Husband who got away with murdering his wife after ‘recruiting’ child to back his alibi is jailed for life – after truth finally revealed in remarkable double jeopardy case

A ‘callous’ cold-blooded killer who ‘exploited’ his young child to help kill his wife has been jailed after the truth about what really happened was finally revealed.

Brutal Robert Rhodes was sentenced to a minimum of 29 years and six months in prison after being found guilty of murdering his estranged wife Dawn Rhodes at their family home in 2016.

Robert Rhodes was acquitted of murder in 2017 after the couple’s child said in Robert Rhodes’ defense that the attacker was the mother, not the father.

But the boy, who was under 10 at the time, later admitted to a counselor that this version of events was in fact a lie, and police were given permission to re-charge Rhodes, the carpenter.

He was convicted last year after a new trial in an outstanding double jeopardy case.

The child’s name, age and gender cannot be reported for legal reasons.

But in a powerful victim impact statement read at Rhodes’ sentencing hearing today, they said: ‘My mother loved and was loved by many people; He is missed by all who knew him and deserves justice for the pain he was caused.

‘The traumatic experience that Robert Rhodes gave me will never go away.

‘The guilt and shame will never go away, and neither will the scar from when you cut my forearm.’

The boy had described himself as a “shell” since the murder and referred to Rhodes by his name rather than “dad”.

Speaking bravely through tears, the boy added: ‘Robert Rhodes lied to me, bribed me, made me feel special to manipulate me for his own benefit.

‘I wish I could stand here and say I’m moving on with my life.

I wish I could say that Robert Rhodes didn’t take everything from me, but I can’t.

‘That evening Robert Rhodes not only killed my mother, he also took my father from me.’

The boy said Rhodes tried to ‘manipulate’ and ‘gaslight’ them to support his story.

Rhodes refused to attend sentencing and the judge, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, was told he ‘maintained his innocence’.

Dawn Rhodes was murdered by her estranged husband – but he blamed her for her death for years

The judge described it as ‘cowardice’ and said the crime was ‘evil’ and ‘callous’.

Prosecutors said Rhodes planned to ‘get rid of the mummy’ by taking advantage of the strained relationship between Dawn and the child.

The court heard Rhodes, who had taken cocaine, instructed the boy to tell Dawn to close her eyes so he could be presented with a painting. The boy then stormed out of the room, allowing Rhodes to sneak in and slash his estranged wife from behind.

Rhodes and her younger child then cut each other to reveal that the attacker was Dawn.

The bloodbath took place at their home in Redhill, Surrey, on June 2, 2016.

Rhodes told police that his wife had attacked him and their children with a knife and that he had acted in self-defense.

When police arrived at the scene, they found Dawn lying on the kitchen floor. His throat was slit so aggressively that all the structures in his neck were severed. Rhodes was arrested for murder that evening.

During his police interrogation he said that he and Dawn had an argument in the kitchen, when Dawn took a knife and waved it at the child, at which point she told the child to go upstairs.

Rhodes initially cried during his first interview with police, but made no comment when he was arrested again following Dawn’s death.

He said he managed to grab the knife and Dawn came at him angrily. She said he swung the knife at her and made contact with her neck before running upstairs and calling the police.

Rhodes began to cry as he recounted his version of events.

When the child was interviewed, they gave a statement consistent with Rhodes’ alleged account of how the injuries they sustained occurred.

Rhodes was indicted; The child was an important part of his defense in court. He was acquitted and after a year in prison awaiting trial, he was now a free man.

But in November 2021, the boy told his therapist that Rhodes planned Dawn’s murder and manipulated them into getting involved.

Rhodes described this as ‘our plan’ and then lied to the boy about how his mother died.

The acquittal decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2024 and a retrial was granted for murder.

Rhodes was also charged with cruelty to children, perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He calmly gave ‘no comment’ answers to the police one after another.

At the hearing at Inner London Crown Court last year, 52-year-old Rhodes claimed that he acted in self-defence and that the child was lying.

When he was rearrested, he was living in the Mid-Devon village of Withleigh with his new fiancée, who was 20 years his junior.

He later told police: ‘I thought it was going to come back to bite me.’

The judge sentenced Rhodes to six years and nine months in prison each for cruelty to children and perverting the course of justice, and four and three years for two counts of perjury.

These sentences will run concurrently with life imprisonment, meaning the total prison sentence will be just under 30 years before his release is considered by the Parole Board.

Rhodes was told that the 590 days he spent in custody while awaiting trial would be deducted from his total, but that he might never be released.

Police and prosecutors paid tribute to Dawn’s family and said her name and reputation had been cleared.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Libby Clark of the CPS said: ‘The new evidence from the child witness was extremely shocking and showed how carefully Robert Rhodes planned to kill his wife.

‘He abused a young child before the murder, revealing his plan to cover up the truth and make it look like Dawn had attacked him so he could claim he had acted in self defence.

‘This included Rhodes damaging the little boy’s arm.

‘He continued his web of lies in the intervening years.

‘Robert Rhodes was eventually brought to justice for Dawn’s murder, thanks to the tremendous courage of the boy who came forward to explain exactly what happened that night; This was something he mistakenly thought he could get away with.

‘None of us can even imagine what Rhodes put the boy through all these years.

‘But now, as a result of their evidence, Dawn is now correctly remembered by all; as a victim of an abusive partner.’

Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey, of Surrey and Sussex Police’s major crime squad, said: ‘At the first trial Dawn was portrayed as the villain but in fact she was the victim of domestic abuse and coercive control at the hands of her husband for years.

‘It is absolutely despicable that Rhodes not only murdered his wife in cold blood, but then manipulated and raised his own child to play a part in his evil plan and cover up what he had done.

‘Not only did she take a life, she irreparably damaged the life of another and everyone who loved Dawn.’