Stellenbosch - A routine application to remand Sotheby's International Realty South African boss, Jason Rohde, which was vigorously opposed by a six-man high-powered legal team, was granted in the Stellenbosch District Court on Friday.
The 47-year-old father of three was arrested at his Bryanston home in Johannesburg early on Tuesday on a charge of murdering his wife Susan, 45, in their hotel room at the Spier Estate near Stellenbosch.
The couple had attended a Sotheby's function at the Spier Estate, and the wife was found dead in the bathroom of their room on July 24.
A privately-engaged pathologist, who did an autopsy on the body, reported that the death was suicide, while the result of a post mortem carried out by a State pathologist, indicated that her death was due to strangulation, and not suicide.
The State pathologist's report turned what started as an inquest investigation into a murder probe. All unnatural deaths, whether suicide or otherwise, are subjected to inquest proceedings, in which rulings are made as to whether anyone is to held criminally liable for the death.
In Friday's proceedings, the prosecutor read into the court record the contents of a sworn affidavit by the investigating officer, Stellenbosch detective sergeant Marlon Appollis.
In it, he explained that he arrested Rohde after satisfying himself that there was a reasonable suspicion that he had killed his wife, and that Rohde was a flight risk.
The arrest was carried out despite an earlier “gentlemen's agreement” that Rohde would be permitted to surrender himself to the police without the ordeal of an arrest, he said.
Appollis carried out the arrest at 6.30am on August 23, after consulting his superiors and a deputy director attached to the Western Cape Directorate for Public prosecutions.
Appollis said he needed until Tuesday to verify information, and to subpoena the Reserve Bank about Rohde's financial status.
The application for a remand for bail information, was launched by senior State advocate Carien Teunissen, and is routine procedure in all first appearances in criminal matters.
The purpose of such a remand, normally for seven days, is to gather background information about the accused, such as whether the accused has any previous convictions or pending criminal cases, or any outstanding arrest warrants that still need to be executed.
Based on the information gleaned, prosecuting authorities decide whether to oppose the accused's release on bail, or to fix bail with strict conditions.
At Friday's proceedings in the Stellenbosch District Court, Magistrate Greg Jacobs ruled that the State's application for Rohde's remand was “well-grounded”.
The prosecutor said the investigation no longer needed a seven-day remand, as requested on Thursday, and that a remand until Tuesday was now adequate.
On Tuesday, Rohde would be free to launch a formal bail application - to be opposed or not opposed by the State - the magistrate ruled.
On Thursday, after vigorous defence argument by the defence team, led by advocates Peter Mihalik and Ross McKernan, the proceedings were rolled to Friday, to commence at 11.30am.
On Friday, however, the proceedings only resumed during the lunch break, after which the court adjourned just before 2pm for 10 minutes.
When the court reconvened, it took the magistrate only a few minutes to rule that the State's request for a remand to Tuesday was well-grounded, and he said that he would give reasons on Tuesday.
African News Agency