Tweet
19 April 2011
Last updated at 09:50 ET
A shopkeeper who beat his postmistress wife to death at their North Yorkshire village store then claimed an intruder had done it has been jailed for life.
Robin Garbutt, 45, bludgeoned 40-year-old Diana three times over the head as she slept in the living quarters above Melsonby Village Shop and Post Office.
Garbutt said an armed robber had made him hand over cash and he had gone upstairs to find his wife dead.
At Teesside Crown Court, he was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years.
Mr Justice Openshaw said Garbutt's lies had been exposed as "pure humbug".
He said he had shown no remorse over his wife, adding: "He has always accompanied his lies with sanctimonious lies of his love for her.
"By their verdict, the jury have exposed this as pure humbug.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
"This was a brutal, planned, cold-blooded murder of his wife as she lay sleeping in bed."
A jury had rejected Garbutt's story that a man with a gun told him "don't do anything stupid, we've got your wife" before robbing him as he worked in the shop in March last year.
He had then claimed he went upstairs where he found his wife lying dead in bed.
Garbutt was convicted of murder by the jury of eight men and four women by a majority of 10 to two.
During the trial the jury was played Garbutt's 999 call to police in which he claimed that his wife had been attacked by armed raiders.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon Affiliate
Robin Garbutt, 45, bludgeoned 40-year-old Diana three times over the head as she slept in the living quarters above Melsonby Village Shop and Post Office.
Garbutt said an armed robber had made him hand over cash and he had gone upstairs to find his wife dead.
At Teesside Crown Court, he was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years.
Mr Justice Openshaw said Garbutt's lies had been exposed as "pure humbug".
He said he had shown no remorse over his wife, adding: "He has always accompanied his lies with sanctimonious lies of his love for her.
"By their verdict, the jury have exposed this as pure humbug.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play."This was a brutal, planned, cold-blooded murder of his wife as she lay sleeping in bed."
A jury had rejected Garbutt's story that a man with a gun told him "don't do anything stupid, we've got your wife" before robbing him as he worked in the shop in March last year.
He had then claimed he went upstairs where he found his wife lying dead in bed.
Garbutt was convicted of murder by the jury of eight men and four women by a majority of 10 to two.
During the trial the jury was played Garbutt's 999 call to police in which he claimed that his wife had been attacked by armed raiders.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon Affiliate