Rohde back in court for the murder of his wife

Jason Rohde‚ the Johannesburg property mogul suspected of murdering his wife‚ will be charged in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

It will also be his final appearance in a magistrate’s court as the matter will be heard in the Western Cape High Court where pre-trial is supposed to start on August 18.

In July last year‚ Rohde‚ who was then the CEO of Geffen International Realty Franchises‚ attended a company convention at Spier wine estate in Stellenbosch with his wife Susan.

Her body was later found in the bathroom of their hotel room.

The father of three has commissioned his own forensic investigation into Susan's death‚ which he claims was suicide by hanging.

State prosecutor Advocate Louis van Niekerk will hand over the completed police investigation to Rohde's defence team in court on Tuesday along with a witness list.

“Tomorrow is mainly getting all of the state's evidence‚ the legal team going through it‚ looking if anything is missing [and] if we require anything further‚” said his attorney Daniel Witz.

Van Niekerk said that despite the defence team's request for evidence‚ such as a forensic report leaked to the media earlier this year‚ they will not release it.

“When the pathologist is called to take the witness stand‚ it will be made public‚'' said Van Niekerk.

He said while Rohde's own forensic team found that the cause of death was strangulation‚ the state does not agree. - TimesLIVE

Source: TMG Digital.