A “ghostly” father who killed his wife and hid his body under the patio for 23 years, asked their son to dig her and send her hair to the police in audacity to clear his own name.
Andrew Grigs, who is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years for the murder of a dedicated mother of the three Debbie Grigs, has been closed for three more years after trying to manipulate one of their sons to exhly expose her body from prison.
The former fisherman, 62 -year -old, was convicted of killing G -Grie Grigs in 2019 after investigating a cold case for her disappearance in 1999 after she disappeared while she was pregnant with their fourth child three months. Her body has never been found.
Although he maintains his innocence, he later revealed to his son when he visited prison that her remains were sealed in a water ass buried under the concrete base of a shed in his home in Dorset.
He instructs him to dig him, remove a strand of his hair, take it abroad, and publish it back to the UK with a letter pretending to be from G -Grigs to prove that he is still alive.
Debbie Grigs, whose body was found more than 20 years after she was killed by her husband Andrew (Kent police)
Specialists and employees excavated the back garden of his home in St. Leonards, Dorset, in October 2022.
Her body was found in a container in the form of a barrel wrapped in a blue tarpaulin under the basis of what was previously a shed. Inside were also clothes along with a pillow case, a blanket and a shoe clamping that is missing from the Peugeot 306 mother.
It is believed that Grigs wrapped the clothes he wore when he killed the former nurse in the trunk lining before putting them on her inside the container.
When Grigs was interviewed for the discovery, he refused to answer any questions, but gave a pre-prepared statement in which he still maintained that he was not responsible for Mrs. Grig’s death.
He claims to have found a body in a container in someone else’s garden for about two years after he has reported a gone.
He said he panicked and closed the container in fiberglass before someone else buried it, and although he suspected he was under his garden shed, he does not know for sure.
Debbie Grigs’ body was found buried in a container in the property of Andrew Grigs in St. Leonards, Dorset (Kent Police)
Grigs was accused of distorting justice, which later acknowledged and prevented Coroner in fulfilling their obligation.
At a hearing at the Canterbury Crown court on Monday, he was ordered to serve an additional three years in prison.
Detective Inspector Neil Kimber said that the lies of Grigs and were trying to hire a family member to clear his own name were “insult” in the mother’s memory.
“Debbie Grigs was a dedicated mother whose love for her three children had never doubted and it was unthinkable that she would ever go out on them,” he said.
“Her husband Andrew has known this since he first reported her missing, at that moment he had already brutally killed Debbie and hid her body. He continued to lie and manipulate others, even after she eventually loses, which made her up -to -date stories.
“The fact that he asked a family member to dig up his remains shows what a ghostly and selfish man he is, not thinking of almost no thought about the deeply devastating effect that such an act would have on that person.
“Andrew Grigs is already serving a life sentence for Debbie’s murder, but our investigation into these additional crimes was more than achieving another positive result from the court.
“It was about providing justice for Debbie and her family and friends and ensuring that the general public knows exactly the lengths to which Grigs is ready to go to escape from the consequences of his disgusting actions.”
Andrew Grigs was closed for three more years for the perversion of justice (Kent police)
Katie Samuys of the Crown Prosecutor’s Office said the case was “one of the greatest examples that can be presented” for the distortion of justice.
“Andrew Grigs spent decades, lying all around him, claiming that Debbie’s disappearance had nothing to do with him,” she added.
“Once convinced of her murder, in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he tried to manipulate his son to help him in the most horrifying way.
“Grigs deliberately failed to reveal the location of Debbie’s body, adding immeasurably to the suffering of her family and friends.”
She added: “None of us can imagine the impact that Grigs’ actions have on everyone around him.
“Now, more than 25 years after Debbie has disappeared for the first time, we hope that her family and friends can finally finally put this chapter behind them, knowing that Andrew Grigs is fully kept not only about the murder of Debbie, but also of the lies he constantly tells.”