Olympian Rohan Dennis’ 'lack of empathy' angers his widow's sister

Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis has shown no remorse and “perceives himself as a victim” despite him accidentally killing his wife, her family has told a court.

Melissa Hoskins, 32, died when she was struck by a car driven by her husband in December 2023.

Dennis, 34, has pleaded guilty to committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm but he is not being held criminally responsible for his wife’s death.

During sentencing submissions in the SA District Court on Monday, Ms Hoskins’ family delivered victim impact statements while Dennis sat in the dock.

Amanda Hoskins said her daughter had loved Dennis “and I know that you would never intentionally hurt her”.

“I believe this is a tragic accident. Your temper is your downfall and needs to be addressed,” she said.

Ms Hoskins’ sister, Jessica Locke, said she still had nightmares about police coming to her home on December 31, 2023 to inform her of the tragedy.

“Neither myself, my family or friends have received any kind of apology from Rohan for his actions on that night,” Ms Locke said.

“No remorse has been shown. If anything, Rohan’s actions since that night appear to suggest he perceives himself as a victim of the situation. Seeing him behave like this overwhelms me with sadness and anger.

“The lack of empathy and understanding for his actions … I’ve really struggled to process.”

She had been “cut off from my niece and nephew, and my kids from their cousins”.

Father Peter Hoskins said the family did not get to say goodbye to Melissa, who had just returned to live in Australia after living in Spain.

In a video call on December 30, “she could hardly contain her joy at the prospect of hosting her first new year’s eve party”, he said.

“The next time I saw Melissa was in the mortuary viewing room at the Royal Adelaide Hospital … that, I will never forget. It will haunt me forever,” he said.

“Our greatest fear is losing access to (our grandchildren, now aged six and four).”

They were “silent grievers” who were too young to realise the present and future impact of their mother’s loss on their lives.

Addressing Dennis, he said: “Can I forgive you for the abandonment of your responsibilities as a husband and father? I doubt I can do that just yet given what you have taken from me and my family.”

Prosecutor Tali Costi told the court that while Dennis was not criminally responsible for Melissa’s death, he was “reckless to the fact she was holding onto the vehicle”.

Barrister Jane Abbey KC said her client presented as a “very stoic man”.

“He says that’s important for his children,” she said.

“When the public is not watching … he is not at all stoic. He is experiencing deep, deep grief.”

Before the incident, the couple had been involved in a dispute over kitchen cupboards, “the sort of thing that husbands and wives disagree about all the time”.

“Your Honour, from looking at the CCTV, might see that there’s a period of less than three seconds in which a lot is happening,” Ms Abbey said.

“He describes to police hearing a noise, that noise it would seem was her jumping onto the car ... and one can see that shortly after that noise, and allowing for some response time, the brake lights show.”

She asked that her client receive a suspended sentence, which was not opposed by the prosecution.

Ms Hoskins competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics on the track in the team pursuit, and was in the squad that won the 2015 world title in the event.

During his competitive career, Dennis won two world titles in the road time trial, as well as silver in the team pursuit at the 2012 Olympics and bronze in the road time trial at the Tokyo Olympics.

Judge Ian Press will sentence Dennis on May 14.