Woman’s effort to clear name delayed

A nurse found guilty of murdering her disabled husband by injecting him with insulin has had her legal fight to clear her name put on hold.

Deborah Winzar, 54, was jailed for life at Birmingham Crown Court in 2000 after being convicted of the murder of 34-year-old Dominic McCarthy.

Her case has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, and a hearing was due yesterday.

But senior judges adjourned her case so expert medical evidence can be obtained.

Lord Justice Irwin said the case has an “extraordinary history” and should be resolved as soon as possible.

Mr McCarthy, paralysed in a motorcycle accident in 1984, was found collapsed in his bed at the couple’s home in Stonely, Cambridgeshire, on January 31 1997.

He lapsed into a coma and died in Hinchingbrooke Hospital on February 9.

Winzar, who has been released from prison, denied any wrongdoing and maintained he must have died of natural causes but was found guilty by a jury of murder.

A previous challenge to her conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in December 2002 and she applied to the CCRC in June 2005.

The CCRC previously said it considers the new evidence “gives rise to a real possibility” her conviction will be quashed.

No date was set for a further hearing.