her, I killed her, I killed her. I tried to comfort him, to tell him it wasn’t his fault. Told him our family loved him and that I would be there next day."

Holmes: At the time, there was so much emotion during phone call with Jason. The information came daily to us about what happened with Susan. I just felt so bad for him. It was a horrible situation.

[URL]https://twitter.com/TeamNews24[/URL]

 

[tmar]

Spier maintenance worker Desmond Daniels is back on the stand and still being grilled by the defence on his version of what he saw the day he found Susan Rohde's body in a bathroom in 2016.

The State objects to defence lawyer Graham Vd Spuy going over the same aspects with Daniels as during cross-exam last week. Judge says some aspects are for argument later. VD Spuy says court is not entitled to "inhibit" his cross-exam.

Defence puts it to maintenance worker that he can't remember how cord was hooked & its position around Susan's neck. "You are either trying to reconstruct what you saw or you have been told what to say". Daniels replies with: no comment.

Defence says evidence was destroyed by removing the hotel door where Susan Rohde was found. Daniels says he did not remove door or know about it, nor did he replace it. Defence will lead evidence about door later. Daniels excused from stand.

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

4 tweets in 2:30 hours!!!!

Could it be that Daniel's education, didn't alert/help him, to be more accurate, being aware and consistent in his statements?
Would this therefore harm the State, a great deal?
The Medical findings on the body are so important.

 

[tmar]

Another adjournment!!
Why??

 

[JudgeJudi]

Holmes: Jason called us to a family meeting at Bryanston home where he shared he had been having affair with Jolene and was sorry. That he and Susan fought at Spier but he never laid a hand on her. It was a lot to take in.

Holmes: Meeting got quite vocal. "I stood up and asked: how could you take her to the lion’s den if she is so fragile? I will never forget those words. He said to me I am the CEO, I am the CEO. I was like, so?"

Holmes: I don't think Susan would have linked our dad's infidelity to finding out Jason's affair and being able to cope. Dad's affair was 16yrs ago in 2016. Susan and I agreed in chats that parents' marriage was solid. She helped them regain marriage.

State tells Holmes that Jason's version was he & Susan fought at Spier and she tried to stop him from leaving hotel room. Argued again in morning. Holmes says Susan was always very vocal when they used to fight. She would keep at it, "like a dog with a bone".

Holmes gave a eulogy at Susan's funeral, where he said "No farewell words were spoken". State asks what he meant. He replies: "We never had time to say goodbye to her, we never knew she was having a tough time, there was nothing said. She was gone".

[url]https://twitter.com/TeamNews24[/URL]

 

[JudgeJudi]

Under cross-exam, Holmes admits he did not see his sister Susan in 2016 and that she never told him about Jason's affair.

Defence: When Jason phoned you on July 27, 2016, saying he killed her, you understood that to mean he killed her emotionally, not murdered her. Holmes agrees. He is excused from stand. Trial adjourned until next Tuesday (March 27).

https://twitter.com/TeamNews24

 

[bajas]

The defence seems to be doing a good job of undermining the State's case....