A judge warned that three children at the centre of a bitter custody battle could be in danger just 24 hours before they were found dead, it has emerged.
Eight-year-old twins Augustino and Gianluca Riggi and their five-year-old sister Cecilia were discovered on Wednesday at the modern townhouse in Edinburgh's Slateford Road after reports of an explosion.
The children's mother, Theresa Riggi, 46, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after apparently falling from the second floor of the building.
Judge Lady Clark raised concerns about the welfare of the children after their mother failed to appear before a divorce hearing on Tuesday.
The deaths are being treated as suspicious and police want to speak to Mrs Riggi when she is well enough.
Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on the children and police insist it is too early to say whether it was a murder investigation.
The children's father, Pasquale Riggi, 46, has been interviewed by police but is not a suspect. He is said to be "heartbroken".
