Accused wife-killer ‘digging at cemetery’ before body found

A man accused of killing his wife and burying her in the family’s backyard was allegedly seen digging at a cemetery before his wife’s remains were found.

Prosecutors claim Edmund Ian Riggs may have disposed of his partner’s body twice in explosive new evidence put to a Queensland court.

Patricia Riggs was found buried in the backyard of her Margate home in August this year, after the new owners began renovations at the property.

Police allege Mr Riggs killed his wife in 2001, but the couple’s four children are standing by the accused.

“(Patricia) loved all those kids and she looked after them like no one’s business,” Mrs Riggs’ father Jon Knowles said.

“To see them desert her, it’s just so hurtful.”

Mr Riggs applied for bail in court on Friday, but that was formally refused by Justice James Douglas.

The court heard a witness claims to have seen Mr Riggs digging at a Redcliffe cemetery at 4am soon after his wife vanished.

“There were some bones missing from the remains,” police prosecutors told the court.

“The supposition is that the remains had been moved.”

But the defence said the argument doesn’t stack up.

“It would seem a little strange that (Mr Riggs) would move (his wife’s remains) from the cemetery back to his own premises,” Riggs' lawyer Lars Falcongreen said.

The court heard that after his wife disappeared, Mr Riggs withdrew $1000 cash, left behind a will and stayed at Byron Bay and Nimben motels under a false name.

The court also heard that Riggs had left his brother's house, where he'd been staying, at midnight on October 16, 2001 after blood spatter was found on a wall behind Mrs Riggs' bed.

But Mr Riggs blamed police for his actions after reporting his wife missing.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly due to the pressures exerted upon me by police,” Mr Riggs said in an affidavit.

“Once I was able to think clearly, I eagerly returned to my children.”

Mr Riggs remains behind bars to appear in court again next year.