Western Cape High Court Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlope has rejected Jason Rohde’s application of bail. The convicted wife killer was told that “the law would be offended” if he was released, even temporarily. The court also ruled that it was not sufficiently compelled to justify his release.
Rohde had previously stated that his reason for applying for bail was to ensure his children were financially sound while he went forth to serve his prison sentence.
Salie-Hlophe found Rohde guilty of the murder of his wife Susan and staging her suicide at the Spier Hotel in Stellenbosch three years ago. This judgment was made last November.
Jason Rohde expressed his desire to be released on bail, stating that he needed to salvage his business in order to maintain his children financially. This comes after he was granted leave to appeal against his conviction by the Supreme Court.
Rohde will appear in the Western Cape High Court today, and will stand before the judge who convicted and sentenced him, as well as rejected his leave to appeal request. Judge Gyaat Salie-Hlope initially rejected Rohde’s leave to appeal request, causing him to approach the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) for the case to be reviewed. Thereafter, he was granted his leave to appeal his conviction.
This is the step that gave the former property mogul’s legal team the opportunity to move forward with an application of bail.
Rohde is serving 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife Susan, as well as staging her suicide during a conference at the famous Spier Hotel in Stellenbosch more than three years ago. It was first believed that Susan finally succumbed after a long battle with depression, but a closer examination of her marriage to Rohde determined that she had not committed suicide as he would have had the court believe. The prosecution claimed that Susan had taken her own life when she discovered that her husband was having an affair, and although Rohde claimed this was one of the reasons Susan took her own life, he maintained his innocence.
Rohde also claimed that he had asked Susan for a divorce the evening before her death.
“My conduct ripped my family apart. It has devastated my family and I know, if it wasn’t for my disgusting behaviour, Susan would still be alive today,” Rohde was reported to have said in his defence.
He, however, outed himself when his statement on how he discovered his wife hanging behind the bathroom door by the cord of her curling iron became contradictory.
Picture: Susan Rohde/Facebook