A man who murdered his wife and manipulated his young child to cover up the crime has been sentenced to life in prison, nearly a decade after he initially evaded justice. Robert Rhodes, 53, was found guilty of killing Dawn Rhodes in 2016, but walked free from an Old Bailey trial in 2017 after his child, then under 10, helped fabricate a story blaming the mother.
In the years following his acquittal, Rhodes built a new life. He became engaged to Megan Baldwin, a carer more than 20 years his junior, and the couple purchased a home worth nearly £500,000 in Withleigh, Devon. They were expecting their first child together before Rhodes was rearrested in June 2023.
The truth emerged when the child, now older, confessed to a counsellor that their father had orchestrated the cover-up. The child said injuries to themselves and Rhodes were self-inflicted as part of a plot to 'get rid of mummy'. On the night of the murder, the child had called 999, and police found Dawn dead on the kitchen floor with her throat cut so severely that all neck structures were severed.
Rhodes had initially claimed Dawn attacked him and the child, but prosecutors proved he was the aggressor in a history of domestic violence. Neighbours in Devon described Rhodes as 'odd' and 'not very friendly', noting his frequently dyed hair—bleached blonde, pink, or green—which made him stand out in the rural village.
Megan Baldwin's mother said the family was under 'stressful time' following Rhodes' arrest. Megan is now living with her parents, and the couple's Devon home stands empty. Rhodes was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
