The Vatican has closed the case of the fatal shooting of the commander of the Pope's bodyguard, the Swiss Guards, his wife and a young corporal last year.

A statement said two Vatican judicial officials had decided after a nine-month investigation to uphold a preliminary finding that Corporal Cedric Tornay killed his commander, Alois Estermann and his wife, before shooting himself with the same pistol.

They said the twenty-three year-old corporal acted in a fit of madness after being passed over for a military decoration.

Tornay's mother has accused the Vatican of covering up the truth and said she had documents to prove her son's innocence.