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A man who stabbed his wife to death and coldly manipulated his young children in a deliberate attempt to evade justice is set to be sentenced. Robert Rhodes, 52, killed his wife, Dawn, in the kitchen of their home in 2016. The attack followed the breakdown of their marriage, which was exacerbated by the discovery that his wife, Dawn, was having an affair with a colleague.
Rod carefully planned the crime and involved their children under the age of 10 in his plan. Afterwards, he concocted a story claiming he had inflicted the fatal injuries in a struggle of self-defence. The deception initially proved successful, leading to his acquittal of murder at the 2017 Old Bailey trial.
But four years later, his children revealed the truth to therapists, who were manipulated into supporting Rod’s lies as part of his plan to “get rid of the mummy.”
In December, he faced a rare double jeopardy second murder trial and was found guilty by a jury as the children presented compelling new evidence.
Rhodes was sentenced to life in prison at Inner London Crown Court on Friday by Judge Ellenbogen.
As well as the murder charge, Rhodes was found guilty of two counts of perjury, perverting the course of justice and child abuse at the Old Bailey trial and at the Family Court in 2018.
The murder occurred on June 2, 2016, when the couple’s marriage was on the rocks and Rhodes filed for divorce.
At 7.34pm, police received a 999 call from the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, during which Rhodes said his wife attacked him and their child with a knife.
Dawn Rhodes was found lying on the kitchen floor of her home in Redhill, Surrey, with her throat slit, and her husband launched a false defence.
He claimed to police that his wife hit him twice on the back of the head and later, at his first trial, described her charging at him after “flipping like the Hulk”.
To back up his story, Rhodes stabbed himself and caused wounds on the child’s arms – wounds he blamed on his wife.
When Rhodes was acquitted by a jury in 2017, he thought he had gotten away with murder.
But his plan begins to unravel when the child tells a therapist about the manipulation and then goes to the police to reveal the truth.
Rhodes coached the young man after the stabbing to support his version of events.
When he was arrested again for murder, he told police he “thought this was going to come back to bite me.”
The Court of Appeal quashed his acquittal of the murder charge and the Crown Prosecution Service received permission from a senior judge to proceed with a second trial.
Key to the new case is evidence from the children, who revealed how Rhodes stayed in contact while on bail in 2016 and 2017, instructing them to stick to the plan.
Rod continued to manipulate and guide the child, including hiding a phone in his mother’s home on which he would leave messages for the child reminding them of the agreement they had made.
The child followed her father’s instructions and asked Dawn Rhodes to close her eyes and wait for a photo to be handed to her.
The child then left the room and Rhodes charged at his wife with a knife while she stood with her eyes closed, unaware of the impending attack.
Libby Clark, of the CPS, said: “The new evidence from child witnesses is deeply shocking and shows just how carefully Robert Rhodes planned his murder.”
“He exploited a toddler before murdering him, explaining that he planned to cover it up and let Dawn attack him so he could claim his actions were in self-defence. This included Rod causing injuries to the toddler’s arm.
“He continued to lie over the next few years. It was because of this child’s bravery in coming forward and accurately explaining what happened that night that Robert Rhodes was eventually brought to justice for Dawn’s murder, which he mistakenly believed he could get away with.
“None of us could have imagined what Rod put this child through over the years. But now, thanks to their evidence, Dawn can now be remembered in the right way by everyone – as a victim of her violent partner.”
Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey, of Surrey and Sussex Police’s major crime team, said: “In the first trial Dawn was painted as a villain when in fact she had been a victim of domestic violence and coercive control by her husband for many years.
“The fact that Rhodes not only murdered his wife in cold blood, but manipulated and groomed his own children to participate in his evil plans and cover up what he had done, is nothing short of despicable – not only did he take one life, but he irreparably harmed another, and the lives of all who loved Dawn.”
Rhodes, from Wisley, Devon, denied all the charges against him at his second trial.
He faces an automatic life sentence for murder, and a judge will decide on Friday how many years he must serve before he has a chance to be released.