A father of three was jailed for life today for killing his pregnant wife 20 years after she vanished without a trace.
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, 57, tried to blame post-natal depression, claiming the auxiliary nurse had walked out on him and their children she adored, even though she was not suffering from the condition at the time.
Andrew Griggs (left, on October 2) had claimed his wife Debbie (right) had walked out on him and their children, even though she was not suffering from post-natal depression at the time
In reality the controlling businessman had been having an affair with a 15-year-old girl and had told friends he wished his wife was dead.
Her body has never been found and police have never found any forensic material to prove he killed her or that she is dead.
But on Monday, more than two decades on from her disappearance, a jury at Canterbury Crown Court concluded that Griggs killed his wife and disposed of her body so he could pursue his affair and prevent his wife taking half of his business in any divorce.
Sentencing Griggs today, Mr Justice Robin Spencer 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 in the witness box, just as you did at the time of Debbie’s disappearance.
‘In murdering your wife you destroyed the life of that unborn child as well. I strongly suspect that you dumped her body at sea.
Police have never found any trace of Mrs Griggs apart from a smear of blood in her car found abandoned a mile away from her home
‘You knew that stretch of coast like the back of your hand. It would not have been difficult to weigh her body down so that it sank.’
The judge said the length of time Mrs Grigg’s body has been concealed for – 20 years – and the fact that Griggs has still not revealed its location, was an aggravating factor in sentencing.
‘You robbed the mother of her children and her family of the very thing you have enjoyed over those 20 years.’
Mr Justice Spencer paid tribute to Mrs Griggs, of whom he said ‘caring was her very nature’.
He said he had ‘no doubt whatsoever’ that Andrew Griggs had been in a ‘full sexual relationship’ with a teenage girl in the months before his wife disappeared.
Mr Justice Spencer told the court that he had to sentence Griggs in line with the law that was in place at the time of the killing.
The boot lining and carpet of Mrs Griggs’s car were found to have been conspicuously missing
Taking everything into account, he jailed Griggs for life with a minimum term of 20 years.
Detectives believe the keen sailor and former professional fisherman, may have stored her body at his freezer business before dumping it at sea later from his dingy.
Despite multiple searches, they have never found any trace of Mrs Griggs apart from a smear of blood in her car found abandoned a mile away from her home with the boot lining and carpet conspicuously missing.
A short time after she vanished, Griggs took his three sons to Dorset where he started a new life, marrying for a second time and starting a model ship business.
There he might have remained but for cold case officers who examined the evidence again and decided that a jury might not believe his postnatal depression story.
Even after he was charged, his sons never believed for a moment that their father could be capable of murder and offered to give evidence in his defence.
Griggs was in a ‘full sexual relationship’ with a girl in the months before his wife disappeared
But they are thought to have changed their minds after a woman in her 30s told jurors she was ‘groomed’ as a 14-year-old and he sexually abused her.
It emerged during his trial that far from being a loving husband to his wife of nine years, Griggs was a bully who had been threatening his wife for years.
In an extraordinary case, a diary Mrs Griggs kept before her disappearance turned out to be the key piece of evidence against him.
His wife wrote: ‘During the course of our marriage my husband was bombastic and bullying.
‘He has threatened to get me sorted. I took that to mean he will do me harm or will arrange for some other to do me harm.’
She described an incident in which her husband kneed her in the stomach while she was pregnant.
Mrs Griggs was praised by a judge in court today who said ‘caring was her very nature’
She said: ‘Everything we have together is in fact his, and I am only allowed to enjoy anything that is a joint matrimonial asset by reason of being with him.
‘He does not let me go out by myself. His needs come first. He tells me I am sick and mad in the head.’
Mrs Griggs’s diary revealed her concern about how he was spending more time with the girl, who she confronted just days before she vanished, accusing her of sleeping with her husband.
But when Griggs took the stand, he said his wife had been suffering with post-natal depression and was plagued by ‘dark moods’ which left her suicidal.
He said Mrs Griggs said on more than one occasion: ‘I might as well kill myself.’
But although she had suffered from depression following her first two pregnancies, she had recovered by the time of her fourth pregnancy and friends said she was happy and well at the time of her disappearance.
Griggs obtained legal advice about his wife being entitled to half of their business if they divorced.
Then just three days before she disappeared, he set up a new account for their business in his sole name.
On Monday, Griggs showed no emotion as he was convicted.
Detective Chief Inspector Kaye Braybrook of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate appealed to him this week to reveal where he had hidden her body: ‘Debbie Griggs was a loving mother of three young sons with a fourth child on the way.
‘The jury heard from a number of witnesses who all agreed she would have never abandoned them, and was not the depressed, unstable and violent person Andrew Griggs has gone to great lengths to paint her as.
‘While Debbie’s body has never been found, we are certain she died at the hands of her husband.
‘He has proven himself to be a callous and manipulative individual who has gone to great lengths to destroy his wife’s reputation.
‘For 20 years he has heartlessly carried on with his life while Debbie’s family and friends have struggled to come to terms with their loss, and have never had the chance to bury her body and say their proper goodbyes.
‘Tragically Debbie’s mother died just weeks before Andrew was charged with her murder, without ever knowing what happened to her daughter.
‘Only Andrew knows how he killed Debbie and what he did with her body. I appeal to him to have the courage to speak up and enable those who continue to grieve her loss to have some form of closure. It is not too late for him to do the right thing.’
Derek Cameron, Mrs Griggs’s brother, read a statement outside court on behalf of the family following the verdict on Monday.
He slammed the ‘manipulative web of deceit and lies’ spun by the defendant, saying: ‘Twenty years. This is how long it has taken for this to come to justice. Twenty years of anguish, torment and heartache. Twenty years of hurt, pain, despair and emotional turmoil.
‘Twenty years without a daughter, sister and grandchildren and nephews. Twenty years of lost communication and three young boys without their mother.
‘Finally, 20 years have come to a conclusion, we can put this to bed. We will never forget Debbie, who was an amazing daughter, a remarkable sister, an extraordinary and committed, compassionate person, not only to her friends but to everyone.
‘She was a passionate doting mother with unequivocal love for her children who meant the absolute world to her. For Debbie we are oh so sorry that this has taken so long, and for mum if you are listening, we actually finally got him.
‘We would appeal to the defendant if he can see within his wisdom to perhaps telling us where Debbie’s body is so we can put the ultimate closure to this.’