Tests for mother on murder charge

A WOMAN charged with killing her three young children has been committed to hospital for tests to establish if she is suffering from a mental disorder.

A temporary court was held yesterday at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where Theresa Riggi, 46, has been treated for three weeks after plunging from a second-floor balcony.

Her twin sons Austin and Luke, eight, and their five-year-old sister Cecilia were found dead inside the flat with stab wounds.

Yesterday, a Crown Office spokesman said: "Theresa Riggi from Edinburgh appeared today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in relation to a charge of murder.

"No plea nor declaration was made and she was fully committed to hospital under an Assessment Order."

These orders are made where it appears to the court that the accused may be suffering from a mental disorder.

The Crown Office has not revealed which hospital she will be assessed in, but she will be transferred there within a week and will stay for 28 days.

Ms Riggi and her estranged husband Pasquale, also 46, are both originally from the United States, but have lived in the UK for 13 years and all three children were born in England.