Richmondshire, North Yorkshire – A post office owner serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife is seeking a fresh appeal against his conviction. Robin Garbutt claims the discredited Horizon computer system was used to wrongly frame him for the killing of his wife, Diana.
Since Diana was bludgeoned to death in their flat above the post office in March 2010, Robin Garbutt has professed his innocence. Despite his conviction, many of his former customers maintain their support for him, visiting him regularly in prison. They refuse to believe he is capable of committing the brutal murder he was found guilty of.
Garbutt insists that a balaclava-wearing man with a gun forced him to hand over £16,000, claiming they “had” his wife. He claims to have given them the money and then discovered his wife’s lifeless body upstairs.
The original case was built on circumstantial evidence, with no DNA evidence linking Garbutt to the murder weapon or the murder itself. However, a Post Office investigator’s evidence, using data from the Horizon system, supposedly showed that Garbutt was stealing money and killed his wife to cover up the theft.
Garbutt was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum tariff of 20 years. Despite losing previous appeals, he is now hoping that the government’s decision to overturn all Horizon-dependent convictions could pave the way for a fresh appeal. Despite the new evidence he aims to present, the Department for Business and Trade, overseeing the Horizon compensation scheme, declined to comment on his individual case.