Jason Rohde, accused of killing his wife Susan Rohde, waiting for his hearing to commence at the Western Cape High Court. Picture: ANA
The former girlfriend of convicted wife killer Jason Rohde made a brief appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, where her attorneys informed the court that she has yet to make representations to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) in the Western Cape on why she should not be prosecuted for comments she made about detectives and a High Court judge.
State prosecutor Billy Downer agreed to the postponement so Jolene Alterskye and her legal team could prepare their submission to the DPP.
She is expected back in court on 15 April. Following Rohde’s conviction and sentencing last year, Alterskye made comments on social media and in a text message.
The Weekend Argus reported at the time that the message read: “I am [appalled at] this so-called justice system, the whole case was an attempt by the State to create a crime which never happened so they can lock up a ‘high-profile white man’ to try [to] show the country that they [are] doing their job.
“As far as I am concerned, the State and the judge are the same team and if the State acted unlawfully in illegally searching properties and bribing State witnesses, what else did they fabricate in order to get their Xmas bonus? A corrupt country starts with corrupt police, and I do hope the truth [will] be revealed and actual justice served.”
She later apologised to Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlope and prosecutor Louis van Niekerk.
Rohde was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of his wife Susan, and five years for defeating the ends of justice by staging her suicide, three of which were ordered to run concurrently.
He is out on bail pending the appeal of his sentence.
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