Body of pregnant mum found after 23 years in killer husband’s garden
A MOTHER murdered by her bullying husband 23 years ago can finally be laid to rest, after police found her remains in his back garden.
Andrew Griggs swore his pregnant wife Debbie, 34, had walked out on him and her three sons when she disappeared in 1999.
The businessman, now 59, was arrested, but not charged through lack of evidence.
However, a cold case investigation landed him in the dock and he was jailed for life in 2019.
At the time, it was thought sailor Griggs had buried his wife’s body at sea. But after a tip-off, forensic teams found her remains in the back garden of Griggs’ former home in St Leonards, Dorset, on October 5.
Further tests are being carried out to discover how she died.
Auxiliary nurse Debbie, who had described her husband as a “bombastic bully” shortly before he killed her, disappeared from her home in Deal, Kent, in May 1999. Griggs moved to the Dorset house in 2001.
Earlier this year, Griggs, who must serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars, tried unsuccessfully to have his murder conviction overturned.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said yesterday: “We had never given up hope of one day finding Debbie’s remains and giving her loved ones some closure.
Andrew Griggs denied being responsible for his wife’s disappearance. But this discovery is further proof that he was lying all along, causing even greater anguish for everyone who knew and loved Debbie. Griggs’ trial at Canterbury Crown Court revealed the couple had a stormy relationship.
A woman told the jury Griggs had groomed her for a sexual relationship when she was 15 – about the time Debbie went missing. The trial heard Debbie, who was expecting her fourth child, was devoted to her sons and it was unthinkable that she had “upped and left them”.
Her car had been found parked about a mile away from their home. The boot’s inner lining was missing and a small trace of her blood was discovered inside.
But justice came too late for Debbie’s grieving mother, Pat Cameron, who died weeks before Griggs was charged.
In a court impact statement before Griggs was sentenced, Debbie’s father, Brian Cameron, said: “I would definitely say that Patricia died of a broken heart, not knowing what happened to Debbie.
“It left a huge hole in our lives. We didn’t just lose Debbie, we lost our family too.”