Remains of pregnant woman, 34, who was murdered by her fisherman husband more than 20 years ago, have been found in the backyard of the house in Dorset
Debbie Griggs was four months pregnant when she disappeared on May 5, 1999
Her husband Andrew, a fisherman, was found guilty of murdering her in 2019
Authorities thought Griggs could have dumped his wife’s body in the sea
Kent Police have said her remains were found in a house in St Leonards, Dorset
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The remains of pregnant Debbie Griggs, who was murdered by her husband more than 20 years ago, have been found in a backyard.
Debbie Griggs, 34, was four months pregnant when she mysteriously disappeared from her home in Deal, Kent, in the middle of the night on May 5, 1999.
Her husband Andrew was jailed on October 19, 2019 for murdering her.
Now, exactly three years since the murderous fisherman was imprisoned, Mrs Griggs’ remains have finally been exhumed in the garden of a property in St Leonards, Dorset, Kent police said.
Her husband, Andrew Griggs, was finally found guilty of her murder 20 years later, in October 2019, following a cold case review.
Andrew Griggs (left, on October 2, 2019) had claimed that his wife Debbie (right) had abandoned him and their children, even though she was not suffering from postpartum depression at the time
Police received a tip two weeks ago that Mrs Griggs’ remains may be in the back garden of a house in St Leonards in Dorset, where Griggs had moved in 2001.
Human remains, including tooth fragments, were found during the search and a post-mortem examination on Oct. 14 confirmed they belonged to Ms Griggs, Kent Police said.
Andrew Griggs had moved into the property in July 2001, after the initial investigation into his wife’s whereabouts was completed.
He denied responsibility for her disappearance but was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison in October 2019 following an assessment by cold case detectives at the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.
At his trial, Mrs. Griggs’ murderous husband had tried to blame the postpartum depression, claiming that the assistant nurse had abandoned him and their children she adored, even though she was not suffering from the condition at the time.
In reality, the controlling 57-year-old businessman had had an affair with a 15-year-old girl and told friends he wished his wife were dead.
At the time, no one knew where Mrs. Griggs’ remains were. Griggs never said where the body was – and police never found forensic evidence to prove he killed her or that she was dead.
Andrew Griggs was found guilty in Canterbury Crown Court in October 2019 for the murder of his pregnant wife, Debbie, who disappeared in May 1999 (Kent Police/PA)
Police have never found any trace of Mrs. Griggs, apart from a smear of blood in her car (pictured) which was left a mile from her home. Now her body has been found in a house in Dorset
But during Griggs’ murder conviction, a judge said he suspected Griggs, who was a fisherman, had dumped her body in the sea in the English Channel. =
Mr Robin Spencer, who convicted Griggs, said: ‘Her body has never been found, only you know how you killed her and where you disposed of her body.
“You told lie after lie on the witness stand, just like you did at the time of Debbie’s disappearance.
“By killing your wife you also destroyed the life of that unborn child. I strongly suspect that you dumped her body in the sea.
“You knew that stretch of coast like the back of your hand. It wouldn’t have been difficult to weigh her body down so that it sank.’
The judge said the time Ms Grigg’s body has been hidden for – 20 years – and the fact that Griggs has still not revealed its location was an aggravating factor in the conviction.
“You have robbed the mother of her children and her family of exactly what you have enjoyed in those twenty years.”
Griggs was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison.