Cape Town - Jason Rohde, who is on trial in the Western Cape High Court for the murder of wife Susan Rohde, was on Thursday accused of being a liar by the State, which pointed out how he had downplayed a physical altercation with his wife in the hours before her death.
State prosecutor Louis van Niekerk told the court that Rohde lied on his statement to police, and also questioned him as to why he would say “disagreement” when giving his statement while he had admitted to his father-in-law that he and his wife had had a fight.
The body of Rohde's wife Susan was found hanging by her neck by an electrical cord from a hook behind the bathroom door of the room they shared at the Spier Wine Estate in 2016.
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Rhode responded by saying that he was embarrassed to mention in the statement to police that he had had a fight with his wife, as he was with his family at the time he was giving a statement.
“Well, when I gave that statement I was with my family ... who wants to say or admit he had a wrestling match with his wife in front of the family,” he responded.
“So you lied,” Van Niekerk insisted.
“If you would like to use that phrase, then yeah, I lied. But to me, it was not a lie, but as I said I was embarrassed,” Rohde countered.