Mother who 'treasured her children' on murder charge

THE mother of three children found dead in their home was arrested and charged with murder last night.

• Theresa Riggi, who is in hospital after falling from a balcony, was charged by police last night

Theresa Riggi, 46, is seriously injured in hospital after plunging two floors from the balcony of an Edinburgh townhouse where the bodies of twins Gianluca and Augustino, eight, and Cecilia, five, were found on Wednesday.

Police issued a warrant for her arrest at 6pm yesterday after receiving the results of post-mortem examinations into the children's deaths.

Four hours later, a Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the petition warrant which was granted earlier today."

It was not known when Riggi will appear in court because of her injuries. She is in a stable condition at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The children's father, Pasquale Riggi, who had been involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with his estranged wife, spoke for the first time about the deaths yesterday.

He said: "Our family is struggling to come to terms with the immense and tragic loss of three beautiful children.

"Thanks to all who have offered such great comfort and support. We request that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time."

Riggi, who was born in California, wrote glowingly about her children in correspondence last year, saying they would "always come first". She added: "I treasure every moment spent with them and marvel at their development – I would not miss it for the world."

However, when she failed to appear at a custody hearing at Edinburgh's Court of Session on Tuesday, the judge asked social workers to make a visit to the family home.

That message was passed to Edinburgh City Council at 3pm the following day, by which time emergency services had just been called to the property, following mistaken reports of a gas explosion.

They cordoned off a large section of the street as the investigation began into the children's deaths.

Meanwhile, in the US, family friends of Pasquale Riggi, in Colorado, where he was raised, spoke of their shock following the tragedy. His parents Mario and Sylvia, who still live in the house where Mr Riggi grew up, were not available for comment.

But neighbour Don Sturgeleski said: "We have known Mario and Sylvia for many years. We moved into this neighbourhood the same time, the early 70s and we know them as wonderful people and we have always been close, and I'm really shocked to hear this news.

"I've known the son and they have a daughter also, and we watched them grow up in the neighbourhood, I don't know anything about their personal lives."

He said his neighbours were "proud parents" and that Mr Riggi had last visited on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Mr Sturgeleski added: "There were a lot of people, it was a celebration at one of the country clubs near here. There were a lot of people, a lot of relatives and neighbours and we didn't really get a chance to talk to the children.

"We said hello to them, they said hello to us, we recognised them and they recognised us, but it's been a while since we've seen them prior to that."

Another neighbour, Mary Chester, said: "They're just great neighbours, great kids, they're real nice and it really is a shock. When I tell my husband he'll just not believe it."

Until recently, Pasquale and Theresa Riggi had lived in Skene, Aberdeenshire, where Mr Riggi works as an oil executive for Shell.

Although both parents are from the US, they have lived in the UK for 13 years, and the three children were all born in England. Riggi had decided to home-school them and through this got to know other parents who also taught their children at home.

The couple separated and she arrived in Edinburgh, with the three children, on 21 July, and rented a large townhouse in Slateford Road.

Last night, floral tributes were mounting up at the scene of the deaths, with cards, teddy bears and hand-written messages reflecting a sense of shock among neighbours.

A police command unit was on guard at the scene last night and the road leading to the townhouses, where the children were found, remained taped off.

Family friend tells of Cecilia's excitement at planning birthday party

CECILIA Riggi was so excited about her sixth birthday she had started handing out party invitations before a date or venue had been set.

Tragically, it never took place as she and her eight-year-old brothers, twins Gianluca and Augustino, were found dead in Edinburgh, on Wednesday.

A friend of the family from Skene, in Aberdeenshire, said one of her last memories of the family was of Theresa Riggi - who police were last night waiting to question about the children's deaths - as the doting mother planning a party for her excited daughter.

She said: "She was so excited that she gave us a blank invitation which did not even say when it would be.

"I think it was some time in August and I don't even know what her mother was planning.

"She was a loving mum, absolutely doting. She always seemed very sociable to me. She would always come to every event we organised, we were always taking the children to the aquarium and places like that."

She last saw Mrs Riggi, 46, in late June. She tried to contact her afterwards, but her phone was switched off. Mrs Riggi and her three children went missing on 4 July, and were traced to Edinburgh on 21 July.