Cindy Overton (39:13)
Ann Rhodes had filed for divorce. Police received a 999 call from the child who could not be named for legal reasons and this call came in at 7:34pm during which Rhodes said his wife had attacked him and their child with a knife. And Dawn Rhodes was found lying on the kitchen floor at their home in Red Hill, Surrey with her throat cut and her husband began to mount his bogus defense. He claimed to officers that his wife had hit him twice on the back of the head and later in his trial he described her coming at him flipping like a hulk. And so to back up his claims, Rose had a self inflicted cut and he actually cut his own child's arm and wounds he blamed on his wife. And Rhodes thought he got away with it and actually Kind of did. And he was acquitted by a jury in 2017. But his plan started to unravel when the child spoke to his therapist about being manipulated and then went to the police to reveal the truth. Rhodes had coached the youngster in the aftermath of the stabbing to support his version of events. When he was arrested for murder again, he tellingly told officers he, quote unquote, thought this would come back to bite me. His acquittal on the murder charge was quashed and the Court of Appeal and the Crown Prosecution Service was granted permission by senior judges to bring the case to second trial. Pivotal to the new case was the evidence of the child, who disclosed how Rhodes had maintained contact while on bail in 2016 and 2017. Giving him instructions or them instructions to stick to the plan. They're saying them because they're not disclosing whether it was boy or girl. But anyway, Rhodes continued to manipulate and groom the child, including hiding a phone at his mother's house on which she would leave messages for the child, reminding them about the agreement they made. The child had been instructed by their father to tell Dawn Rhodes to close her eyes and wait to be handed a picture. The child then left the room and Rhodes came at his wife with a knife as she stood with her eyes closed waiting for a picture. And she was obviously unaware of the impending attack. And this new evidence that came from the child was profoundly shocking and showed just how much careful planning Robert Rhodes had put into murdering his wife. And that was said by Libby Clark from cps. He exploited a young child before the murder, explaining his plan to cover up the truth and make it appear as if Don had attacked him so that he could claim that he acted in self defense. And this includes Rhodes self inflicting injuries and the injuries on the child's arm. He continued with his web of lies over the intervening years. It is thanks to the immense bravery of the child for coming forward to explain exactly what happened that night that Robert Rhodes has finally been brought to justice for the murder of Dawn. Something he mistakenly thought he was going to get away with. None of us can even begin to imagine what Rhodes was had put the child through over the period of many years. Now though, as a result of their evidence, dawn can now be remembered by everyone in the right way as a victim of her violent partner. And Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Eady from the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team said during the first trial, dawn was portrayed as the villain, but had actually been the victim of domestic abuse and coercive control at the hands of her husband for years. And the fact that Rhodes not only murdered his wife in cold blood, but then manipulated and groomed his own child to play a part in his evil scheme and cover up what he had done is simply despicable. Not only did he take a life, he irreparably damaged another, as well as the lives of everyone else who loved Dawn. Rhodes, who's from Withley, denied all of the charges against him at the second trial, and he will be handed an automatic life sentence for murder. And the judge will determine on Friday how many years he must serve before having the chance of release on license. And I hope that is never, ever, ever, ever. So this is an interesting story. We have a daughter who forgave her mother and cousin's killer, and she even forgave him so much that she hired him. And then that same man murdered her. Sally Snowden McKay, who was 75 years old, and her cousin, Memphis blues guitarist Joseph Lee Baker, who was 52 years old, were brutally killed on their stunning estate at Horseshoe Lake in Arkansas in 1996. And Sally had a daughter, and she's a grieving daughter, named Martha. And in an extraordinary act of compassion, she actually befriended the murderer, Travis Lewis, while he was in prison. Despite his heinous crime, Martha gave the young man a second chance because he was 17 at the time of the crime. That's why he's called a young man. As he had pleaded guilty but never confessed, however, Martha's act of kindness would prove fatal. Having come to terms with her grief, Martha decided to reopen the house where her mother was murdered. She transformed the mansion into a luxury bed and breakfast and wedding venue. And she turned the scene of the crime into a beautiful place as Snowden House. Martha supported Lewis's early release from prison in 2018 and even discreetly offered him a job at Snowden House. Lewis maintained that someone else was responsible. He never confessed. Longtime friend Frank Boyd told Martha he didn't think befriending Lewis was a good idea. But she didn't. She didn't answer me. Lewis worked on the property for 18 months until her decision backfired for the first time when she thought Lewis might have been guilty of the the theft of $10,000 stored in the house for the sale of a chandelier. Martha knew he had been at the house the day that that money was stolen. And then, tragically, Martha was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death at the top of the stairs of the house on March 25th of 2020. And she was 63 years old. Police also found a cloth bag nearby containing several valuables and a bloody kitchen knife. Crittenden County Chief Investigator Todd Grooms said it was determined that he intended to steal these items. However, it was not determined whether his intentions were to burglarize McKay's home and she was killed in the process, or if his intention was to murder. McKay then opted to steal the items. A manhunt revealed that her murderer had leapt from the second story window when the police arrived, sprinted across the expansive lawn and into the lake where he drowned. According to a post on the sheriff's office fake Facebook page, police identified these this is in quotes a possible suspect who jumped from an upstairs window and ran to a vehicle. Then he drove across the yard and got stuck in the yard at the Snowden house. The suspect then jumped from the car and ran and jumped into the lake and he was observed going under the water and never came back up. A toxicology report discovered a mix of drugs in his system when his body was retrieved. And Martha's sister said, we are all just in disbelief. Goodness gracious, you think you're doing a good thing. Forgive. Give the man a job. Reminds me of, reminds me of. I guess it's was told to me as a joke, but the snake that offers to give the rock or the alligator or the snake or the whatever that offers to give a frog a ride across the pond because there's not lily pads for it to hop across. And they're like, come on, we won't hurt you. And the frog initially gives in to the snake or the crocodile, whichever it was, and they get across the pond, they get a ride across the pond and once they get across, the snake or the alligator, whatever it was, bit the frog. And the frog said like, well, you said you weren't going to hurt me. Why would you do that? And they said, well, I'm a snake or alligator, whatever it was, that's what I do. So we've got a story coming out of New York City and we were at a sentencing hearing for Daniel hyden. He was 46 years old. And in the sentencing hearing he apologized to his victims loved ones and described the crash as an accident. So this is what happened. There was a speeding drunk driver who killed four people after plowing his pickup truck into a crowded New York City park on the 4th of July in 2024. And he's finally learned his fate. Daniel Hyden, 46 years old, was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison following his conviction on charges of second degree murder and More Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. Said on Friday, January 16. While this prison sentence will not reverse the fatalities, injuries and trauma, I hope this sentencing brings a measure of comfort for those who were impacted by this mass casualty event. Daniel Hyden, the speeding drunk driver who killed four people after plowing his pickup truck into the crowded New York City park on the 4th of July, has now learned his fate. Sentenced to 24 years to life in prison, he was convicted in November of 2025 on four counts of second degree murder, four counts of second degree murder assault, three counts of third degree assault and one count of aggravated vehicular homicide after the bench trial. So on July 4th of 2024, Haydn, who was intoxicated, ran a stop sign and sped through a construction zone in Manhattan's Lower East Side at speeds of up to 54 miles per hour, which were nearly double the typical 25 mile per hour speed limit. And then he crashed into a chain link fence and into a crowd at Corlear's Hook Park. Hiden had fully pressed down on his gas pedal and did not hit his brakes until 1/2 second before the final crash and because of that, four people were trapped underneath the pickup truck with seven others struck and injured by the truck and debris. Lucille Pickney, 59 years old, Herman Pickney, 38 years old, and Anna Morell, 43 years old, were pronounced dead at the scene while Emily ruiz, who was 30 years old, died five days later. Hydin worked as a substance abuse counselor and wrote a book about sobriety titled the Sober Addict, and prosecutors actually cited his background during his trial as evidence that Hydin was aware of his actions that night. Hiden said he had broken his sobriety after his sister was killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey in 2021 and at the time of the his crash In July of 2024, he was preparing to speak at that driver sentencing. What kind of human being would put other human beings through the same thing I was going through? Hayden asked police. Body camera footage showed Hiden had been denied entry to a boat party for being too intoxicated prior to the crash. While this prison sentence will not reverse the fatalities, injuries and trauma, I hope this sentencing brings a measure of comfort for those who were impacted by this mass casualty event. That was said by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. If you are intoxicated, do not get behind the will. It risks the lives of others and you will be prosecuted, he goes on to say. The victim's loved ones shared statements inside and outside the courtroom on Friday, a relative of the pygmies echoed the arguments put forward by prosecutors. Daniel made the conscious choice to drink and drive, fully aware of the risk, fully aware of the devastation it would cause. Helena Herrera, which was Ruiz's best friend, said the loss is still hard to believe, but she's glad that at least now there's some sense of justice. Goes on to say it doesn't help much, doesn't bring anything back, but it's good to have it over with. So I'm happy for that. During the sentencing hearing, Haydn apologized to the victim's loved ones and described the crash as an accident. You get in the car, drinking and driving, it's not an accident, he goes on to say. I'm processing how deeply disturbed and deeply hurt I was and still am. And I'm still processing the amount of people I hurt with my actions. Well, that is for sure. So on that I'm going to end today's episode for True crime. Time for January 19th, 2026. And please look in the show notes for the GoFundMe if you've listened to this podcast for a while, you know that Woody does not, has not in the past promoted GoFundMe at all. He was burned on one. He was very upset by it. That's a long story, but this one we know is legitimate. This one we know exactly what's going to happen with the money and it is going to help get justice for Haley. And I'm not sure if he'll be back tomorrow, but if not, I will definitely be here and I'll keep keeping you up to date on crimes past and current and I hope you have a wonderful Monday. And if Woody was here, he would say best week ever starts now. And until next time, y' all have a great day.