AS IT HAPPENED: 'Vital findings' excluded from second autopsy report, court hears in #Rohde trial
2017-11-22 09:20
Chief pathologist Dr Diedre Abrahams has told the High Court she agreed with State pathologist Dr Akmal Coetzee-Khan's finding that Susan had been manually strangled, and that the ligature mark on her neck occurred after her death.
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Ligature mark on Susan Rohde "dubiously low" and indicates post-mortem placement in a seated position most likely to conceal a manual strangulation.
Court adjourns to tomorrow. (Thursday, 23 November)
Abrahams is alleging possible negligence, misleading findings, ommissions as she goes through Perumal's report on the private autopsy conducted on Susan.
Abrahams says Perumal did not comment on scratch-like marks on Susan and whether they were signs of self-defence or assailant injury to the deceased.
Abrahams turns to Dr Perumal's report, and notes that the time of death is in dispute and says cannot resolve this through second autopsy.
Abrahams points at picture that she says shows evidence of blunt force trauma to the lungs before Susan Rohde's death.
ICYMI:
There were signs of a physical altercation before strangulation which lasted more than a few minutes, and could have lasted up to an hour, he said.
Blood was found in Susan's stomach and small intestine.
Khan thought she might have coughed up blood and then swallowed it.
Abrahams said Susan Rohde's ribs seem to have been broken by blunt force trauma. There were contusions in her lungs, blood had gone through her stomach towards her bowel.
Prosecutor announces that miraculously a pointer is now working, and is passed to her. She points red dot at scratch marks under Susan's chin and on bottom side of neck ligature mark.
Abrahams also concluded that ligature indentation on neck is consistent with post mortem-placement.
She is asked to explain how she came to findings in her report of what Coetzee-Khan was doing during Susan Rohde's autopsy on 26 July, 2016.
She decided she would assist him - also because it was a high profile case - involving a politician, or media interest.
He was alarmed that the door to the bathroom could not open easily. There was no key, but there was a slot and that slot could easily be opened.
He said there were further injuries on her body which wouldn't just fit into suicide.
He had been on first call so he went out. She was not on call. It was a medical officer or diploma-ed person on second call.
He called her because there was blood on the bedding, pillow in bedroom, faeces around body on different sites, and he found mark around her neck.
He called her because they are rotating "first call" so that two people are on duty - one a specialist and one a diploma.
Another person came to assist with CPR, says Abrahams, according to what Coetzee-Khan told her.
Dr Khan reported to her by phone that the husband of the deceased said that she was hanging behind the door and that when he and the employee got into the bathroom, they removed her from the hanging position and started CPR.
They couldn't open the door freely, that there was someone behind, the body was behind the door.
The story was that she was there with her husband and he had last seen her at around 7 in the morning when she went to bathroom. When he wanted to go to bathroom, the bathroom was locked and he (Jason) had to call for assistance.
Abrahams testifised that colleague Dr Akmal Coetzee-Khan was called to Spier and that he was inside the suite when he found a white adult female lying on the floor, dead.
Dr Abrahams produced a report on Susan Rohde autopsy and concur with Dr Coetzee-Khan after having read his report.
Dr Abrahams has worked at Paarl forensic services since 2003. She is chief of unit in charge of West Coast/Winelands. Coetzee-Khan at Vredendal assists with work in their region.
Dr Coetzee-Khan finally steps down. Court adjourned for tea.
Prosecutor Louis van Niekerk says pictures can help with the cause of broken ribs.
CK says it could have been blunt force trauma, or when she fell into the garden bed and small retaining wall during the confrontations with Jason during her last hours.
Prosecutor now asks Coetzee-Khan to display the headblock he uses at autopsy of Susan Rohde. Lots of rustling of plastic while he removes the brown wooden structure with curved neck rest edged into it. Shoulder blades rest on other part.
CK accused of setting out to exclude hanging. His mention of possibile Battered Woman Syndrome cited as an example. CK says but there was an element of violence seen between Susan and Jason as per yys info. CK says he was originally told that it was only a verbal fight.
Defence wants to know why the private pathologist did not find the altered blood that CK says he found in Susan's stomach, and put in jug. CK says the blood was put back in Susan's body.
