Robert Richens, a 35-year-old man from Oxford, England, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years on February 6, 2026, for the murder of his ex-partner, 40-year-old Rachael Vaughan. Body-worn camera footage released by Thames Valley Police shows Richens understandably crying after his arrest, but not because of what you'd think. Apparently, Richens wasn't too pleased after knowing that he'd miss the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in November 2026.
The facts of the case are straightforward and grim. On May 30, 2025, Richens called emergency services at 6:26 AM claiming he had "accidentally" killed someone. Police and ambulance crews responded to Vaughan's home on Sherwood Avenue in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, where they found her dead. Despite attempts at lifesaving, Vaughan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecutors later revealed that Vaughan had suffered a sustained and violent assault. Court testimony detailed that Richens punched, kicked, and stamped on her repeatedly, inflicting at least 64 blows that caused major rib fractures and traumatic brain injury. After the attack, Richens spent five hours at the scene cleaning Vaughan's body, changing her clothes, and cleaning the space. He made no attempt to seek medical help for her. He only contacted police, in the words of Detective Chief Inspector Stuart May, "when he had nowhere else to turn."
In the bodycam footage played during sentencing, you can hear Richens sobbing in the back of a police vehicle. "I'm going to miss GTA and that," he said through tears. When the arresting officer asked which GTA he meant, Richens clarified: "Six." The officer responded that GTA 6 wasn't releasing for "ages," to which Richens replied, "I'm going to get life." Completely normal conversation to have under the circumstances.
At the time of his arrest in May 2025, GTA 6 was scheduled to release on May 26, 2026. Since then, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have delayed the game to November 19, 2026. With a minimum sentence of 16 years, his earliest eligibility for parole consideration is by 2041.
The irony becomes even starker considering UK prison policies. While some older gaming consoles are permitted in British prisons, they're limited to systems that cannot connect to the internet, such as the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. That means Richens won't just miss GTA 6, he might miss future Grand Theft Auto games and the next Grand Theft Auto Online as well as future Rockstar titles.
Grand Theft Auto 6 releases November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Robert Richens won't be playing it. Rachael Vaughan won't be alive to see it, and her family will spend the rest of their lives dealing with a loss that should never have happened.
