'I don't think he should be breathing': Father brands his son-in-law a 'callous bloody coward' after he was cleared of murdering his wife despite killing her and twice burying her body
- Father of woman killed by husband said son-in-law is 'a callous bloody coward'
- Edmund Ian Riggs, 60, has been found not guilty of his wife's murder in 2001
- Instead, the court found him guilty of the manslaughter of Patricia Anne Riggs
- The 60-year-old man pleaded guilty to misconduct with a corpse this month
- Ms Riggs' father Jon Knowles said: 'I don't think he should be breathing'
The father of a woman who was killed by her husband has branded his son-in-law a 'callous bloody coward' after he was cleared of her murder.
Queensland man Edmund Ian Riggs, 60, who admitted causing his wife's death during an argument 18 years ago, burying her and later digging her up and burying her again was acquitted of her murder.
He was instead found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife of 17 years, Patricia Anne Riggs, in September 2001 at their home in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
Riggs, who pleaded guilty to misconduct with a corpse at the start of his Brisbane Supreme Court trial this month, will be sentenced at a later date.
Edmund Ian Riggs was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife of 17 years Patricia Anne Riggs (pictured) in September 2001 at their home
Edmund Ian Riggs (pictured) who admitted causing his wife's death during an argument 18 years ago, burying her and later digging her up and burying her again was acquitted of her murder
His wife's remains were discovered buried in the backyard of his former home, and Riggs was charged by police.
Talking to Channel Nine's A Current Affair, Ms Riggs' father Jon Knowles expressed his grief after the court cleared the 60-year-old of his daughter's murder.
After Riggs was found guilty of manslaughter, Mr Knowles said he will never forgive him for taking away his daughter, branding him 'a callous bloody coward'.
'I don't have a hatred for him, I just don't think he should be breathing, that's all,' Mr Knowles said.
'It's innocent until proven guilty, there's two parties involved in it, one party is dead so you've only got one story.'
Mr Knowles said he was suspicious from his son-in-law's behaviour from the beginning, when he failed to look for his missing wife.
'You'd look for a dog if it was missing wouldn't you so why wouldn't you look for your wife?' he said.
Ms Riggs, 34, disappeared after a weekend of arguments with her husband, crown prosecutor Todd Fuller QC told the jury in his opening address on February 4.
Riggs testified that his wife died after he pushed her in reaction to her spitting on him as they fought at their home, where her skeletal remains were found buried in 2016.
Ms Riggs' father Jon Knowles (pictured) expressed his grief after the court cleared the 60-year-old of his daughter's murder
Ms Riggs (pictured), 34, disappeared after a weekend of arguments with her husband, crown prosecutor Todd Fuller QC told the jury in his opening address on February 4
She hit her head on the bed and he panicked when he realised she was dead.
Riggs buried his wife in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Caboolture, digging her remains up a few years later after seeing heavy machinery at the site. He reburied them at the family home.
They were found by a new owner who was concreting behind a shed.
The prosecution alleged he deliberately killed her, suggesting he was motivated by complaints about his lack of financial contribution to the family and her affairs.
Riggs had told police in 2001 his wife had accused him of having an affair on the Friday night before walking out on the family later in the weekend.
However, an examination of the family's home soon after found blood splatters on a bedroom wall.
Mr Knowles (pictured centre) said he was suspicious from his son-in-law's behaviour from the beginning, when he failed to look for his missing wife
That discovery prompted Riggs to board a Greyhound bus under an assumed name and disappear to Byron Bay for about 10 days, Mr Fuller told the trial.
Police investigations found Ms Riggs hadn't accessed her bank accounts or shown up for work after her disappearance.
Despite this, no charges were laid until 2015 when the new occupant of the Margate home was digging in the backyard and discovered bones under a shed built in 2001.
The incomplete skeleton was wrapped in a pool liner, Mr Fuller said.
A post-mortem found damage to the right cheek bone and part of the jaw bone missing, however, due to excessive weathering the cause of death was not clear.
The remains were found years later in the back yard (pictured) by the new owner of the home when he began work on concreting the shed
Riggs originally buried the body in bushland on the outskirts of Caboolture but moved the body to the former family garden (pictured) after he saw machinery at the plot
The couple - who had two children - had an argument when Ms Riggs confronted her husband about a list of escorts she had found, the court heard.
'I just pushed her away, I didn't want her in my space or in my face,' he said.
He told the court Ms Riggs fell and hit her head on a bed post.
'She was convulsing... I was completely shocked,' he said.
'I was just frozen in shock and couldn't believe what was happening. My brain just exploded.'
Riggs said that's when he wrapped his wife in bedding and put her in the boot of his car. He then drove to bushland in Caboolture where he buried her.
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