Daughter's relief after 'evil' dad is jailed for Prestatyn spike attack

Feb 8 2010 by Kelly Barker, Daily Post

THE DAUGHTER of a man convicted of trying to kill his ex-fiancée with a metal pole told of her relief now her “evil” father is behind bars.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Post, Jess Rhodes relived her horrific childhood at the hands of monstrous Gary Rhodes.

The 19-year-old design administrator from Rhos-on-Sea said her controlling dad threatened to slit her mum’s throat and set fire to the house with Jess in it.

But after catalogue of mental and physical abuse, Jess’ mum Katrina Finnegan finally left her “manipulative” husband and took her children to live in a safe house.

Over the years, bully Rhodes spied on them and sent chilling text messages to let them know he’d been watching.

He even broke into their auntie’s house where they were staying, and moved things around to “spook” them, Jess said.

The teenager, who refers to her dad by his first name, said she had cut ties with him by the time he tried to kill former partner Lynda Green by stabbing her in the neck with a rusty road spike.

Ms Green was smoking outside her sister’s house in Marion Road, Prestatyn, when the Daniel Construction worker crept up on her in the dark and stabbed her with the 4ft-long weapon on January 24, last year.

The fence pole, which had to be trimmed down by firefighters in order to fit her in an ambulance, had been plunged six inches into her chest cavity – missing her vital organs and arteries by a fraction.

During a 13-day trial at Caernarfon Crown Court in January, Rhodes of Tanllwyfan, Old Colwyn, maintained his innocence. But he was jailed for 20 years after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder.

Jess described the moment everything “hit home” when she saw the road pole in court.

“I felt sick as I thought to myself: that was actually thrust into somebody by the person I'm meant to call dad.

“At the beginning of the trial, I actually felt sorry for him until I saw that horrible smug smile on his face as if he thought he was going to get away with it.

“He pulled the wool over so many people’s eyes that I was so scared the jury would believe his lies. Hearing the verdict was such a relief, I literally felt the weight lifting from my shoulders. It was so surreal I thought: I’ve been fearing this bloke for 19 years, what do I do now?”

Jess was 13 when her mum and dad split up, but remembers her parent’s arguments beginning to get “more heated and violent.”

“Gary is a bully who is manipulative, controlling, slimy and evil – he always knew what he wanted and he knew how to manipulate people to get it,” she said.

“When I went to stay with him at weekends, I hated it.

“Gary drilled holes in the walls so that he could keep watch over me – he got a kick out of knowing he could see me and I didn’t have a clue.

“And while I lived with my mum, he’d find ways to let us know he knew where we were, and even broke into our house and moved things around.

“He sent us texts saying things like: ‘I hope you had fun in Rhyl today,’ or ‘I like that pink skirt you had on,’ to try and get a hold on you.

“Eventually, I wrote him a letter telling him we wanted nothing more to do with him.

“It’s only when you grow up and look back that you think we didn’t really live a normal life.”

Jess, who said Rhodes didn’t even recognise her in court, added: “We knew what he was capable of and if we’d have stayed with Gary, I think we’d have ended up like Lynda.

“I’ve had a constant smile on my face since Gary was found guilty.

“What I take comfort in now is that if he comes out in 10 years, it’ll mean he’s changed because if he hasn’t, and he’s still the bully that he was, then he’ll end up straight back in prison.

“For now, he’s in the best place.”