Robert Rhodes, 53, who recruited his young child to help him murder his wife Dawn, has had his life sentence increased to a minimum term of 33-and-a-half years after the Court of Appeal ruled the original term was unduly lenient.
Original Conviction and Sentence
Rhodes slashed Dawn’s throat at their home in Redhill, Surrey, on June 2, 2016, but initially walked free from the Old Bailey 11 months later after claiming self-defence. His story was backed by their child, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The child claimed Dawn lunged at them, slashing the child’s arm and stabbing Rhodes in the back. Dawn was blamed for her own death for nearly a decade until the child, burdened by guilt, changed their story in late 2021.
The child confessed that their mother was never the aggressor. Instead, Rhodes had planned the murder, instructing the child to distract Dawn by asking her to close her eyes and hold out her hands for a surprise drawing. While the child left the room, Rhodes approached Dawn from behind and cut her throat.
Following a second trial at Inner London Crown Court in December, Rhodes was found guilty of murder, two counts of perjury, perverting the course of justice, and child cruelty. In January, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29-and-a-half years for what the judge called 'wicked, callous' crimes.
Appeal and Increased Sentence
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient. At a hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that the murder sentence alone should have had a starting point of 30 years before considering other offences. Lady Justice May, sitting with Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb and Judge Nigel Lickley KC, agreed, calling the murder 'truly appalling' and stating, 'We find it hard to conceive of a more heinous plot.' The judge noted that the cover-up involving the child was a 'particularly abhorrent aspect' involving 'callous, selfish manipulation and abuse' that was 'not sufficiently reflected' in the original sentencing remarks. The minimum term was increased to 33-and-a-half years.
Child’s Testimony and Impact
John Price KC, prosecuting in the second trial, told jurors the murder was 'cold-blooded and premeditated.' He said, 'She was ambushed in her kitchen... This was designed to make it appear that it was she – Dawn Rhodes – the dead woman who could not now speak who had taken up a knife.' The child testified that Rhodes handed them the knife after the murder and said, 'I need you to put this here and push as hard as you can,' referring to his own back to create a false narrative. The child added, 'He told me that he needed me. I didn’t want to do it... He was trying to tell me we have both done it, you need to, otherwise he’d go to prison.'
The child described lifelong mental health struggles and a scar on their arm inflicted by Rhodes. In a victim impact statement, they said, 'While the symptoms can be managed, the traumatic experiences Robert Rhodes put me through will never go away. The scar Robert Rhodes left me with when he sliced open my forearm will never go away.' They also said, 'On that evening, Robert Rhodes not only murdered my mother but he took my dad from me as well.'
