Latest news with #DebbieGriggs
The Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Sun
How sick killer murdered wife, told kids she'd walked out then convinced son to dig her up in evil plot to evade justice
ANDREW Griggs had been expecting the knock on the door for more than 20 years. When it finally came, he showed no surprise as detectives arrested him for the 1999 murder of his wife Debbie, 34. 7 7 By then, the former fisherman had a new life and wife in another part of the country with the three sons he fathered with Debbie. The former nurse was pregnant with a fourth boy when Griggs murdered her at their home in Deal, Kent, as sons Jeremy, then six, Jake, four, and 18-month-old Luke slept upstairs. Griggs later brainwashed the boys into believing their mother had deserted them and ran off. But Debbie was, in fact, just a few feet away. Hours after killing her, Griggs put her body in a plastic water butt which he sealed with fibreglass. He hid the body in the drum for two years in his parents' back garden. When the Griggs family moved from Kent to Dorset in 2001, he took Debbie's body with him inside the water butt. He buried her under a concrete shed base beneath a lean-to at the side of their house in the village of St Leonards, near Bournemouth. And for years she remained there as Griggs played happy families with his sons and second wife — also named Debbie — who he met in 2005. The appalling secret emerged after Griggs was convicted of Debbie's murder in October 2019 and jailed for life with a 20-year minimum tariff. Body found in search for missing woman who vanished 15 years ago – as suspect, 39, arrested over 'murder' Days after his conviction, Griggs concocted a plan to clear his name. 'He manipulates people around him' He tried to enlist the unwitting help of middle son Jake, now 25, to unearth his mother's remains. During a prison visit, he asked Jake to cut off a lock of her hair, travel to France and post it to UK authorities with a note purporting to be from Debbie saying she was alive and wanted to be left alone. He lied to Jake that he had found Debbie's body in their old back garden and feared his late father — Jake's paternal grandfather — had murdered her. Jake deprived his own grandad of the opportunity to bury his daughter and then took money from his will, all the while knowing where his mum was. Debbie's brother Wayne Cameron Griggs also told his son he created the subterfuge about Debbie leaving them as he feared being framed for her murder. For almost three years, Jake kept his father's twisted request a secret before he blurted it out to his girlfriend during a row. Jake and his girlfriend consulted his stepmother and the trio went to the local police to report it. In the meantime, Debbie's father Brian Cameron passed away in 2021, two years after wife Patricia died 'from a broken heart' without seeing justice for their daughter. Griggs, now 68, was branded a conniving narcissist by a judge this week as he was given a further three years for perverting the course of justice. Debbie's brother Wayne Cameron, 57, said his family believe his nephew Jake should have been in the dock with Griggs. Wayne told The Sun: 'Jake deprived his own grandad of the opportunity to bury his daughter and then took money from his will, all the while knowing where his mum was. 'No one can understand why he did not come forward sooner.' He added: 'As a family, we believe charges need to be brought against Jake. 'In some ways I feel for him. 'He was just a four-year-old boy when this happened, but he's an adult now and he should know better.' Perhaps in a subconscious state of denial, Jake continued to refuse to accept his father's guilt even after Griggs owned up to burying his mum at their house. After their father's conviction, Jake and his brothers had launched a misguided 'Find Our Mum' Facebook appeal to prove Debbie was still alive. To this day, Griggs' family continue to support him, with second wife Debbie saying: 'I know him and I know he could not have done what they said he did.' DCI Neil Kimber, of the Kent Police cold case review team, describes Griggs as a 'very brash and forceful character.' The detective adds: 'He has charisma and charm and manipulates people around him.' Griggs was married to Debbie for nine years before murdering her. He cheated on her with a 15-year-old girl and extracts from Debbie's diary reveal she was suspicious about the relationship. Debbie also wrote of the control Griggs exerted, saying: 'He does not let me go out by myself.' In March 1999, after Debbie became pregnant with their fourth child, Griggs walked out on her and their children. 7 7 Debbie — who had suffered from post-natal depression after her first two children — worked for the Griggs family frozen fish business. Griggs was sole beneficiary of the firm and consulted a solicitor on the financial implications if he divorced. He was told Debbie would be entitled to half the business and house which prompted him to go back to his family. On 4 May that year Griggs transferred the funds from their joint business account into his own name. At 6pm the next day, Debbie picked up her sons from a children's party. The last proof of her being alive came at 7.38am when she spoke to a friend, Lisa Vickers, and made arrangements to see her the next day. Detectives believe that by 11.20pm that night Griggs had murdered Debbie, as that was the time he rang a work colleague to say he was unable to go to Billingsgate the next day. A neighbour reported Debbie's white Peugeot 309 car being driven away from the Griggs' house at 2am. Then at 5.30am Griggs called his father and business partner Jonathan to inform him he would not be working that day as Debbie had left him and the children. He repeated the story to relatives and friends that day, including Debbie's mother who he visited at 5pm. At 9.20pm Griggs spoke to a friend of Debbie's who asked if he had called police, prompting him to finally report her missing. Confusing her age, Griggs told the 999 operator his wife was '34 . . . 35,' and added: 'She is suffering from depression — postnatal depression. 'We've got three little boys and she's just wound up too much.' Debbie's car was found in Deal a week after her disappearance. The boot carpet liner had been removed and there were traces of her blood. 'We've spent 20 years in a state of disbelief' Rumours reached police about Griggs' affair with the teenage girl, and on 25 May he was arrested on suspicion of murder. He was quizzed 11 times, denied the affair and insisted Debbie had walked out on him, calling her 'selfish.' But the CPS ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Griggs. A month following Debbie's disappearance, Griggs had put the family home on sale and begun inquiring about properties in Bournemouth. After moving to Dorset he began a relationship with another woman, coincidentally also called Debbie, before splitting from her and meeting current wife, Debbie Three. Kent Police continued to investigate Debbie's disappearance and in 2001 they were contacted by the new owners of the Griggs' fish business. They had found a love letter sent to Griggs by the 15-year-old girl he had an affair with. Griggs was re-arrested but continued to deny the affair — claiming the girl was a fantasist. Again, prosecutors ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Griggs. In 2007, his marriage to Debbie was formally dissolved by presumption of death, leaving him free to remarry. Debbie's family continued to fight for justice and police asked the CPS to review the evidence in 2018. Despite the absence of Debbie's body, senior prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC authorised a charge of murder against Griggs. Griggs was arrested at dawn on 12 March 2019. Arresting detective Alan Davie said: 'It was interesting because he wasn't surprised. 'Sometimes when you arrest people in the early hours they get quite upset, but it was like he was expecting a knock on the door one day.' Griggs' 15-year-old lover, now in her 30s, gave evidence at his Canterbury crown court trial about how she had been groomed by him. The financial motive was also established and jurors heard how a few weeks before Debbie vanished he told a friend he wished she was dead. He was convicted of murder, leaving Debbie's family relieved but still in anguish over her whereabouts. Jailing Griggs, Mr Justice Spencer suggested the experienced sailor had buried Debbie's body at sea. The truth finally emerged as Griggs played his last hand by trying to dupe his own son. Debbie's body was found on 5 October 2022, twisted into a Z-shape inside the water butt which had been wrapped in blue tarpaulin. She was bound in duvet covers with straps which were found to match photos of ties Griggs previously used to prop up a canoe. Debbie's clothing, jewellery and the missing boot carpet liner were also found. A post-mortem was unable to establish her cause of death but DCI Kimber said: 'There were no broken bones or blunt force injuries. 'We strongly suspect he strangled or suffocated Debbie.' Debbie's sister Wendie Rowlinson said she was at her home in New Zealand when she learned she had been found. Referring to her sister and Debbie's unborn child, Wendie said: 'Griggs hid their bodies from us so that we couldn't bury them, couldn't grieve. 'We spent 20 years not knowing whether Debbie was dead or alive, in a state of disbelief, the not knowing a constant torture.' Griggs is not due to be released until 2041 at the earliest — if he lives that long. A charge of obstructing the coroner — punishable with a maximum of life imprisonment — was left on file. Debbie's family are considering appealing the length of the sentence. Her brother Wayne said: 'We spent longer looking for photos to help the police's case than he got for hiding Debbie's body.' 7 7
The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Killer husband who murdered pregnant wife sentenced to 3 more years after asking son to dig up body
A KILLER who plotted to cover up his wife's murder by asking their son to dig up her body got three more years in jail yesterday. Cheating Andrew Griggs killed pregnant Debbie, 34, in May 1999 and hid her body in a sealed water butt under their garden shed for 23 years. 2 He was convicted of her murder in 2019 despite the absence of a body. But he later tried to enlist the help of 25-year-old son Jake to unearth her remains in an attempt to clear his name. During a prison visit he told Jake he had found the body in their garden in Bournemouth and suggested Griggs' late father might have killed her. He tried to persuade Jake to cut off a lock of her hair, then travel to France to post it back to UK authorities with a note purporting to be from her claiming that she was alive and wanted to be left alone. Jake, who always believed in his father's innocence, told his girlfriend about the request and she persuaded him to tell police. It led to Debbie's body being found in October 2022. Experts believe she was either strangled or suffocated. At Canterbury crown court yesterday, Griggs, now 68, was jailed for a further three years after he admitted perverting the course of justice. It is on top of his 20-year minimum tariff for Debbie's murder. Chilling audio of call from 1999 in which Andrew Griggs reported his wife Debbie missing, who we now know he'd murdered 2
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Killer who hid pregnant wife's body under patio for 23 years asked son to dig up her remains
A 'callous' father who murdered his wife and hid her body under a patio for 23 years asked their son to dig her up and send a hair to police in an audacious plot to clear his own name. Andrew Griggs, who is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years for killing devoted mother-of-three Debbie Griggs, has been jailed for three more years after he tried to manipulate one of their sons into exhuming her body from prison. The former fisherman, 62, was convicted of Ms Griggs' murder in 2019 following a cold case investigation into her disappearance in 1999, after she vanished while she was three months pregnant with their fourth child. Her body had never been found. Despite maintaining his innocence, he later revealed to his son in a prison visit that her remains were sealed in a water butt buried under the concrete base of a shed at his home in Dorset. He instructed him to dig it up, remove a strand of her hair, take it abroad and post it back to the UK with a letter pretending to be from Ms Griggs to prove she was still alive. Specialist officers and staff excavated the back garden of his home in St Leonards, Dorset, in October 2022. Her body was found in a barrel-shaped container wrapped in blue tarpaulin under the base of what had previously been a lean-to shed. Also inside were clothes along with a pillowcase, duvet and a boot liner matching one missing from the mother's Peugeot 306. It is believed Griggs wrapped the clothing he was wearing when he killed the former nurse in the boot liner before placing them on top of her inside the container. When Griggs was interviewed about the discovery, he declined to answer any questions but delivered a pre-prepared statement in which he still maintained he was not responsible for Ms Grigg's death. He claimed he found a body inside a container in someone else's garden 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. Griggs was charged with perverting the course of justice, which he later admitted, and obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duty. In a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday he was ordered to serve an additional three years in prison. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber said Griggs' lies and attempt to recruit a family member to clear his own name are an 'insult' to the mother's memory. 'Debbie Griggs was a devoted mother whose love for her three children was never in doubt, and it is inconceivable that she would have ever walked out on them,' he said. 'Her husband Andrew has known this ever since he first reported her missing, by which point he had already brutally murdered Debbie and hidden her body. He then continued to lie and manipulate others even after her remains were eventually discovered, making up further ridiculous stories that are an insult to Debbie's memory and to everyone who continues to mourn her loss. 'The fact he asked a family member to dig up her remains shows what a callous and selfish person he is, sparing little to no thought as to the deeply devastating effect such an act would likely have on that person. 'Andrew Griggs is already serving a life sentence for Debbie's murder but our investigation into these further offences was about more than achieving another positive court outcome. 'It was about securing justice for Debbie and her family and friends, and ensuring the general public know exactly the lengths Griggs was willing to go to in order to escape the consequences of his disgusting actions.' Katie Samways from the Crown Prosecution Service said the case was 'one of the worst examples imaginable' of perverting the course of justice. 'Andrew Griggs spent decades lying to everyone around him, claiming that Debbie's disappearance was nothing to do with him,' she added. 'Once convicted of her murder, in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he tried to manipulate his son into helping him in the most appalling way possible. 'Griggs deliberately failed to reveal the location of Debbie's body, adding immeasurably to the distress of her family and friends.' She added: 'None of us can imagine the impact that Griggs' actions have had on everyone around him. 'Now, more than 25 years after Debbie first disappeared, we hope that her family and friends can now finally put this chapter of their lives behind them, knowing Andrew Griggs has been fully held to account not just for Debbie's murder, but also for the lies he continually told in the intervening period.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Father who killed pregnant wife and hid body for over 20 years tried to 'literally get away with murder' by telling his son to dig her up
A father who killed his pregnant wife and hid her body for over 20 years tried to 'literally get away with murder' by telling his son to dig up her body, a judge said today. Andrew Griggs, 62, hatched a plot to get out of jail after being sentenced to life for the murder of his missing wife Debbie, 34, telling their son Jake to dig up her body and post a sample of her hair from abroad to convince police she was still alive. In an extraordinary case, Jake, 25, failed to carry out the instructions, but for years he kept the truth from police and his siblings, who continued to believe their mother was still alive and their father was innocent. Today a judge said the 'conniving, devious and narcissistic' father had 'quite literally tried to get away with murder'. Sentencing Griggs to three years for perverting the course of justice, which he will serve in addition to the 20-year minimum term for her murder, Judge Simon James told the killer: 'You told lie after lie to your family, the police and ultimately the jury.' The sentence has angered Debbie's family who believe that Jake should also have been prosecuted for perverting the course of justice. Debbie's parents Patricia and Brian died not knowing what happened to her, even though their grandson knew the truth by the time of Brian's death in 2021. The victim's brother Wayne Cameron said it was a 'disgrace' that Griggs had been allowed to watch the sentencing on a videolink from prison, where the killer was seen repressing a smile as he was told that he would only serve one and a half years extra jail time. 'It's a disgrace. The sentence is shocking,' Mr Cameron said. 'He should have been dragged to the dock in person. 'We live in hope he will never be released. 'He has not been properly punished.' Debbie was three months pregnant when she disappeared from her home in Deal, Kent in the middle of the night on May 5, 1999. Griggs blamed post-natal depression, claiming the auxiliary nurse was a bad mother who walked out on him and their children, Jeremy, then six, Jake, four and Luke, 18 months, even though she was not suffering from the condition at the time. Griggs convinced his sons that he had nothing to do with her disappearance, moving them just a month later to a new home in Dorset with a promise of a fresh start. Her body was found underneath a shed with concrete foundations But in reality the controlling businessman had buried her body in the back garden of the new home where the children played. In 2019 a police cold case review uncovered the truth that Griggs been having an affair with a 15-year-old girl and told friends he wished his wife was dead. He was convicted of her murder and jailed for life. But Griggs' sons and new wife, Deborah continued to believe in his innocence, campaigning for him to be freed as no body had been found. Launching a Facebook campaign, his sons wrote: 'This page has been launched for the sole purpose of finding our mum, Debbie Elizabeth Griggs (Cameron) who we believe was not murdered by our father but is still alive.' But in a cruel twist just days after being denied an appeal, Griggs contacted his son in November 2019 asking him to dig up her body and dupe police. In an elaborate ploy, Griggs instructed his son to take a ferry to France before sending the hair sample as proof of life and a letter professing to be from Debbie claiming that she was living abroad and did not wish to be bothered. Griggs pleaded with his son, telling him that if he really loved his father, he would dig up the body. He denying killing his wife, claiming he had inexplicably come across her dead body in the garden and panicked, deciding to hide the corpse under a shed. Jake removed the shed but refused to dig any further, keeping his father's secret until October 2022 when he blurted it out during a row with his girlfriend. She persuaded him to go to police, who found Griggs had gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal the body, placing it in an airtight plastic water butt sealed with fibreglass, which was buried underneath the shed with a concrete foundation. Despite the discovery of the body, Griggs's new wife Deborah refused to leave the property saying: 'I don't believe any of it. 'We've been together for 20 years and I've never had a sign of any suspicions or doubt about him. 'I've got no regrets about marrying him.' Today Mr Cameron, told the Mail: 'Jake knew what had happened and he kept it from everyone. 'Police should 100 per cent charge Jake. 'His sons have always supported him. It's sick. 'He knew where she was buried for all that time. 'For us not to know caused so much heartache and pain. It made the whole situation even more horrific. 'He kept it a secret for three years. My mum and dad died in that time and they did not know. 'Debbie would be heartbroken by all of this. 'They are not brainwashed kids anymore, they're adults. 'Everyone has said 'oh good on Jake' for coming forward. They are not saying naughty Jake for keeping it a secret for three years. 'But here's the big kicker- my dad died, but Jake knew where his mum was for around 14 months. 'It's all so painful.' The victim's aunt, Marjorie Dunne said Debbie's mother died heartbroken after spending her last years walking everywhere hoping to catch a sighting of her: 'Pat didn't just lose Debbie, she lost her three grandsons as well. He cut them off. 'That was awful for her. It made the pain so much worse. There's been so many unanswered questions. 'Pat died of a broken heart.' Katie Samways from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'This is one of the worst examples imaginable of perverting the course of justice. 'Now, more than 25 years after Debbie first disappeared, we hope that her family and friends can now finally put this chapter of their lives behind them, knowing Andrew Griggs has been fully held to account not just for Debbie's murder, but also for the lies he continually told in the intervening period.'
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Killer who hid pregnant wife's body under patio for 23 years asked son to dig up her remains
A 'callous' father who murdered his wife and hid her body under a patio for 23 years asked their son to dig her up and send a hair to police in an audacious plot to clear his own name. Andrew Griggs, who is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years for killing devoted mother-of-three Debbie Griggs, has been jailed for three more years after he tried to manipulate one of their sons into exhuming her body from prison. The former fisherman, 62, was convicted of Ms Griggs' murder in 2019 following a cold case investigation into her disappearance in 1999, after she vanished while she was three months pregnant with their fourth child. Her body had never been found. Despite maintaining his innocence, he later revealed to his son in a prison visit that her remains were sealed in a water butt buried under the concrete base of a shed at his home in Dorset. He instructed him to dig it up, remove a strand of her hair, take it abroad and post it back to the UK with a letter pretending to be from Ms Griggs to prove she was still alive. Specialist officers and staff excavated the back garden of his home in St Leonards, Dorset, in October 2022. Her body was found in a barrel-shaped container wrapped in blue tarpaulin under the base of what had previously been a lean-to shed. Also inside were clothes along with a pillowcase, duvet and a boot liner matching one missing from the mother's Peugeot 306. It is believed Griggs wrapped the clothing he was wearing when he killed the former nurse in the boot liner before placing them on top of her inside the container. When Griggs was interviewed about the discovery, he declined to answer any questions but delivered a pre-prepared statement in which he still maintained he was not responsible for Ms Grigg's death. He claimed he found a body inside a container in someone else's garden 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. Griggs was charged with perverting the course of justice, which he later admitted, and obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duty. In a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday he was ordered to serve an additional three years in prison. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber said Griggs' lies and attempt to recruit a family member to clear his own name are an 'insult' to the mother's memory. 'Debbie Griggs was a devoted mother whose love for her three children was never in doubt, and it is inconceivable that she would have ever walked out on them,' he said. 'Her husband Andrew has known this ever since he first reported her missing, by which point he had already brutally murdered Debbie and hidden her body. He then continued to lie and manipulate others even after her remains were eventually discovered, making up further ridiculous stories that are an insult to Debbie's memory and to everyone who continues to mourn her loss. 'The fact he asked a family member to dig up her remains shows what a callous and selfish person he is, sparing little to no thought as to the deeply devastating effect such an act would likely have on that person. 'Andrew Griggs is already serving a life sentence for Debbie's murder but our investigation into these further offences was about more than achieving another positive court outcome. 'It was about securing justice for Debbie and her family and friends, and ensuring the general public know exactly the lengths Griggs was willing to go to in order to escape the consequences of his disgusting actions.' Katie Samways from the Crown Prosecution Service said the case was 'one of the worst examples imaginable' of perverting the course of justice. 'Andrew Griggs spent decades lying to everyone around him, claiming that Debbie's disappearance was nothing to do with him,' she added. 'Once convicted of her murder, in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he tried to manipulate his son into helping him in the most appalling way possible. 'Griggs deliberately failed to reveal the location of Debbie's body, adding immeasurably to the distress of her family and friends.' She added: 'None of us can imagine the impact that Griggs' actions have had on everyone around him. 'Now, more than 25 years after Debbie first disappeared, we hope that her family and friends can now finally put this chapter of their lives behind them, knowing Andrew Griggs has been fully held to account not just for Debbie's murder, but also for the lies he continually told in the intervening period.'
