Two brothers who were serving life sentences for the murders of a couple in Cornwall have been cleared nearly 20 years after they were jailed.
Carol Fisher, 53, and Graham Fisher, 60, were each shot repeatedly with a shotgun and then beaten with a blunt instrument at their service station near Wadebridge on 5 November 2003.
Robert and Lee Firkins were convicted in January 2006 and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 26 years. They always denied the killings.
In 2023, they were granted a retrial which was due to take place in January, but a judge at Winchester Crown Court recorded not guilty verdicts on Monday after prosecutors said a key witness was not able to appear.
The brothers had always denied the murders and there was no physical evidence linking them to the scene.
A bid by the brothers to appeal against their convictions was refused on 17 December 2008.
The case relied heavily on evidence from a prison informant known as Witness Z, who days after a Crimewatch appeal – which offered a £10,000 reward – told police he had heard one of the brothers confessing to the killings.
In 2023, at the Court of Appeal the brothers’ lawyers presented new expert opinion which said Witness Z had a lifelong mental disorder, which they said made his evidence unreliable.
A retrial was due to begin in January, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case to the Court of Appeal which has led to the convictions being cleared.
Lawyers representing the Firkins said it may take some time before Lee was considered suitable for release, but they expected Robert to be freed from jail imminently.
In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said it “understood that whilst the original investigation was over 20 years ago, it is possible that new information exists and so anyone who wants to contact ourselves or Crimestoppers, should do so as soon as possible”.
