The decades-long mystery surrounding the disappearance of Debbie Griggs, a loving mother reported missing from her Deal home in 1999, has reached a grim conclusion. Her remains were finally discovered buried at a Dorset property following the shocking and self-serving actions of her killer husband, Andrew Griggs.
Griggs, who was jailed for life in 2019 for Debbie’s murder following a cold case investigation by Kent Police, had consistently maintained his innocence, claiming his pregnant wife had simply walked out of their Cross Road residence.
However, his facade crumbled when he attempted an audacious scheme to clear his name.
Canterbury Crown Court heard on Monday, June 2nd, how Griggs, from behind bars, instructed a visiting family member to exhume Debbie’s body, remove a strand of hair, and mail it back to the UK with a fabricated letter, designed to make it appear she was still alive.
This desperate act ultimately led to the discovery of Debbie’s remains in October 2022.
Acting on information provided by the family member, specialist officers excavated the garden of Griggs’ former home in St Leonards, Dorset and following his detailed directions, they unearthed a barrel-shaped container wrapped in blue tarpaulin beneath the concrete base of a former lean-to shed. Inside, they found human remains, later confirmed to be those of Debbie Griggs, along with clothing and the lining of a car boot.
Confronted with the discovery, Griggs refused to answer questions but issued a pre-prepared statement bizarrely claiming he had found a body in a container in someone else’s garden, assumed it was Debbie, and then panicked, encasing it in fibreglass before someone else buried it beneath his shed.
As a result of his callous attempt to deceive the authorities, Griggs faced new charges of perverting the course of justice and obstructing a coroner. He pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to an additional three years in prison. A plea was not entered for the charge of obstructing a coroner, which has been ordered to lie on file.
The discovery brings a tragic end to a long and painful chapter for Debbie’s family, finally revealing the devastating truth behind her disappearance at the hands of the man who should have cherished her.
The remains of a loving mother reported missing in 1999 were finally discovered following a shameless attempt by her killer husband to clear his name. Andrew Griggs claimed his pregnant wife Debbie had walked out of their home in Cross Road, Deal when in fact he had murdered her and hidden her body.
He was jailed for life in 2019 following a cold case investigation by Kent Police and three years later Debbie’s remains were found buried beneath the property Griggs had moved to in Dorset. Despite still claiming to be innocent of murder, Griggs had provided a family member who visited him in prison with a detailed description of where Debbie’s body had been hidden. He then asked them to dig up her remains, remove a strand of hair, take it abroad and post it back to the UK with a letter pretending to be from Debbie to prove she was still alive.
Griggs was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice and obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duty. He pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday 2 June was ordered to serve an additional three years in prison. No plea was entered for the charge of obstructing a coroner, which has been ordered to lie on file.
Acting on the information received from the family member who had visited Griggs in prison, specialist officers and staff excavated the back garden of his home in St Leonards, Dorset, in October 2022.
Following the directions Griggs had provided, they dug beneath the concrete base of what had previously been a lean-to shed and discovered a barrel-shaped container wrapped in blue tarpaulin. Inside were human remains that were later confirmed as belonging to Debbie. Also inside the container was a pillow case and duvet, men’s and women’s clothing and the lining of a car boot.
When Griggs was interviewed about the discovery, he declined to answer any questions but delivered a pre-prepared statement in which he maintained he was not responsible for Debbie’s death. He instead claimed he found a body inside a container in someone else’s garden that he assumed was Debbie, around two years after he had reported her missing. He said he panicked and encased the container in fibreglass before someone else buried it, and although he suspected it was beneath his garden shed he did not know for sure.
Kent Police detectives found the following evidence that further proved Andrew had been responsible for disposing of Debbie’s body:
• The car boot liner found inside the container was an exact match of the one missing from Debbie’s Peugeot 309. The vehicle had been found a mile from the home address in Deal during the initial investigation into Debbie’s whereabouts, and was found to contain a small trace of her blood. It is believed Andrew wrapped the clothing he was wearing when he killed Debbie in the boot liner before placing them on top of her inside the container.
• Andrew told police in 1999 that on the day of Debbie’s disappearance he came home from work, had a bath and changed into a white T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms. Such clothing was found inside the container.
• Old family photographs taken inside Andrew and Debbie’s bedroom were found during a search of his Dorset home in 2023. The duvet cover shown in the photo was the same as that found inside the container.