Twins Augustino “Austin” and Gianluca “Luke” Riggi, age 8, and their 5-year-old sister Cecilia, were murdered by their mother, Theresa Riggi. The children were homeschooled.
The children’s father, Pasquale Riggi, was an oil company employee; the Riggis, though American, had lived in Scotland for 13 years. The children were born through IVF and Theresa was extremely possessive of them, insisting that they wear electronic locator tags. In July 2010 she took them and fled their Skene, Aberdeenshire home as part of a custody dispute. Believing that Pasquale would gain custody of the children, Theresa stabbed each of them eight times, then set the house on fire. She attempted suicide but did not succeed. Initially charged with murder, she was diagnosed with numerous personality disorders and arranged a plea deal to plead guilty to culpable homicide. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison but committed suicide in prison in 2014.
Date: August 4, 2010
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
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| Documents: | Date: |
| U.S. Mom Charged in Deaths of 3 Children in Edinburgh | 08-06-2010 |
| Father of children ‘stabbed to death by custody-battle mother’ warned court they were at risk – the day before they died | 08-06-2010 |
| Theresa RIGGI | 03-10-2014 |
| Theresa Riggi, child murderer, found dead in British hospital | 03-10-2014 |
