Woman tells murder trial that accused 'groomed' her as a 15-year-old

A WOMAN told a jury she was being “groomed” by a fisherman as a 15-year-old around the time it is alleged he murdered his pregnant wife.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Canterbury Crown Court she was involved in an intimate relationship with Andrew Griggs in 1999.

Griggs, who now lives at St Leonards, near Ringwood, has gone on trial accused of murdering his wife Debbie in May that year while she was pregnant with their fourth child.

The prosecution’s case is that Griggs killed her and disposed of her body amid the couple experiencing marital strife and Debbie suspecting he was seeing someone underage.

Previously the court heard Griggs (57), was concerned Debbie would take half of the proceeds of the freezer business they ran should they divorce. He told a friend he “wished she was dead” and had closed the couple’s joint bank account.

Four days after Debbie went missing, her white Peugeot 306 was found abandoned just over a mile away. The boot lining was missing, and blood containing her DNA was recovered from the vehicle by forensic examiners, the court has heard.

Debbie, who has been described in court as a “devoted” mum, has not been seen or heard from since. Her body has never been found.

When the trial opened, prosecutors claimed before Debbie’s disappearance the couple split because she suspected he was having an affair with a 15-year-old girl, but later reconciled.

The court heard both the teenager and Griggs had denied being intimate at the time, but a love note was found which she had written. She later admitted to police she had been seeing Griggs.

As the trial entered its second week, the alleged lover appeared before the court to give evidence.

She said when talking about Debbie at the time Griggs “never had anything good” to say about her and complained she was constantly moaning.

She said it was now clear Griggs was “grooming” her and she was “confused” at the time.

Under cross-examination she insisted she was telling the truth about being intimate with Griggs – who she branded a “paedophile”.

Griggs’ defence barrister in reply suggested to the court what she was claiming was incorrect.

The jury was also played the 999 call Griggs made to police almost 24 hours after Debbie went missing from their home in Deal, Kent.

In the call Griggs told an operator: “She’s suffering from depression, post-natal depression, we’ve got three little boys and she’s just wound up too much. She is pregnant as well, she’s been under the doctor for depression, for a while.

“She was on medication but I don’t know whether she is now,” he added.

Griggs claimed she had gone missing a number of times before but that was only known by friends and family, and he had been the victim of domestic abuse by her in the past three months.

He told the operator Debbie had taken £250 and her white Peugeot but could not recall the number plate.

Officers visited his address later that night and one of them, PC Reid, recalled Griggs was calm. “When we asked why it was so late that he reported it to us, he said his wife had gone missing on previous occasions and returned unharmed,” he said in a statement.

The court also heard medical evidence that Debbie was treated for post-natal depression years before, but not at the time she vanished.

Griggs has denied murder. His defence has not yet been heard in court.

The trial, expected to last five weeks, continues.