A convicted killer who tried to persuade his son to dig up his own mother’s body up in a bid to falsely clear his name has been given another three years in prison.
Sailor Andrew Griggs, 62, was serving a life sentence for the murder of his pregnant wife Debbie when he asked the family member to exhume the body and take a strand of hair, with the plan of posting it back to the UK from abroad to pretend she was still alive.
Instead, his son told police and Griggs was jailed for another three years at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, having admitted perverting the course of justice.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber said: “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.
“I hope Debbie’s family and friends can take some comfort from the outcome of this case, which is testament to the hard work and determination of Kent Police’s cold case detectives and everyone who has worked on this case over many years.”
Griggs was convicted of murder in 2019, 20 years after Debbie, who was three months pregnant with their fourth child, went missing from their home in Cross Road, Deal, Kent.
He was brought to justice after a cold case investigation by Kent Police, but her body was only found three years later, after he gave detailed instructions to the relative about where he had hidden her body in a garden in Dorset.
During a prison visit, he told them to dig underneath a concrete shed base, where human remains were found in a barrel-shaped container, along with the lining of Debbie’s car book, Griggs’ clothes from the day of her murder, and their duvet and pillow.
Mr Kimber added: “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.
‘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.”
Katie Samways, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Andrew Griggs spent decades lying to everyone around him, claiming that Debbie’s disappearance was nothing to do with him.
“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.
“This is one of the worst examples imaginable of perverting the course of justice and, when Griggs was sentenced for Debbie’s murder, the judge highlighted the concealment of her body as a significant aggravating factor.
“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.”
