Jason Rohde found guilty of murder

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 06: Jason Rohde is seen at the Western Cape High Court during closing arguments on his trial for the murder of his wife Susan Rohde on November 06, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. During closing arguments, prosecutor Louis van Niekerk said that the court that should be cautious in accepting Jason’s version of how he found his wife’s body in a hotel room in 2016, over the version of hotel maintenance worker Desmond Daniels. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Jaco Marais)

Jason Rohde found guilty of murdering his wife

Susan Rohde did not commit suicide, as was argued by her murderous husband.

Jason Rohde found guilty of murder

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 06: Jason Rohde is seen at the Western Cape High Court during closing arguments on his trial for the murder of his wife Susan Rohde on November 06, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. During closing arguments, prosecutor Louis van Niekerk said that the court that should be cautious in accepting Jason’s version of how he found his wife’s body in a hotel room in 2016, over the version of hotel maintenance worker Desmond Daniels. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Jaco Marais)

Jason Rohde has been found guilty of murdering his wife Susan at the Spier Hotel in 2016.

The Western Cape High Court, overseen by Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, has handed down its judgement in the much-publicised murder trial of the Johannesburg father of three and former luxury real estate tycoon, Jason Rohde.

The protracted trial revealed startling details of infidelity, unrequited love, domestic abuse and, ultimately, murder. Rohde’s defence hinged on the suicide theory, which claimed that Susan had taken her own life, by hanging herself in the bathroom of their Spier Hotel suite in July.

State prosecutors maintained that Susan’s death was a result of her husband’s rage relating to his own extramarital affair being exposed.

The murder of Susan Rohde

Jason Rhode murdered his wife on 24 July 2016, following a series of tumultuous marital meltdowns compounded by his own infidelity. The domestic disagreements turned deadly when Susan rediscovered her husband’s extramarital affair with real estate agent, Jolene Alterskye.

This on-again-off-again affair tormented Susan.

On the weekend of the murder, Rhode and his wife attended a work function at Spier. Court testimony revealed that Rohde had begrudgingly brought his wife along to the conference, while in reality, he would rather have been with Alterskye.

Susan discovered that her husband was still in contact with Alterskye, whom he had messaged that weekend while in his wife’s company. This was a breaking point for Susan. A vicious argument erupted between the two, which became physical – at some point, Rohde struck and strangled his wife.

The failed defence of Jason Rohde

Throughout the trial Rhode insisted that, although he was unfaithful and miserable in his marriage, he was not responsible for the death of his wife. Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe blasted Rohde’s defence and version of events as nonsensical.

The judge pointed to Rohde’s lack of urgency upon the discovery of his deceased wife as a major flaw in his account of innocence. Salie-Hlophe, while handing down her judgement, said that Rohde’s testimony was fraught with inconsistencies.

The court found that Rohde had strangled his wife to death and staged the scene to make it appear as if she had hung herself.