A man who manipulated his young child into assisting with the murder of his wife and then concocted an elaborate self-defence story has been sentenced to life imprisonment, nearly a decade after the crime. Robert Rhodes, 52, was found guilty in a retrial at the Inner London Crown Court after his child, now a teenager, came forward with the harrowing truth.
The Chilling Crime and Initial Acquittal
On June 2, 2016, Robert Rhodes slashed the throat of his estranged wife, Dawn Rhodes, at their home in Redhill, Surrey. In his 2017 trial at the Old Bailey, Rhodes claimed that Dawn had attacked him with a knife, forcing him to act in self-defence. His account was supported by his then primary school-aged child, who testified that Dawn had been violent towards them both.
The jury believed the story, and Rhodes was acquitted of murder. For years, he walked free, having successfully portrayed Dawn as the aggressor in their fractured relationship.
The Truth Unravels: A Child's Burden of Guilt
The case took a dramatic turn when the child, now a teenager and burdened by years of guilt and manipulation, decided to tell the truth. They disclosed to a therapist and later to detectives how their father had orchestrated the entire event.
The court heard that Rhodes had stopped the car days before the killing and asked the child, “Do you want to get rid of mummy?” Together, they planned the murder for June 2. Rhodes then gave the child a false story to stick to: that Dawn had attacked him, and the child had intervened, getting cut on the arm in the process.
To make this fiction credible, Rhodes used the same knife to wound both himself and the child, creating what appeared to be defensive injuries. He then coached the child extensively, even hiding a phone at his mother's house to maintain contact before the first trial.
Justice Served After a Decade
In the retrial last month, the jury saw through the lies. They found Rhodes guilty of the “cold-blooded and premeditated” murder of Dawn, as well as perjury, perverting the course of justice, and child cruelty. Mrs Justice Ellenbogen sentenced him to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years and six months.
The judge condemned Rhodes for his “malignant characteristics” and “cowardice,” noting he had not only taken Dawn's life but also sought to destroy her reputation. She described Dawn as “a warm, vibrant woman” who had found happiness with a new partner after their marriage collapsed in 2015.
In a powerful victim impact statement, the teenager told the court: “I wish I could stand here and say I’ve moved on with my life… but I can’t. On that evening, Robert Rhodes not only murdered my mother, but he took my dad from me as well.” They expressed a hope to finally rebuild their life “from the ruins.”
Dawn's mother, Liz Spencer, said she had waited nearly ten years for this result, stating it was not about justice but about her daughter's voice finally being heard.
Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey of Surrey and Sussex Police praised the teenager's “extraordinary” courage, which allowed the truth to emerge and corrected the dangerous false narrative that had painted Dawn as the aggressor. Specialist prosecutor Libby Clark stated that Rhodes was “a man who thought he’d got away with it.” He did not, and will now spend decades behind bars.
