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, she 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."
