Jason Rohde, former South African head of the property group Sotheby’s International Realty is expected back in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, where he is on trial for the alleged murder of his wife, Susan.
Rhode is accused of murdering his wife Susan in their hotel room at the luxury Spier hotel outside Stellenbosch in July last year. He denies killing his wife and claims the mother of their three daughters committed suicide by hanging herself from the bathroom door. The State alleges he strangled her.
On Tuesday, the court heard that when her body was found by Rohde’s colleague, Susan was porcelain white, and her naked body was cold and her lips were blue. State witness, Mark Thompson, who has known Rohde for seven years took the stand on Tuesday to testify about what he saw when he arrived at the Rohde’s hotel room on the morning of July 24, 2016.
“I saw Susan’s body laying on the floor and Jason sitting there,” Thompson said as he explained what he saw when he approached the room.
The court heard that in Thompson trying to help, he proceeded to perform Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Susan. However, after a few attempts, it was clear to him that she was dead as she was “porcelain white, her body was cold and her lips at this point was blue”.
Thompson said when he heard that the paramedics — who were the first people on the scene after him — arrived, he dropped down next to Rhode to comfort him.
The multi-millionaire was arrested at his home in August last year. He first appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court on August 25 and was charged with murder.
Rohde, who had to pay R100,000 bail and provide a R1 million surety guarantee, was allowed to return home to Johannesburg at the end of August last year.
– African News Agency (ANA)
