Sentence Increased for Man Who Murdered Wife and Manipulated Child
Robert Rhodes was initially sentenced to 29 years in prison in January for the 2016 murder of his wife, Dawn Rhodes.
A court has now extended the sentence of Rhodes, who was convicted of brutally murdering his wife and manipulating their child to help conceal the crime.
In 2016, Rhodes cut his wife Dawn's throat at their family home in Surrey. However, he was acquitted of murder in 2017 after claiming that Dawn had attempted to attack him.
Following new evidence provided by their child, Rhodes was retried in December 2025 and received a minimum jail term of 29-and-a-half years in January.
The Attorney General referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that it was "unduly lenient," resulting in an increase of four years to the sentence.
Prosecutors argued that Rhodes, who appeared via video link during proceedings, had engaged in "a very sustained and significant covering up for many years," and that the starting point for the murder sentence should have been higher.
The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme permits the review of crown court sentences if they are considered too low.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal highlighted Rhodes' "callous, selfish manipulation" of the child as a "particularly abhorrent aspect of this case."
"The Court of Appeal found that Rhodes' 'callous, selfish manipulation' of the child was a 'particularly abhorrent aspect of this case'."
The court stated that Rhodes "thoroughly warranted a long minimum term," and that certain aspects of the case should have further aggravated the sentence.
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