Melissa Hoskins' death was a 'tragic accident' says victim impact statement heard in emotional court hearing, Rohan Dennis' lawyer requests suspended sentence

Family members of Melissa Hoskins delivered victim impact statements in an emotional court hearing, calling her death a “tragic accident” in the District Court in Adelaide on Monday. 

Hoskins’ mother, father and sister faced accused Rohan Dennis, who entered a guilty plea to an aggravated charge of creating a likelihood of harm in the case surrounding Hoskins’ death in late December 2023.

“She didn’t deserve this for all the good she did. She always put her family first. Her death is so unfair and tragic,” ABC reported Amanda Hoskins, Melissa Hoskins’ mother, speaking directly to Dennis as he sat in the dock in the courtroom.

“Melissa was the best thing that ever happened to you. Rohan, you loved Melissa, and I know that you would never intentionally hurt her. Your temper is your downfall and needs to be addressed.”

Melissa Hoskins’ father, Peter Hoskins, said the family is devastated, the Guardian reported. He recalled a final video call with his daughter: “She could hardly contain her joy at the prospect of hosting her first New Year’s Eve party.

“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.”

Dennis was formally charged March of 2024 for his involvement in the death of Hoskins, his wife and former Olympian and World Champion, after a car incident that occurred near their family home in Adelaide.

He was allegedly driving the car which struck Hoskins on December 30, 2023. She was taken to the hospital and died the next day.

The original charges also included causing death by dangerous driving and an aggravated offence of driving without due care. Both these charges were later dropped. In December 2024, Dennis pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm.

Prosecutor Tali Costi told the court on Monday that while Dennis was not criminally responsible for Hoskins’ death, he either did not know or was “reckless to the fact she was holding onto the vehicle” as CCTV footage emerged showing the seconds leading up to the incident.

Presiding Judge Ian Press will sentence Dennis on May 14, 2025; however, his lawyer, Jane Abbey KC, has asked that Judge Press impose a suspended sentence. 

Abbey told the court the pair had been engaged in a “domestic dispute” over kitchen cabinets earlier on December 30, but that “Certainly, in Mr Dennis’ mind, he did not know that she was still near the car.”

The maximum penalty for an aggravated charge of creating a likelihood of harm is seven years imprisonment plus a five-year loss of driver’s licence.