Murder-accused Rohde back home and 'trying to adjust'

27 September 2016 - 11:28 By Nashira Davids
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Jason Rohde‚ the real estate boss accused of murdering his wife‚ is back at his luxury home in Bryanston‚ Johannesburg.

His previous bail conditions stipulated that he remain in the Western Cape.

On Friday‚ the multi-millionaire succeeded in his bid to return to Johannesburg to care for his daughters. The father of three is to appear in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court again on January 27.

“He arrived on Sunday and is trying to settle back into life in Johannesburg. It is important that he be allowed to ease back into some sense of normality and focus on his family‚” said his lawyer‚ Daniel Witz.

“Neither Mr Rohde nor his daughters have had the time to mourn the passing of Susan Rohde. They hope this extended postponement [of the trial] will give them some time to comprehend everything that has happened in the past few weeks.”

Rohde attended a company convention in Stellenbosch with Susan in July. Her body was found in the bathroom of their hotel room.

Deborah van Dongen‚ a director of the Hearts of Hope children’s home in Johannesburg‚ said Susan Rohde had been a volunteer worker for the organisation for three years. Dongen said she was “'always the same”‚ always busy‚ upbeat and “very positive”.

“She was committed to the children at our home‚” said Van Dongen. “She was a committed and reliable woman. She really had an unbelievable love for her own children too.”

She often took children for outings to a park and would buy them ice-cream.

“The kids adored her and she volunteered up until the end. Because all the kids are traumatised by their own lives‚ we told them she wasn’t well and [had died].

“She has left a hug gap but a wonderful legacy at the organisation‚ and we miss her.” Jason Rohde allegedly had an affair with Cape Town estate agent Jolene Alterskye.

Last week‚ police confiscated Alterskye's cellphone‚ computer and electronic storage devices just before she left for a holiday in London. Her lawyer‚ Leon van der Merwe‚ said police indicated that she is a ''witness in the case''.

– TMG Digital/The Times

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