Three brothers spend years playing in their backyard unaware of their dead mother’s presence

Since May 1999, Debbie Griggs’ children had been in despair. At the time four months pregnant, this Englishwoman disappeared from her home in Deal, Kent. Two years later her husband Andrew moved with his three young sons and his second wife to Dorset. For years, the children tried to return to normal life without knowing what had happened to their mother. It wasn’t until 2019 that they got the answer. At the time, the police decided to reopen this cold case and arrested Andrew Griggs for murder. This month, the police found the remains of his ex-wife, in the garden of the new family home. According to the Mirror, he is said to have moved Debbie Griggs’ body from Kent to Dorset when he moved.

The couple’s three children grew up believing their father was innocent and unaware that their mother’s remains lay under the grass in their garden. Andrew’s mother, Pamela Griggs, 86, told The Sun that Debbie’s children Jeremy, 29, Jake, 27 and Luke, 25, often run to where their mother’s remains were found. “I’m in shock, I just don’t know what to think. My mind just won’t understand,” she added. In March 2019, her son was sentenced to life in prison but had never revealed the whereabouts of his children’s mother’s body. In delivering his verdict, the judge said it was likely the sailor had “thrown his body into the sea”. It was therefore nothing. After the announcement of the discovery of the remains of the mother of the family, the chief detective inspector came out of silence.

Her husband “lied from the start”

“It has now been over 20 years since Debbie Griggs was murdered by her husband, but we have never given up hope of one day finding her remains. he let know. Andrew Griggs has denied being responsible for his wife’s disappearance, but this discovery is further proof that he was lying all alongcausing even greater anguish for all who knew and loved Debbie.” The police officer in charge of the investigation added: “As they continue to mourn her tragic loss to this day, I hope they can take comfort in knowing that she can now be buried. We will continue to keep Debbie’s family updated on the progress of our ongoing investigations and to provide them with support in this difficult period”.