Inquest verdict on Crete balcony death ‘is flawed’

A CORONER'S verdict on a father who threw his two children from a hotel balcony, killing his son, was flawed by a "really quite serious error of law", a  High Court judge said today.

Avon coroner Paul Forrest ruled that John Hogan, 34, "unlawfully killed" his six-year-old son Liam during a family holiday on Crete.

Today Sir Anthony May, sitting with Mrs Justice Dobbs, said of the inquest: "A serious error of law was made. The question of [Mr Hogan's] mental state was simply not addressed."

Hugh Mercer QC, appearing for Mr Forrest accepted there had been an error.

The court was deciding this afternoon whether a new inquest should be held. A Greek court found Mr Hogan not guilty of murder but ordered him to be held in a psychiatric unit after the jury decided he had been suffering from "an earthquake of insanity".

The former tiler, of Bradley Stoke, threw Liam and his two-year-old sister, Mia, from the balcony before jumping himself after a row with his then wife, Natasha. During the argument she had said she intended to leave him and take the children with her.

Mia survived the 50ft plunge from the fourth-floor balcony of the Petra Mare Hotel in Ierapetra in August 2006.

Mr Hogan's sister, Christine O'Connor, of Bristol, today asked the High Court to overturn the verdict on the grounds that he was not responsible for his actions due to his mental state.