Scottish police charge mother for murder in mystery death of US oil executive’s 3 kids

Mom charged with murder in death of 3 kids

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Scottish police say the American mother of three children who were found dead in an Edinburgh town house has been charged with their murder.

Police say 46-year-old Theresa Riggi was arrested Friday after police completed autopsies on her children: 8-year-old twins Augustino and Gianluca and their 5-year-old sister Cecilia.

The kids were discovered after a gas explosion Wednesday at the town house, but are not thought to have died as a result of the blast. Riggi is hospitalized in serious but stable condition after apparently falling from an upper story of the house on the same day.

Riggi and her husband, 46-year-old American oil industry executive Pasquale Riggi, 46, of Colorado, were getting divorced and contesting the custody of their children.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — The American mother of three children who were found dead in an Edinburgh town house will face criminal charges in a Scottish court, police said Friday.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant against Theresa Riggi, 46, as police completed autopsies on her children — 8-year-old twins Augustino and Gianluca and their sister Cecilia, 5.

The children were discovered after a gas explosion on Wednesday at a house in Edinburgh, but are not thought to have died as a result of the blast. Riggi is hospitalized in serious but stable condition after apparently falling from an upper story of the house on the same day.

Police said in a statement that she will be charged in court when she is released from the hospital, but did not say what those criminal charges would be.

Riggi and her husband, American oil industry executive Pasquale Riggi, 46, of Colorado, were contesting the custody of their children. Scottish authorities said the couple had been due to attend court hearings in the case this week, and on Tuesday a judge raised concerns over the children’s safety when their mother failed to appear for divorce proceedings.

Police said they are investigating the circumstances of the deaths and have interviewed the children’s father, but confirmed he is not a suspect in the case.

They said the autopsies on the children were completed Friday. No details were disclosed, but a report has been submitted to prosecutors, police said.

Pasquale Riggi described in a statement his difficulties in coming to terms about the children’s’ deaths.

“Our family is struggling to come to terms with the immense and tragic loss of three beautiful children,” he said in a statement issued by Edinburgh’s Lothian and Borders police department.

His wife and the children went missing from the family’s home in Aberdeen, a port town about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Edinburgh, on July 21, prompting police to launch a search.

Pasquale Riggi grew up in Colorado, where he attended Denver’s Regis Jesuit High School, graduating in 1982. He serves as an executive with Royal Dutch Shell PLC in Scotland, and had previously worked with the company in the Netherlands.

Associated Press Writer Peter Banda in Denver, Colorado, contributed to this report.