Death row mom who killed kids' chilling last words before execution
A mom executed by lethal injection for killing her own children shared some heartbreaking last words before she died.
Christina Marie Riggs, a nurse, was executed in Arkansas in May 2000 after spending just three years in Death Row. She had been convicted of murdering her children three years before and had planned to take her own life, but was unsuccessful.
"There is no way words can express how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies," she said. "Now I can be with my babies, as I always intended."
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As a result of the horrific case, Riggs became the 18th woman in the US to be executed and was the youngest woman to be put to death at just 28. In Arkansas, it was the first time a woman had been executed in the state since 1845.
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She killed her two children Justin, five, and Shelby Alexis, two, by injecting them with potassium chloride and smothering them. Later, Riggs wrote a suicide note and took a massive overdose of antidepressants.
Riggs injected her two children with potassium chloride before smothering them (Morbidology)Her failed attempts saw her waive her last appeal after she was sentenced to death, leading to the unusually and relatively short time between the sentencing and it being carried out.
Initially, the mom said the trauma she experienced working as a nurse after the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 sent her into a deep state of depression. Her mother said Riggs worked at the bomb site, but the Veterans Affairs hospital denied this claim, saying she was paid overtime for working at another hospital that day.
Riggs' lawyers said she was innocent due to her being insane when she carried out the murders. Prosecutors disagreed and said the murders were premeditated.
"Sometimes I can't think about them," Riggs told the Arkansas Times in 1999. "It's like they're being ripped away from me all over again."
During her time in jail, a pattern of sexual abuse in her childhood was also revealed, allegedly carried out by her brother when she was aged between seven and 13. She was also abused by a neighbour when she was a teenager, she said.
"I felt that no boy liked me because of my weight, so I became sexually promiscuous because I thought that was the only way I could have a boyfriend," she claimed.
Riggs was the first woman executed in Arkansas since the 1800s (AFP via Getty Images)Riggs first fell pregnant at the age of 16, but gave the baby up for adoption in 1988. Eventually, she struck up a relationship with Timothy Thompson, then at the nearby Tinker Air Force Base.
She became pregnant with Justin in late 1991, but Thompson decided not to stick around. During the pregnancy, she struck up a relationship with sailor Jon Riggs before Justin was born.
"As I held Justin in my arms and looked into his little face, I became so scared. Would I be a good Mom? Could I give him all he needed?" Riggs wrote in her journal.
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Jon and Christina Riggs would eventually got married, but their wedding night was marred by tragedy when Christina suffered a miscarriage. The marriage turned sour - court documents revealed that Jon Riggs had punched Justin so hard in the stomach that he needed medical attention, leading to Christina Riggs falling into depression.
In 1994, they welcomed a baby girl named Shelby Alexis. Christina wrote: "We were so happy. She was so beautiful. I didn't think things could get any better. (Jon) cried. I cried. He was full of so much love for her. The way he looked at her."
However, what followed was the eventual breakup of their marriage and a financial spiral that Riggs said led her to commit terrible crimes. She later expressed regret for her actions.
"I still believe in the death penalty even though I'm sitting here on Death Row," she once stated. "In my case, I'm glad I have the option."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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