A husband who brutally murdered his wife and then manipulated his own young child in a calculated and "wicked" plot to escape justice has been sentenced to life in prison at a London court.
A Decade-Long Pursuit of Justice
Robert Rhodes, a 52-year-old carpenter, was found guilty of murdering his wife, Dawn Rhodes, in December 2023 following a retrial. He had previously been acquitted of the killing in 2017 after claiming he acted in self-defence. The case was reopened under double jeopardy rules after the couple's traumatised child came forward with devastating new evidence.
The court heard that Rhodes discovered his wife was having an affair with a work colleague. Rather than confront the situation, he spent months plotting her death. In 2016, he carried out his plan, cutting Dawn's throat in the kitchen of their family home in Surrey.
The Cruel Manipulation of a Child
In a particularly cruel twist, Rhodes duped his own child, who was under the age of ten at the time, into assisting with the fatal attack. After murdering Dawn, he then stabbed himself and slashed the child's arm to fabricate evidence supporting his false claim of self-defence.
For years, he "gaslit" the child into supporting his fabricated version of events. It was not until 2021, during therapy sessions, that the child felt able to reveal the horrifying truth to a therapist, who then alerted the police.
Mrs Justice Ellenbogen at the Inner London Crown Court sentenced Rhodes to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29-and-a-half years. She branded him a "coward" for refusing to leave his prison cell to attend the sentencing hearing, where his lawyer stated he "maintains his innocence".
Devastating Impact on the Family
The emotional impact statements read in court painted a picture of profound and lasting trauma. The child, who cannot be named, told the judge of lifelong mental health struggles and the physical scar left by their father.
"While the symptoms can be managed, the traumatic experiences Robert Rhodes put me through will never go away," they said.
Dawn's mother, Liz Spencer, said in her statement: "I have waited nearly 10 years for this result. I don't look upon the result as justice, but I feel for the first time my daughter's voice is being heard."
In addition to murder, Rhodes was found guilty in December of:
- Two counts of perjury for false evidence given at his Old Bailey trial and in family courts.
- Perverting the course of justice.
- Child cruelty.
Concurrent jail sentences were imposed for these charges. The judge concluded that sexual jealousy was the motive for the "brutal" murder, describing Rhodes's acts as wicked and callous, with a devastating effect on both families.
