Father's anguish at loss of his three children

American Pasquale Riggi last saw his "beautiful" children – eight-year-old twins Luke and Austin and their five-year-old sister Cecilia – on 4 July, US Independence Day.

One month later their bodies were discovered in an Edinburgh townhouse following reports of an explosion in the building.

His estranged wife, Theresa, who moved to Edinburgh with the children after the couple's acrimonious split last year, was charged the murder of the three youngsters by police last week.

In a emotional interview — his first since the three children were found stabbed to death in a flat in the capital's Slateford Road — Mr Riggi spoke of how his hopes and dreams for his children's future had been destroyed in "an instant".

And he told how he had been left devastated last Wednesday when detectives from Lothian and Borders Police arrived at his flat in Aberdeen's Riverside Drive to break the news of their deaths.

Mr Riggi said: "When I was told there would be officers coming to speak to me in person I didn't know what to expect.

"I thought, 'OK, something has happened that is not necessarily good'. I certainly would have never dreamed in a million years what they told me.

"Obviously, your heart just drops and you are in shock and disbelief. There is a lot of denial and praying that there's a one in a million chance that the police have got this wrong. But obviously I knew this had to be either a monumental screw up on their part or it is true.

"It is almost like it is happening to someone else but you know it's you and you keep asking yourself, 'Is this me? Is this my family?' Then the realisation hits you that it is."

He added: "Your life is all about your children and your plans and your dreams for them.

"And a lot of those dreams are just around the dreams that they have and you just want to try to make those happen. And then in one instant that's gone."

Mr Riggi, an oil reservoir engineer with Shell, returned home briefly to the family's former home in Aberdeenshire at the weekend after the ordeal of identifying the bodies of his three children in the capital.

And he revealed that on Monday, with members of the grieving family around him, he had celebrated what would have been Cecilia's sixth birthday – watching a poignant footage of his daughter dancing.

"I could watch her dance all day," he said. "She had very bright and twinkly eyes and she would light up the room."

Mr Riggi said his memories of his children were providing him with comfort he needed as he attempted to come to terms with the enormity of his loss and the manner in which they died.

Speaking to the media at a hotel in Aberdeen's West End, he never once mentioned his wife during the 22 minute interview.

Mr Riggi said: "You are paralysed with grief. You are not sure what to do next. It is bad enough that you have lost three beautiful children, but certainly the tragedy around their deaths makes it much more painful.

"The reality of it all is difficult to take all at once. You can't even get your head around it.

"The difficult part, obviously, is seeing constant reminders on a daily basis in front of you – it's playing out in the newspapers and on TV."

Referring to himself and the extended family, he said: "We know that once all the shock and all the initial sadness of this subsides, there will be deep pain and suffering that we will all need to seek counselling for."

Dressed in a dark suit and open-necked striped shirt, Mr Riggi, 46, remained remarkably composed as he told of his love for his children, smiling as he recalled their life together.

His calm voice only wavered once as the staunch Roman Catholic spoke of how he had been "humbled" by the support and messages he had received from strangers across the globe.

He said: "I have been touched and overwhelmed with the support – that helps beyond words that can describe it.

"I've received calls from all over the world. It humbles you, it shows the real human side of people."

But he smiled broadly as he spoke in turn of the three beloved children he had lost.

He explained that he last saw his children on 4 July when they were treated to a day out at Aberdeen beach to celebrate US Independence Day.

He said: "It was very enjoyable, we were out all day at the beach recreation centre in Aberdeen, playing video games and at various restaurants.

"It was a nice day, I have fond memories of that day."

Mr Riggi said he could not allow Cecilia's birthday to pass without marking it, so he and his relatives bought a cake and watched footage of Cecilia taking part in a dance show.

He said: "Her birthday was on August 9 and she would have been six. That was particularly difficult so close to the tragedy obviously."

Describing her as a "little spitfire", he said: "She was very excited about her birthday."

She started handing out invitations for her party the third week of June. She was bouncing off the walls with excitement. It was going to be a Disney princess-themed party.

"What we did to acknowledge that, we bought a Disney princess cake on Monday.

"We had a nice lunch and then watched some footage that I had recorded of her dancing. Cecilia just loved dancing, I could watch her dance all day.

"We celebrated with the cake – that was quite therapeutic but also difficult.

"There was no way we were going to allow that day to pass without remembering Cecilia in the way that we think she should be remembered."

Mr Riggi described his daughter, whose favourite cuddly toy was Dumbo the elephant, as "very much a little girl" who loved to dress up and wear pink, but who could also be a tomboy when with her brothers.

He said: "She was so into girly things and girl power, but she was always ready to rumble with her brothers at any time."

Cecilia loved Christmas and made the family watch a Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer DVD all year through, he said, and made the family laugh by pulling her "square face".

He said twins Austin and Luke were both very competitive but had different interests, with Luke enjoying reading and creating stories, and Austin preferring maths and science. Both boys loved playing the PlayStation, horse-riding, and learning about dinosaurs. They both wanted to be palaeontologists when they were older.

Mr Riggi said: "Luke was the hyperactive one, right from the beginning. Austin was much more laid back – he would observe and analyse what Luke was doing.

"Luke seemed to be a kind of 'old soul' – so many things came naturally to him.

"Austin would observe, analyse and then kind of perfect.

"That's how they constantly helped each other to do better and better.

"We were so blessed to have three happy, healthy and bright and active children.

"The memories that we have of Austin, Luke and Cecilia will forever provide joy and comfort as we go through the weeks, months and years ahead."

Friends, family, colleagues and members of the community have all rallied around Mr Riggi in the last week.

He thanked them for their support along with family liaison officers from Lothian and Borders Police and St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Aberdeen.

No funeral plans have been made yet but it is expected that there will be services in Scotland and in the US.

Mr Riggi said he was comforted by the belief his children are now in

a "safe place" with God, adding: "They are not here with us physically but they are with us spiritually, and that helps.

"I try not to think about their death and I think about what they are experiencing now. I think they are in a safe place." Asked how was coping with his loss, he said: "They say time heals all wounds. I'll see how that plays out. Once all the shock and all the initial sadness of this subsides there will be deep pain and suffering that we will all need to seek counselling for."