Murdered pregnant woman's funeral to be held 23 years after husband killed her

A woman who was killed by her husband more than 20 years ago will finally be laid to rest after the police were able to discover her remains.

Debbie Griggs from Kent, England, was 34 years old and pregnant at the time of her death. She was reported missing by her husband, Andrew Griggs, in May 1999. Her car was found abandoned 1.3 miles away from their house, but there was no trace of her.

The couple had three children, and Andrew moved to a new house in St. Leonards, Dorset, in 2001 with his family after his wife's disappearance.

The authorities had some doubts about her husband but the latter maintained that he was innocent. The investigation into the case continued for years before he was eventually found guilty of his wife's murder and jailed for life in October 2019.

The detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate did not give up the search for the woman's remains and their hard work paid off in October this year. They conducted a forensic search of the back garden of the house in Dorset after receiving new information.

They found human remains, including tooth fragments, on the property. A post-mortem later revealed that the fragments belonged to Debbie. According to a report in The Independent, the man allegedly killed his wife amid suspicions that he had an affair with a teenage girl.

"It is now more than 20 years since Debbie Griggs was murdered by her husband but we have never given up hope of one day finding her remains and giving her loved ones some closure," said Detective Chief Insp Neil Kimber. Andrew was jailed for life following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

His late wife will be laid to rest in Canterbury on November 25, some 23 years after her murder. Meanwhile, the detectives are still working to figure out how Andrew transported his wife's body from Kent to Dorset after the murder.

"Following the discovery of Debbie Griggs' remains in Dorset in October 2022, we are continuing to carry out inquiries to establish how they came to be buried there," said Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber.

"This includes where they had been kept during the time between Debbie's disappearance in May 1999 and when Andrew Griggs moved to the property in July 2001," he added.