THE leader of the
Catholic Church in Scotland visited a woman who killed her three
children after she had been charged with their murder and was being
assessed in a psychiatric unit, it has emerged.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien made the “private
pastoral” visit to Theresa Riggi, 47, while she was being monitored in
the Orchard Clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital after the deaths of
twins Austin and Luke, eight, and five-year-old Cecilia on August 4.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, the shocking details of their discovery were revealed for the first time.
It emerged that each of the children had eight stab wounds and numerous cuts, bruises and abrasions on their bodies.
Riggi, who was diagnosed as suffering from three different personality disorders, pled guilty to killing the children.
She entered a plea of culpable homicide on
the grounds of diminished responsibility after originally being charged
with murder.
She will be sentenced on April 26.
The family were known to be devout Catholics
and during the High Court hearing, it emerged that at one stage during
her stay at Orchard Clinic – a medium secure unit for people with mental
health problems – she had asked that the Pope visit her.
Cardinal O’Brien’s visit is believed to have
taken place several weeks before Pope Benedict XVI visited Glasgow and
Edinburgh as part of a state visit.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church in
Scotland said last night: “We can confirm that Cardinal O’Brien did make
a private pastoral visit to Mrs Riggi while she was a patient at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital last year. It happened at her request.
“The details of the meeting should remain private.”
The court heard that Riggi and her husband
Pasquale’s relationship had broken down and the couple, who are
originally from America, were locked in a legal battle over access to
and custody of the three children.
The day before the deaths, she had failed to
turn up to a court hearing and judge Lady Clarke had ordered the family
to be assessed by social workers.
Mr Riggi, 46, had last spoken to his wife on August 2, when she asked if he planned to take the children away.
On being told by her husband that she had “left him no choice”, Riggi replied “say goodbye then” and hung up.
The High Court heard that building manager
Derek Knight discovered the bodies of the three children in the flat in
Slateford Road, Edinburgh, on August 4.
Pools of blood lay around the house and
there were three knives in the room where the victims were laid out on a
floor.
There was a space said to have been left for their mother, who
had stab wounds on her body and had fallen head first from the
second-storey balcony.
When police arrived at the house, a song “similar to that at church services” was playing on a laptop.
It was later found to be called Angel and
the artist was “Tess Riggi”.
The accused had wanted to become a
professional violinist and vocalist before an accident in her teens, the
court heard.
The three children were laid to rest after a funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen.
Speaking before the funeral, Mr Riggi said:
“I was raised as a Catholic and I am a practising Catholic and that is
how the children were being raised. So your faith and your family and friends – that is what you hold dearest – and that certainly helps you. We believe that Austin, Luke and Cecilia
are with God, so they are not with us physically but are with us
spiritually and that helps.”