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The remains of an “adored and adoring mother” who was murdered by her husband have been found buried in a garden in Dorset.
Debbie Griggs, a mother of three, was 34 and pregnant when she went missing from her home in Deal, Kent, in May 1999.
Her husband, Andrew Griggs, was found guilty of her murder 20 years later – in October 2019.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.
Police received a tip-off two weeks ago that her remains may be in the back garden of a house in St Leonards in Dorset, where Griggs had moved in 2001.
Officers found human remains including teeth fragments which were used to identify Mrs Griggs.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “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.
“Andrew Griggs denied being responsible for his wife’s disappearance but this discovery is further proof that he was lying all along, causing even greater anguish for everyone who knew and loved Debbie.
“Whilst they continue to mourn her tragic loss to this day, I hope they can take some comfort in the knowledge that she can now be laid to rest.”
Wendie Rowlinson, Debbie Griggs’ sister, spoke out about the discovery in a post on her Facebook page.
In it, she said: “For me, the most unbelievable is that he took her to the new house.
“I truly don’t think any murderer has done that before.”
Kent Police said tests would be carried out in order to establish the mother-of-three’s cause of death and detectives will investigate how she came to be buried at the house.
At the time of Andrew Griggs’ trial, prosecutors said Debbie was attacked “in her own home at a time where the children were asleep upstairs”.
Mrs Griggs was described as “an adored and adoring mother of three little boys”.
Mr Justice Spencer said: They were her pride and joy. They were her life. Caring was her very nature.”
The attack came amid Mrs Griggs’ suspicions of him having an affair with a 15 year old girl.
In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Spencer said: “You told lie after lie in the witness box, just as you did at the time of Debbie’s disappearance, to her family, her friends and to the police, and just as you have for the past 20 years.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that from the late summer of 1998 through to the spring of 1999 you were in a full sexual relationship with that young girl.”
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