LONDON — A Surrey man who was previously acquitted of killing his wife has now been convicted of her murder after a court heard how he orchestrated an elaborate cover-up involving his own child, nearly a decade after the crime.
Robert Rhodes, 52, a carpenter from Redhill, was found guilty at Inner London Crown Court on Friday of murdering his estranged wife, Dawn Rhodes, in June 2016. The jury also convicted him of child cruelty, perverting the course of justice, and two counts of perjury.
Rhodes had initially avoided conviction after a 2017 trial at the Old Bailey, where jurors accepted his claim that he acted in self-defence during a domestic argument. He was acquitted at that time and remained free for several years.
Prosecutors told the court that Rhodes believed he had “got away with murder” until new evidence emerged last year, leading to his re-arrest in July 2024 and a fresh prosecution.
The decisive evidence came from one of the couple’s children, who was under the age of 10 at the time of the killing and whose identity is protected for legal reasons. The child had originally supported Rhodes’ version of events in two police interviews conducted shortly after Dawn Rhodes’ death. Those interviews played a significant role in his earlier acquittal.
However, the court heard that the child later disclosed that they had been manipulated by their father into lying to police and supporting a false narrative of self-defence.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the child revealed during therapy sessions in 2021 that the killing had been planned in advance and that they had been coerced into playing a role in the events leading up to Dawn Rhodes’ death. The child, who now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, later provided police with a detailed account of what actually happened.
Prosecutors said Rhodes devised a plan to make the killing appear spontaneous. The child was instructed to distract their mother shortly before the attack by giving her a drawing and asking her to hold out her hands. While this was happening, Rhodes approached from behind and fatally injured his wife.
Dawn Rhodes was later found in the dining room of the family home. Emergency services were called, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The child told the court that after the killing, Rhodes deliberately injured himself to support his claim that he had been attacked. He also instructed the child to cause additional injuries to him. The court further heard that Rhodes inflicted a serious injury on the child’s arm, which later required hospital treatment.
In recorded police interviews played to the jury, the child described hearing noises from another room and then seeing their father emerge covered in blood. They said Rhodes repeatedly reminded them to stick to the agreed story while waiting for police to arrive, warning that if they told the truth he would go to prison and they would be left without anyone to care for them.
The jury heard that the child maintained the false account for years, including during the original trial, due to fear and emotional manipulation. At one point, Rhodes warned the child against speaking out by using the phrase: “Snitches get stitches.”
The CPS said the child’s eventual disclosure was an act of extraordinary courage and proved central to exposing what prosecutors described as a carefully constructed deception.
Libby Clark, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the new evidence revealed “the true extent of the planning and manipulation” behind the murder.
“Robert Rhodes exploited a young child both before and after killing Dawn,” she said. “He coached the child on what to say, injured them as part of the cover-up, and maintained a web of lies for years to avoid justice.”
She added that the case highlighted the severe and lasting harm inflicted on the child, who bore no criminal responsibility for the events due to their age.
“The bravery shown in finally coming forward has ensured that Dawn Rhodes can now be remembered for what she was — a victim of serious domestic violence,” Clark said.
Rhodes denied planning the killing and maintained his claim of self-defence throughout the trial. The jury rejected his account after hearing the child’s testimony and reviewing the wider evidence.
He will be sentenced on January 16. The judge indicated that a life sentence would be considered, reflecting the seriousness of the offences.
Police and prosecutors said the case underscores the importance of safeguarding children in domestic abuse investigations and reviewing historical cases where new evidence emerges.
Dawn Rhodes’ family were present in court for the verdict and said through representatives that they welcomed the outcome after years of waiting for justice.
Source:Africa Publicity
