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Mere metres from TDU HQ, Rohan Dennis’s court case rumbles on

The two-time world time trial champion will next appear in court on April 14.

Image: Nat Bromhead

Matt de Neef
by Matt de Neef 24.01.2025 Photography by
Nat Bromhead and Matt de Neef
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Two years ago, almost to the day, Rohan Dennis was riding to a thrilling stage win at the Tour Down Under in Victor Harbor. Today, as the Tour Down Under peloton returns to that same coastal town for the first time since Dennis’ victory, the 34-year-old was in the spotlight for a rather different reason.

This morning Dennis appeared in the Adelaide District Court, his latest hearing since he was arrested in December 2023 following the death of his wife Melissa Hoskins. Dennis was allegedly driving the vehicle that struck and ultimately killed Hoskins, with Dennis initially being charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care, and endangering life.

In the intervening year, the charges against Dennis have been downgraded to an aggravated act likely to cause harm, which Dennis pleaded guilty to in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in December 2024.

Dennis’ appearance in court this morning was a so-called guilty plea arraignment, an administrative part of the trial process. He arrived at around 8:40am for his 9am appearance, wearing a well-fitted black suit as he strode into the courthouse. He didn’t offer any comment to the waiting media.

Strikingly, the doors to the courthouse are less than 100 paces from the front steps of the Hilton Hotel, the epicentre of the Tour Down Under. Dennis’ name appears on those very steps, acknowledging his overall victory in the 2015 edition of the race.

When the morning’s court session began, Dennis sat in the back row of the courtroom alongside a small group of supporters. Among them were his long-time friend, the “cognitive performance consultant” Dr David Spindler, and fellow former professional racer Adam Hansen, now president of the CPA – the professional male cyclists’ union. Prior to entering the courtroom, Dennis had appeared in good spirits, smiling and joking with his support group.

Dennis – a two-time world time trial champion – was fourth to appear in the morning’s session and his hearing lasted less than three minutes. He didn’t speak during that time. A member of court staff read to Dennis the charges he’s already pleaded guilty to – an aggravated act likely to cause harm – before Dennis legal counsel, Jessica Kurtzer, negotiated with the prosecution and Judge Ian Press about the date (and duration) of Dennis’ next appearance – a sentencing submissions hearing.

That appearance has been set for Monday April 14, 2025. There, the court will likely hear victim impact statements relating to Hoskins’ death. Dennis will then be sentenced at a later appearance, likely several weeks or months after that April date. The charge Dennis has pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and a five-year loss of his driver’s license.

Dennis didn’t offer a comment to the waiting media upon leaving the courthouse.

Police allege that Dennis was driving the Volkswagen Amarok that struck his wife, Mel Hoskins, on the night of December 30, 2023, outside their home in northern-east Adelaide. Hoskins was taken to hospital but died overnight.

In a December 2024 court appearance, a year after he was first arrested, Dennis entered a guilty plea to one count of an aggravated act likely to cause harm. Prosecutors accepted Dennis’s guilty plea to this lesser charge on the basis that while his actions were reckless, he did not intend to kill his wife. His legal defence, Jane Abbey KC, said at the time that “there was no intention of Mr Dennis to harm his wife and this charge does not charge him with responsibility for her death.”