Melsonby PO killer Robin Garbutt applies for case review

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Melsonby Post Office killer Robin Garbutt applies for case review

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A MAN convicted of murdering his wife in the country post office they ran together has launched a new legal bid to clear his name.

Solicitors acting for Robin Garbutt - who was found guilty of killing wife Diana at Melsonby shop and post office in 2010 - have submitted documents to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Garbutt's family say the files have taken more than two year to prepare and include new evidence.


They added in a statement: "Next month will mark the fifth anniversary of Diana's death and the start of Robin's nightmare.

"After all this time he has now lost everything, but we are very optimistic that this new submission will lead to the quashing of his unsafe conviction."

Martin Rackstraw, from London-based Bindmans solicitors, who is acting for Garbutt, believes they have a strong case.

He said: "This conviction raises serious concerns and we hope the commission will examine the application very carefully."

The case has attracted the attention of investigative journalist Bob Woffinden who is working with the family.

He said: "I have been studying the case for some time and I have no doubt at all that it is a very serious miscarriage of justice."

Mrs Garbutt, 40, was found dead in the living quarters of the village shop and post office in Melsonby, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, on March 23, 2010.

Police and paramedics initially responded to reports of an armed robbery.

Mrs Garbutt had been beaten about the head with a metal bar as she lay in bed in an upstairs bedroom.

In the days after the alleged raid, detectives appealed for help to catch a man wearing a balaclava and armed with a gun.

However, her husband was arrested on suspicion of murder three weeks later.

During the four-week trial, the jury heard how the defendant had debts of £30,000 on six credit cards.

His wife had relationships with three other men, had signed up to a dating site and had discussed moving out.

In 2012, the subpostmaster lost an appeal against his conviction.

The decision meant Garbutt would have to complete the life sentence with a 20-year minimum term he was handed at Teesside Crown Court the previous year.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent public body that reviews possible miscarriages of justice and refers appropriate cases to the appeal courts.