Scottish woman jumps from second-storey balcony after stabbing her kids

London, Aug 5 (ANI): A Scottish woman, who is believed to have stabbed her three children to death before jumping from a second-storey balcony, had been on the run after a bitter custody battle.

Theresa Riggi, 46, who was in the middle of a divorce battle with husband Pasquale, had first fled with her kids from her home in Skene, Aberdeen, on July 11, and was later traced to a friend's flat in Edinburgh on July 21.

When a court issued a warrant for her arrest, she disappeared again with the children on August 3, and ended up staying in the Slateford suburb.

On August 4 her neighbours heard a really loud bang and called 999 fearing a gas leak.

A 21-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, witnessed her jumping off the balcony.

"I was sitting in my living room, I heard screaming. It was really bad. I went outside. She was standing on the balcony. She was holding her arms, like she was already injured," the Sun quoted the man as saying.

"She was crying and screaming. There were about five of us saying, 'Don't do it, don't jump'. Then she jumped off. My neighbour tried to catch her and she kind of landed on his arms.

"She was lying on the floor and I left the scene - it was all too much," he stated.

When the emergency crew arrived at the house, they put out a small fire in the three-floor townhouse, and then found Riggi's twin sons Luca and Austin, eight, and daughter Cecilia, five, stabbed to death in the living room.

"It was a horrific scene inside. The kids were lying on the floor with stab wounds and there was blood all over the floor," a source said.

"Outside the house, the woman was crumpled in a heap with numerous cuts and broken bones," the source stated.

Riggi is said to be in a serious condition at the hospital, and the police are waiting to question her about the incident.

"This is a tragic set of circumstances," a police source added. (ANI)