A man accused of murdering his wife who disappeared from Deal 20 years ago has been found guilty by a jury.

Andrew Griggs, 57 and now living in Dorset, had denied killing Debbie.

KMTV report on a dramatic day in court

The prosecution had alleged Griggs had carried out the crime after Debbie found out about an affair he was having with a 15-year-old.

But Griggs insisted she had left the family home in a rage after he came home from work and fell asleep.

Her car - a white Peugeot 309 - was found abandoned days after her disappearance, 1.3 miles from their home in Cross Road, Walmer.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC explained Debbie’s blood was recovered from the vehicle.

He said the couple's relationship had become strained and sometimes violent after Debbie suspected Griggs’ alleged affair with the girl, forcing the pair to split.

There has been no trace of Debbie, or signs of life since her disappearance between May 5-6 1999.

There has been no reported activity on her bank account, no medical appointments or contact with government departments - the DWP for example.

The couple ran Griggs Freezer Centre in South Street Deal together at the time she disappeared.

On March 2 1999, days before Debbie vanished, Griggs set their joint business bank account up in just his name.

He claimed this was because she had taken the company check books, but under cross examination the prosecutor told the court he had done this before she took them.

In a diary, she described him as “bombastic and bullying” and said that he “has a bad temper and if things do not go his way he gets very nasty,” though she said he had not actually hit her, the court heard.

Extracts from an affidavit, written by Debbie that year, were also read to the jury.

"Everything we have together is in fact his, and I am only allowed to enjoy anything that is a joint matrimonial asset by reason of being with him.

"He does not let me go out by myself. His needs come first. He tells me I am sick and mad in the head," it said.

It went on to claim Griggs kneed her in the stomach while she was pregnant.

The court previously heard weeks before Debbie vanished, Griggs told a welder he "wished she was dead".

Griggs told Peter Monks, who ran Fabweld Services in Deal, he was suffering "money problems in relation to his wife".

Discrepancies in his police statements were told to the court, including testimonies from two neighbours who claimed they saw Debbie's car reversing from the drive at 2pm and again at 4pm, that time leaving the garage door open. It was closed a few hours later by morning.

Griggs, now remarried and living in St Leonard's, was charged with Debbie's murder on March 12 this year.

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