Killer mum wanted visit from Pope

A MOTHER who killed her three children was visited by the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland and requested an audience with the Pope after she had been charged with their murder.

Theresa Riggi, a devout Catholic, was visited by Cardinal Keith O'Brien at her request while she was being assessed at the Orchard Clinic psychiatric unit.

The Catholic Church confirmed the meeting had taken place but declined to comment further, saying it was a "private, pastoral" visit.

Riggi had been taken to the Royal Edinburgh hospital after being charged with the murder of her three children, nine-year-old twins Austin and Luke and Cecilia, five.

She pleaded guilty to culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday. It was revealed that she had stabbed each of the children eight times.

The request to see the Pope was held up by the Crown as an example of her three personality disorders. Riggi will be sentenced next month.