THERE are calls to change the law that's given a Dunfermline man control of the home where he murdered his mum.

Ross Taggart was sentenced to life in prison after strangling his mother, Carol, 54, and hiding her body under a caravan in December 2014.

He was jailed for a minimum of 18 years but is still the executor of her estate and has repeatedly blocked attempts by his sister, Lorraine Taggart Bristow, to gain access to the house and recover keepsakes.

A petition started by her husband, Stephen Bristow, calling for the law to be changed was signed by more than 5,000 people in a matter of days and the issue is set to be raised in the Scottish Parliament.

He told the Press: "I want the government to listen, to see how ridiculous this law is and explain as to how a man that murdered someone can be the executor of their estate.

"It's outrageous and I can't continue to watch my wife dying from the inside out, her dad is the same.

"Watching your family suffer is one of the worst things you can ever experience in your life."

Mr Bristow added: "It's photos, videos, memories. That's it. There's nothing else in that house that we want.

"We've even offered to buy the contents of the house but we can't get in.

"We've requested and requested and been knocked back every time by him.

"He's a convicted murderer serving a life sentence and yet he holds sway over the estate of the person he murdered and prevents his sister from getting some peace of mind."

Jurors took just an hour to find Taggart, now 33, guilty of murdering Carol after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2015.

He strangled her on December 21 or 22, 2014, and her body was found wrapped in bedding underneath a caravan at Pettycur Bay Caravan Park on January 11, 2015.

Handing out a life sentence, Judge Lord Uist had told Taggart: "How you have lived with your conscience since you murdered your mother, I do not know."

He had added: "You have shown no regret or remorse and continued to deny your involvement before the jury in the face of overwhelming and unanswerable evidence.”

The petition states: "We would like to see a change in Scots Law that would prevent convicted murderers from being able to act as administrator/executor of the estate of the person they were convicted of killing.

"Ross Taggart is currently in jail in Scotland dictating to his lawyers what should be done with the estate of the person he murdered."

Taggart murdered Carol at the house they shared at Hill of St Margaret in Dunfermline.

Mr Bristow said: "He has instructed his lawyers that Lorraine is not to get into the house because he wants to protect the house, then he said it was because he wanted to protect her. I don't know what he's protecting her from.

"No-one has been in that house for four years other than Police Scotland and his legal representation.

"I would also point out that his lawyers were also Carol’s lawyers for many years, they were witnesses of her signing her will. They have been acting on his behalf from the day he murdered her until present."

Morgan's, the Dunfermline firm that's representing Taggart, said they could not comment.

Mr Bristow said: "My goal at the end of this is for my wife to have the memories of her mum, albeit in photographic form or on a disc, but that is better than nothing at all. He took her mother from her.

"Lorraine is a great mother to our two boys, they are her world.

"She is also a great dance teacher, she treats the kids at the dance school like her own and never lets them down.

"But behind closed doors she is broken and I've had to watch that every day for the last four years.

"Can you imagine what that's like, watching the woman you love break into pieces? It's horrible. That's why I'm doing this."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We note the concerns raised in this online petition.

"While it would not be appropriate for us to comment on any individual case, we will be happy to consider the issues raised during the forthcoming public consultation, part of ministers’ commitment to modernise the law of succession in Scotland during this parliament.”

The spokesperson added that an executor may be removed in certain circumstances by raising an action in the Court of Session.

You can find the petition here.