A post office owner in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Diana, is hoping to submit a fresh appeal against his conviction. Robin Garbutt claims that the discredited Horizon computer system was used to wrongly frame him for the killing. Garbutt has maintained his innocence since Diana was bludgeoned to death in their flat above the post office in March 2010.
Former customers of Garbutt’s still visit him in prison regularly, refusing to believe he was capable of the brutal murder. Some were served by him at the Melsonby Village Shop and Post Office on the morning of the killing and reported him to be his “normal cheery self”. However, Diana’s mother believes that Garbutt is taking advantage of the Horizon scandal for publicity.
Garbutt was found guilty at trial in 2011 on the basis of circumstantial evidence, with the jury split 10-2, a majority verdict. With no DNA evidence to link him to the murder, Garbutt was convicted in part after the jury heard evidence from a Post Office investigator using data from the Horizon system. The prosecution claimed Garbutt concealed his theft via a series of false declarations about the amount of money in the Post Office safe.
Garbutt claims that unbroadcast footage filmed by Tyne Tees television the day after the murder showed the murder weapon was not there, meaning someone put it there later. He also contests the pathology evidence about the time of death related to the stage of digestion of the fish and chip supper in Diana’s stomach.
Garbutt lost his first appeal against conviction in 2012 and has been knocked back three times by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. He hopes the decision to quash all Horizon-dependent convictions could pave the way for him to make a fresh appeal.
He stressed that his case is not the same as others affected by the Horizon scandal, but emphasized that unreliable data from Horizon “was used in court to make me look bad.” He claims that all the financial evidence used against him at trial cannot be verified. The Department for Business and Trade, which oversees the Horizon compensation scheme, declined to comment on Garbutt’s case.
In conclusion, Garbutt was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 20 years and will not be considered for release until October 2030. His case remains a subject of debate and controversy, as he continues to maintain his innocence and seeks further legal avenues to prove his claims.