Man Who Killed Pregnant Wife Admits He Asked Son to Dig Up Her Remains to Convince Police She Was Still Alive

A man has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of public justice after murdering his pregnant wife in 1999.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Andrew Griggs — who was found guilty of murdering Debbie Griggs and jailed for life in 2019 — appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday, March 19.

Andrew faces charges of obstructing a coroner in the execution of his or her duty, as well as doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice.

While the defendant was not asked to enter a plea on Count 1, he pleaded to Count 2 of perverting the course of justice.

Kent Police denied to comment but also confirmed that Andrew pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and that no plea was entered for the separate charge of obstructing a coroner.

Per Kent Online, Andrew admitted to asking his son to dig up Debbie’s remains and post a sample of her hair to try and convince the police that she was still alive.

 “Andrew John Griggs between the 5th day of May 1999 and the 7th day of October 2022 intending to prevent the Coroner of Kent from holding an inquest in the execution of his/her duty upon view of the dead body of Debbie Griggs who died a violent or an unnatural death intending to obstruct the said Coroner in the holding of such inquest did conceal and then bury her body in a location in Dorset,” a court document obtained by PEOPLE read.

Debbie, 34, was reported missing from her home in Deal, Dent, England in 1999 by her husband.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

At the time of Debbie’s disappearance, the pair shared three sons, aged six, four and 18 months.

Her car was then found days later, just over a mile away. While her blood was found inside the vehicle, there was no other trace of her and her bank accounts remained dormant.

Her health service and social security also displayed no activity causing detectives to consider the potential chance of the nurse still being alive.

However, this came to an end in 2019 when Andrew, who had since remarried, was put on trial and accused of murdering and disposing of Debbie’s body.

Kent Online reports that the mother of three’s body was found in the back garden of a home in Dorset on Oct. 5, 2022, by police acting on “fresh information.”

Andrew had moved into the home two years after Debbie’s disappearance, the outlet noted.

According to Kent Online, the sailor’s three sons still believed their father was innocent after he was found guilty of Debbie’s murder in October 2019. They also reportedly hoped their mother could still be alive.

Per Canterbury Crown Court, the case has been adjourned to May 9, 2025, “for a further case management hearing/directions once the Crown have decided whether to proceed with count 1 to trial.”

“In the event that the Crown do not proceed with a trial on Count 1, then the defendant may be sentenced on Court 2,” on May 9, 2025, the court added.