Man who murdered wife has minimum term increased

A man who murdered his wife in their kitchen has had the minimum term of his life sentence increased after the Court of Appeal ruled it was unduly lenient.

Robert Rhodes, 53, cut his wife Dawn's throat in their Surrey family home in 2016, but he was acquitted of murder in 2017 after claiming she had tried to attack him.

He was retried in December 2025 and handed a life sentence with a minimum jail time of 29-and-a-half years in January after new evidence was presented.

The sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General Ellie Reeves for being "unduly lenient", and has been increased by four years, to 33 years and six months.

In the ruling, Lady Justice May, sitting with Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb and Judge Nigel Lickley KC, agreed the sentence was unduly lenient and said the murder was "truly appalling", adding: "We find it hard to conceive of a more heinous plot."

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme allows for crown court sentences to be reviewed if it is thought the sentence is too low.

It said Rhodes "thoroughly warranted a long minimum term", but that aspects of the case should have further aggravated the sentence.

The retrial at Inner London Crown Court in December heard how Rhodes murdered his wife in the kitchen of their home near Redhill.

During the original trial, Rhodes claimed he had killed his wife in self-defence.

Dawn Rhodes's death followed the end of the couple's relationship, and they were in the process of separating after revelations of infidelity.

The pair had known each other for more than 20 years, having met when Robert Rhodes was 21 and Dawn Rhodes was 18.

After marrying in 2003, the couple lived in Epsom and across Surrey, before settling near Redhill.

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