Former professional cyclist Rohan Dennis has been handed a two-year suspended sentence over an incident which resulted in the death of his Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins outside their suburban Adelaide home in December 2023.
Dennis, 34, previously pleaded guilty to an aggravated charge of creating likelihood of harm over the death of Ms Hoskins, who was struck by a car driven by her husband, outside the couple’s Medindie home, in Adelaide’s inner north.
Prosecutors dropped a charge of dangerous driving causing death and an aggravated charge of driving without due care.
Melissa Hoskins pictured at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne in 2012. (AAP Image: Joe Castro)
In the District Court this morning, Judge Ian Press said to describe what happened as tragic does not do the incident justice.
He reiterated Dennis was not criminally responsible for causing Ms Hoskins’s death.
He also banned Dennis from driving for five years.
“To describe the consequences of the events on 30 December 2023 as tragic really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife Melissa Dennis,” the judge said.
“I accept you have a sense of responsibility for all that occurred. I accept you have anguished over what could have been different if you had acted in some other way.
“Whilst there could be no disputing your driving, given it was captured on CCTV, I accept you cooperated with police and had told them what had happened.
“Your single-mindedness as to leaving the area to de-escalate the argument assists to explain why you acted in that way, but obviously does not excuse or in anyway justify your disregard for your wife’s safety as regards to the acts which form the basis of the charge.
“It was your obligation to stop the vehicle when driving that vehicle became dangerous to her physical wellbeing.
“That you did not stop because you wanted to leave, is a very poor reason for not doing so.“
The court has previously heard that Dennis either did not know or was “reckless to the fact Ms Hoskins was holding onto the vehicle”.
It heard the couple had been arguing about kitchen cupboards when the incident unfolded.
The family of Melissa Hoskins arrive at court for Rohan Dennis’s sentence hearing. (ABC News: Marco Catalano)
Members from Ms Hoskins’s family have previously told the court of their devastation at losing the mother-of-two, describing her death as “so unfair and tragic” and that Dennis’s temper was his “downfall” which “needs to be addressed”.
The offence to which Dennis had pleaded guilty carried a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and a five-year loss of licence, but both prosecution and defence had previously agreed a suspended sentence would be appropriate in this case.
We’re providing live updates from the sentencing of Rohan Dennis.
13m agoWed 14 May 2025 at 12:32am
Parents commenting outside court
Ms Hoskins’s mother Amanda and father Peter have left the courtroom.
They are now addressing a media pack outside court.
Judge Press said Dennis had had an obligation to stop the vehicle when it became “dangerous” to Ms Hoskins’s “physical wellbeing”.
He said Dennis had demonstrated a “disregard” for Ms Hoskins’s safety.
“Whilst there could be no disputing your driving, given it was captured on CCTV, I accept you cooperated with police and had told them what had happened,” the judge told Dennis.
“Your single-mindedness as to leaving the area to de-escalate the argument assists to explain why you acted in that way, but obviously does not excuse or in any way justify your disregard for your wife’s safety as regards to the acts which form the basis of the charge.
“That you did not stop because you wanted to leave is a very poor reason for not doing so.”
In his remarks, Judge Press acknowledged the horrific outcome of what had happened on the evening of December 30, 2023.
“To describe the consequences of the events on 30 December 2023 as tragic really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife Melissa,” he told Dennis.
“I accept you have a sense of responsibility for all that occurred. I accept you have anguished over what could have been different if you had acted in some other way.
“It is however important at the outset of these remarks to acknowledge that you are not charged with being criminally responsible for all of the events of that night, and in particular, you are not charged with causing the death of your wife.”
Following an investigation, Dennis was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving — which is a major indictable offence — as well as one count of driving without due care.
He faced court for the first time in March last year.
But those charges were later dropped by prosecutors, who reached a plea deal with Dennis.
In December, Dennis entered a guilty plea to one aggravated count of creating likelihood of harm.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard prosecutors accepted the plea to the new charge because they agreed that while Dennis had been reckless, he did not intend to kill his wife.
Dennis has been given a two-year suspended sentence.
He is banned from driving for five years.
The former Olympian had pleaded guilty to an aggravated charge of creating a likelihood of harm relating to the crash outside the couple’s Medindie home.
Judge Press said to describe the circumstances as tragic “does not do justice” to what had occurred.
He reiterated Dennis was not criminally responsible for causing Ms Hoskins’s death.
Among those at the court this morning are Ms Hoskins’s mother Amanda and father Peter.
Both also attended last month’s sentencing submissions, and delivered emotional victim impact statements.
“Melissa did not deserve to die and she certainly did not deserve the death that she suffered,” Mr Hoskins told the court in April.
Mrs Hoskins said her daughter’s death was “unfair and tragic” and told Dennis his temper was his “downfall and needs to be addressed”.
“Rohan, you loved Melissa, and I know that you would never intentionally hurt her,” she told the court.
“I believe this was a tragic accident and an accident that should never have happened.”
Melissa Hoskins died after she was struck by a car driven by Dennis outside their home on December 30, 2023.
At the time, SA Police said emergency services were called to Avenel Gardens Road in Medindie just after 8pm.
Police said the 32-year-old suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment, but died later that night.
At a court hearing last month, Dennis’s lawyer Jane Abbey KC said CCTV footage of the collision revealed “a period of less than three seconds in which a lot is happening”.
She told the court the pair had earlier been engaged in a “domestic dispute”, and that the couple had previously agreed that when they fought, Dennis “would remove himself” from the situation.
Rohan Dennis has arrived at the Distict Court.
The hearing is listed for Courtroom 10 of the Sir Samuel Way Building in Victoria Square.
In sentencing hearings, the judge usually outlines the facts of the case before handing down the sentence.
The sentencing hearing has been set down for 9:15am.
The matter will be heard in the South Australian District Court.
Sentencing hearings usually take between about 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the complexities of a case. Dennis will be sentenced by District Court Judge Ian Press.
Usually, at the start of a sentencing hearing, one of the first things the judge will do is outline the charge, whether there has been a plea and the maximum penalty applicable.
In this case, Dennis has pleaded guilty to an aggravated count of creating a likelihood of harm, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ prison and a five-year loss of licence.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the sentencing of Rohan Dennis, the former professional cyclist who was arrested and charged over an incident which caused the death of his wife Melissa Hoskins.
It’s a case that has generated strong public interest, partly because of the high profile of Ms Hoskins and Dennis, both of whom were elite athletes and Olympians.
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