Husband guilty of Yorkshire postmistress murder: Watch police interview and dramatic 999 call

NORTH Yorkshire shopkeeper Robin Garbutt, who bludgeoned his cheating wife to death at their village post office then blamed an armed robber, was jailed for life today after a jury rejected his “ludicrous story”.

Softly-Robin Garbutt’s marriage to Diana, 40, seemed happy to outsiders, but he knew she had been unfaithful and feared his theft of thousands of pounds from the post office they ran was about to be discovered.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court rejected his story that a raider with a gun told him “don’t do anything stupid, we’ve got your wife” before robbing him as he worked, and that moments later he discovered her body in bed in the living quarters of The Village Shop and Post Office in Melsonby, near Richmond, last March.

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He was jailed for life and will serve at least 20 years before parole can be considered.

Mr Justice Openshaw, sentencing, said Garbutt’s version of events was a “ludicrous story from beginning to end”.

He added: “He has always accompanied his lies with sanctimonious protests of his love for her.

“By their verdict, the jury have exposed this as pure humbug.

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“This was a brutal, planned, cold-blooded murder of his wife as she lay sleeping in bed.”

The judge believed the murder was motivated by Garbutt’s fear of being exposed for stealing from the Post Office.

It was significant that his wife had been looking at the business accounts on the night he killed her, as she may have confronted him over the theft over months of thousands of pounds from the safe.

The court heard the couple had £30,000 credit card debts, yet still managed to pay for extravagant weekend breaks.

Garbutt, 45, planned the murder with a metal bar.

“There was no struggle, she never awoke,” the judge said.

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“He struck three savage blows, smashing her skull and causing her immediate death as clearly he intended.”

Garbutt hid the weapon across the road on a wall, then opened shop as normal and dealt with 60 customers without cracking.

“He feigned cheerfulness as he served customers as he attempted to deceive them that all was well,” the judge said.

During a lull, and after the safe had been opened, Garbutt dialled 999 and claimed his wife had been attacked, crying hysterically.

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When a paramedic told him rigor mortis had already set in, he challenged this, insisting: “She’s still warm.”

He told police a raider had robbed him and when he ran upstairs his wife was motionless, face down on the bed.

His story unravelled after officers delved into the secrets of his seemingly happy marriage.

Police found there was little profit in the bustling shop, and the couple had mounting debts.

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The Garbutts were due to go on holiday to the US, where his wife’s father was from, and Garbutt is thought to have feared a relief postmaster would discover the money was missing.

A robbery the previous year, which remains unsolved, may have been the inspiration for the faked raid and murder.

Police also discovered his wife had become involved with three other men, having a drunken “intimate” encounter on a sofa with one, flirting on Facebook with another and kissing a third - the husband of her cousin.

Mrs Garbutt, who the killer claimed had a higher sex drive than him, was also looking online for men to date.

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The couple had discussed splitting and Garbutt faced a future with no assets as what they had was in his wife’s name.

A crucial piece of evidence came from a meal of fish and chips they had the night before she died.

An expert on digestion told the jury Mrs Garbutt stopped processing the meal around six to eight hours after she finished eating it - giving a likely time of death in the early hours rather than when Garbutt claimed the robber struck.

Outside court, Mrs Garbutt’s mother Agnes Gaylor said: “I am not thinking about Robin now.

“I’m not going to let Robin enter my head after today.”

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Detective Superintendent Lewis Raw, who led the inquiry for North Yorkshire Police, said: “The murder of Diana - and the subsequent arrest and charge of Robin Garbutt - has caused a great deal of upset and distress to the residents of Melsonby.”

More on this story in Thursday’s Yorkshire Post