The wait for justice
Andrew Griggs got away with the murder of wife Debbie for almost 20 years…
On 6 May 1999, Andrew Griggs reported his wife Debbie missing, claiming she’d disappeared the night before following a row.
The couple, from Deal in Kent, had three young sons and another baby on the way. But things were strained, with rumours that Griggs was controlling and unfaithful. ‘Debbie didn’t confide in anyone,’ says her sister, Wendie Rowlinson, who features in this documentary.
‘I thought he’s got to have done something to her because Debbie wouldn’t have left those children.’
When Debbie’s car was found with blood in the back, police believed Debbie had been murdered – and Griggs was the prime suspect. Yet without a body, they were unable to charge him.
Griggs remarried and cut off Debbie’s family. But in 2018 the case was reopened. The length of time Debbie had been missing disproved she was still alive. Combined with several motives Griggs had to kill her, he was charged, convicted and sentenced to 20 years.
And in October 2022, after a tip-off, Debbie’s remains were found at a property where Griggs had been living.
‘I broke down,’ says Wendie. ‘Not only did we lose Debbie and the baby, we lost her boys as well. It leaves you empty
– it leaves you devastated.’