Robert Rhodes, a 52-year-old British man who murdered his wife, Dawn Rhodes, in the kitchen of their family home on July 2, 2016, has finally been declared guilty of his crime.
The man reportedly killed his wife after discovering details about her affair with a colleague on Christmas Eve 2015. He allegedly planned the murder with precision and manipulated their young child, who was below the age of 10 at the time, to be involved in the murder.
Dawn Rhodes was found on her kitchen floor with a slit throat. Robert created a false narrative, claiming the fatal wound was inflicted during a struggle in self-defense.
He also claimed that Dawn tried to attack him and their son during an intense argument between the couple at their Wimborne Avenue home in Earlswood.
The man went as far as stabbing himself and inflicting a wound on his child to prove signs of his wife’s alleged attack. That story was initially a success as his tactics worked, leading to the acquittal of murder charges at the Old Bailey trial in 2017.
According to The Independent, four years later, the case was dramatically reopened when the child disclosed the truth to a therapist in 2021, revealing manipulation by their father to support his plan to “get rid of mummy.”
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Robert had maintained contact with the child while on bail in 2016 and 2017, even hiding a phone at the child’s mother’s house to leave text messages reminding them to stick to the murder plan.
During the retrial at Inner London Crown Court, it was revealed that days before the murder, Robert asked the child to tell Dawn he had drawn her a picture.
He then made the child tell his mother to “close your eyes and hold out your hands,” before leaving the room. As Dawn stood in the position, Robert stabbed her with a knife and killed her.
Robert Rhodes, who was found guilty of murdering his wife in their home eight years after being cleared of the crime, is due to be sentenced today.
His conviction came after new evidence from their child.
More here: https://t.co/s8rtgVloV7 pic.twitter.com/Tqz2AxJn1h
— BBC Surrey (@BBCSurrey) January 16, 2026
While the accused initially denied the claims and kept lying, he eventually told officers he had thought this would come back to bite me.” In addition to murder charges, Robert was also charged with child cruelty, perverting the course of justice, and two counts of perjury.
As a result, he became one of the rare defendants to face a second murder trial under the double jeopardy law, which was reformed in 2005. According to The BBC, under this law, people previously acquitted of the most serious offences, including murder, can come back on trial again if new evidence is found in favor of the case.
The outlet reported, Robert, who now lives in Withleigh, Devon, is due to be sentenced in January after 22 hours of jury deliberation in what Judge Mrs Justice Naomi Ellenbogen described as a “difficult and upsetting case.”
In court to see Robert Rhodes, one of the most dangerous men I have ever encountered, sentenced for the murder of his ex wife, Dawn, plus cruelty to a child, and perjury. Hoping for a loooooong stretch.
— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) January 16, 2026
While Dawn’s family members mourned the tragic death, Libby Clark from the Crown Prosecution Service applauded the child’s morality and courage to expose the murder, as well as pointed out the child’s presence of mind that led to him putting out all the details with such precision.
Other people from the legal department raised concerns about how well the child was groomed. Dawn’s brother, Darren, added, “We cannot comprehend the mindset of someone so twisted as to implicate a child under 10 in such a horrific plan. His disregard for his family and extended family is beyond belief.”
Robert will be handed an automatic life sentence for murder, with the minimum term to be decided by the judge.
