Postmaster jailed for wife’s murder 'using Horizon evidence to prove innocence'
A postmaster convicted of battering his wife to death before fabricating a robbery at their Post Office claims he is the victim of a huge miscarriage of justice due to the flawed Horizon system.
Robin Garbutt, 57, was jailed in 2011 after he was found guilty of the murder of his wife Diana, 40, at their home above their shop in Melsonby, North Yorkshire. He has continued to protest his innocence since he was sent to prison. Garbutt's supporters claim the Post Office used the flawed system to suggest he was stealing money in order to finance extravagant purchases.
His supporters say the motive for the murder – and the manner in which it was staged – now has to be called into question. In a bid to force a retrial, Garbutt has taken his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on a total of three occasions, losing each time. His most recent try, in November 2023, concluded: “Figures from the Horizon system were not essential to his conviction for murder.”
Appeal documents, seen by The Telegraph, reveal that a so-called “pattern of fraud” was highlighted using Horizon. Mirror Online have contacted the Criminal Cases Review Commission for comment. Garbutt’s claim to have been robbed at gunpoint, and that his wife was battered to death by a second assailant, was rejected by 10-2 majority. Mr Justice Openshaw said: “It was cold-blooded murder.” Garbutt must serve a minimum of 20 years.
story that wife Diana had just been murdered by a robber was beginning to unravel as the paramedic tending to her said she had been dead for hours. Detectives spotted his attempt to cajole the medic and immediately suspected a cover-up.
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Robin Garbutt is serving a life sentence at HM Prison Wealstun (PA)
His supporters hope the Horizon scandal can help clear him of his wife's murder (PA)In reality, Garbutt had crept into the bedroom he shared with his wife and battered her three times in the head with a rusty metal rod as she slept. He left her bloody body for hours as he hatched his ridiculous story and hid the weapon across the road on a wall.
He then opened up his post office as normal and pretended all was well as he smiled while serving 60 customers. After a while, he dialled 999, claiming to be a victim of a crazed gun-wielding robber who had set upon his wife. Mr Justice Openshaw said his story was “ludicrous from beginning to the end”. He blasted: “There was no struggle, she never awoke. He struck three savage blows, smashing her skull and causing her immediate death as clearly he intended.
"He feigned cheerfulness as he served customers, as he attempted to deceive them that all was well. He has always accompanied his lies with sanctimonious lies of his love for her. The jury have exposed this as pure humbug. This was a brutal, planned, cold-blooded murder of his wife as she lay sleeping in bed.” Garbutt had convinced his customers he was a loving husband and the village nice guy.
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