"Yes, he absolutely, definitely is," said Van der Spuy when asked to confirm the planned appeal.

"It is definitely an application for leave to appeal both the convictions and the sentences."

On February 27, the court sentenced Rohde to 18 years in prison for Susan's murder, and five years for staging a suicide.

Three of the five years would run concurrently, meaning Rohde would have to serve 20 years of jail time.

The 50-year-old former property executive was found guilty in November of the murder of his wife at the Spier hotel in July 2016.

He was also found guilty of obstructing justice by trying to make her death look like suicide.

He had pleaded not guilty to both charges, saying that she was found dead in the bathroom at their hotel suite.

Susan's death came at a fraught time in their marriage. She had caught him in an affair with an estate agent and the couple argued a lot over this. 

Rohde's attorney, Tony Mostert, confirmed that the application for leave to appeal was being served on Tuesday and would be filed at the Western Cape division of the High Court.

News24