Mother tells of wrecked family lives after post office murder

Agnes Gaylor's daughter Diana Garbutt, 40, was found dead in the upstairs living quarters of Melsonby Village Shop and Post Office, north of Richmond, on Tuesday morning.

Making an emotional appeal yesterday to "help find the man that did this before he does it again" Mrs Gaylor, 60, said the last few years in Melsonby had been the happiest of her daughter's life.

"She was content. She loved her life. She didn't deserve to be taken like this. The person who has taken my Diana's life has also destroyed my life, her husband Robin's life and the lives of so many other people who adored Diana."

Mrs Gaylor, supported by her partner Michael Hodgson, said: "I'm here today to appeal to anyone watching, reading or listening. If you have any information which may help the police catch the person who brutally murdered my wonderful daughter Diana, please come forward with that information.

"Someone knows the person who did this. Someone you know may have Diana's blood on their clothes, may be behaving oddly or spending more money than usual.

"Catching them won't bring my daughter back but, if you know anything which could catch and stop the killer from hurting anyone else, please speak out now and contact the police."

Mr Garbutt told police he opened his shop at 4.30am on Tuesday and was confronted by a masked gunman just after he opened up the post office counter at 8.30am.

The raider said "We've got your wife" before ordering Mr Garbutt to fill a holdall with cash from the safe. Mr Garbutt later found his wife dying from severe head injuries.

Police are looking for a suspect who is about 6ft and was wearing a black, tight-fitting mask, a dark blue, long-sleeved T-shirt and dark blue-black coloured jeans.

Mrs Gaylor continued: "Diana was an amazing girl. She was considerate, kind. She was a lot of things to a lot of people.She had a wicked sense of humour. She was just a lovely girl. The few years whilst she's lived at the post office and she's been married to Robin is the happiest I've ever seen Diana."

Mrs Garbutt had an American father – thought to be William Kiefer, a sergeant in the US Air Force – and dual nationality.

Mrs Gaylor, who helps run the Boot and Shoe pub in Gowdall, near Selby, said her daughter and son-in-law were due to start an extended holiday seeing family in America this weekend after missing out on their honeymoon plans a few years ago due to terror attacks.

They were to meet Mrs Gaylor's other daughter Victoria in California and see Diana's grandmother, Rose, 94, in Virginia. "She doesn't have too many visits with Diana and this is just a terrible time for her," Mrs Gaylor added.

"She knows. She rang me a couple of days ago. Rose is just an amazing person.She held it together to speak to me. She didn't lose control. I know how much this is hurting her."

The Garbutts have been described as the "glue" which held Melsonby together. Mrs Gaylor said: "Everybody loved them. Robin was very much a people person. He'd speak to anybody. He'd have time for everybody. Everybody liked them."

Asked about the robbery a year before, Mrs Gaylor said: "Robin was very cut up about that. He was frightened. That is understandable. It took him a long time. Diana and I go camping once a year just to be together and she didn't go last year because she was frightened to leave him on his own."

More than 90 calls have come into the incident room so far and Det Supt Lewis Raw said they were extremely pleased with the public's response.

Police needed to trace all customers who visited the premises between 4am and 9am on Tuesday, all drivers who passed through the village and the keeper of a white Transit or box van parked near the post office to eliminate it from the enquiry.

Anyone with any information, should contact the incident room on 01904 669576 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.