HE MURDERED his mum but the family still had to ask his permission to collect their own belongings from her house.

It's been just over six years since Carol Taggart was killed brutally by her son, Ross, but the "nightmare" endures for her family due to a legal loophole.

Despite being found guilty of murder and handed a sentence of life imprisonment, he is still in control of her estate from his prison cell.

On the Channel 5 programme that aired last week, 'Countdown to Murder', former Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll said: "There can't be any closure for this family when the person who's murdered your mum, you're asking permission to go and collect property that you own in her home.

"I cannot imagine how that's added to the trauma and how awful that must be."

The house where he launched a murderous attack, at Hill of St Margaret, was only sold last August.

Until then, precious items and mementoes, such as family photos of Carol, were locked away inside the family home and they had to ask Ross' permission to get access.

Carol's former husband, Shaun Taggart, said: "He's allowed to be the executor of the estate after brutally murdering his mother. It's nuts. Absolutely nuts."

And their daughter, Lorraine Bristow, said: "It's painful and I wish it could be just like something you watch on TV but it's actually my life and I have to deal with this pain."

The family launched a campaign just over two years ago to change the law and took the fight for justice to the Scottish Government.

Her husband, Stephen Bristow, said: "He murdered his mum in cold blood, hoping to get whatever he thought he was going to get, and he's still allowed to control her estate, to have a say over what happens with her estate."

Since the programme aired, more names have been added to the petition they set up, demanding that convicted murderers are prevented from being able to act as administrator or executor of the estate of the person they killed.

It is available at https://bit.ly/2Gl92Wf and has been signed by almost 22,000 people.

In October 2018, a spokesperson told the Press they were committed to reforming and modernising the law of succession in Scotland, to ensure a “clear and fair legal framework” for the law of inheritance, relevant to modern Scottish society and the rights of individuals and families.

“As part of this work, we will consider whether there is a need to amend the law to address the issue of convicted murders acting as executors for their victims,” added the spokesperson.