The family of Patricia Riggs hope she will be laid to rest in Queanbeyan, next to her mother Carol Saxton who died before knowing what happened to her daughter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A former swimming instructor and home birth advocate originally from Canberra, Mrs Riggs – Trish or Tricia to her friends and family – was listed as missing for nearly 15 years before her remains were found in the backyard of her Queensland home this month.
Her husband, Edmund Ian Riggs, was charged last week with her murder and with interfering with a corpse. Riggs has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear before the courts in Queensland on November 30.
The couple spent most of their married life in Canberra. They lived in Darwin for four years and returned to Canberra in 2001 before moving to Brisbane just weeks before her disappearance.
Mrs Riggs' brother, Mark Knowles, of Conder, says he was still in shock, trying to process that his beloved older sister had been found but also with the knowledge that she was never coming home.
"It's a funny sort of a feeling. We wanted to find Trish and now that we have there is some relief there but we've still got some unanswered questions," he said.
"We'd certainly like to have some answers. I guess the truth will come out eventually."
Mr Knowles said his mother, Mrs Saxton had bought a space at Queanbeyan Lawn Cemetery for the interment of her daughter's ashes should she be found. Mrs Saxton died in September, 2011, never knowing the outcome of her daughter's disappearance. The ashes of mother and daughter will now lay side by side.
Mr Knowles said the family, which includes Mrs Riggs' father in Queensland and 94-year-old grandmother who still lives in Canberra, wanted her finally laid to rest.
"Mum fought so hard to find out what happened to Trish. It's sad she's not here," Mr Knowles said.
Mrs Riggs was just 34 when she was reported missing by her husband on September 30, 2001. The couple had four children. Her husband had told police she had walked out of their suburban Brisbane home at 10.30pm after an argument with him and never returned.
After years of appeals for information and rewards being posted, Mrs Riggs' skeletal remains were discovered by chance on August 21 when the current owners of the house were building a retaining wall.
"To think where she has been the last 15 years is just horrendous," sister-in-law Tracy Knowles said.
The family said Mrs Riggs was a special person.
"She was loved by everyone," Mrs Knowles said.
"She was a bit of a people's champion," Mr Knowles said. "She would help people with any issues they had in their life. She was very big on family."
Mr Knowles said he was aware of how difficult it was now for Mrs Riggs' four children. His family never believed Mrs Riggs would leave her children.
"They have spent the last 15 years thinking their mother deserted them," he said.
"The kids were her world," Mrs Knowles said.
The family hoped there could be some reunion with the now adult children of Mrs Riggs. They were also thankful of how much the Canberra community had rallied around them.
"We're very thankful for people's support and the outpouring of love," Mr Knowles said.
"Hopefully in finding Tricia's remains, it also gives some hope to people who have loved ones missing. Just never give up, I guess."
