Hogan may face UK prosecution

Mar 27 2008 icWales

A father who pushed his six-year-old son off a Greek hotel balcony may be prosecuted after a coroner ruled today that the child had been unlawfully killed.

Liam Hogan’s mother Natasha Visser, 35, made an impassioned plea for action after the inquest, saying: “Justice has so far not been done.”

Liam, from Bristol, died of severe head injuries after falling 50ft from the Petra Mare Hotel, in Crete, with his father John and sister Mia, then aged two.

Hogan, 33, was cleared of murder earlier this year after a Greek court heard he was suffering an “earthquake” of psychosis when he took Liam’s life.

But after hearing fresh evidence from holidaymakers, who did not attend Hogan’s trial, Avon Coroner Paul Forrest concluded that Hogan’s actions were unlawful.

Following his verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it will examine evidence compiled by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

In a voice cracking with emotion, Mrs Visser said the verdict came “as no surprise” and urged the CPS to “carefully” consider the file sent by police.

She accused Greek authorities of trying to “relieve” themselves of their responsibilities.

Recently remarried Mrs Visser added: “The Greek court made little attempt to establish the facts surrounding Liam’s death and did not even call known eyewitnesses.”

The coroner said evidence given by three fresh witnesses was an “essential ingredient” during the two-day hearing.

Friends Sarah Davidson and Kerry Jackman told how they saw Hogan push his two children from the balcony edge before jumping off himself.

Ms Jackman, a friend of Mrs Davidson who was waiting with her for a coach, said she could hear a “maniac” shouting from a room above.

She said: “I knew something was wrong. I saw two little children coming off the balcony feet-first as if they had been pushed off.

“I shouted ’Oh my God, he’s killed his kids’.”

Mrs Davidson, who gave evidence along with her husband Iain, broke down in tears as she recounted seeing Hogan and his children plunge to the ground.

She said she heard a “horrific” argument from a room above her.

She said: “As they fell, he grabbed the railings and plunged himself off. He went down head first. He didn’t have his arms out to stop himself.

“I couldn’t comprehend why he pushed them or didn’t try and reach out for them. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Giving his verdict today, Mr Forrest said: “The facts were abundantly clear in that the children were seen to be pushed off the balcony, objectively an unlawful act.”

He added: “The mere act committed was in itself unlawful on the basis of common sense as death resulted. In my judgment an intention or lack of same, whether the actor was capable of understanding his acts, is irrelevant for the purposes of my verdict.”

After Mrs Visser left the hearing, DCI Mike Courtiour, of Avon and Somerset police, confirmed that “evidence that this force gathered has been forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

He added: “It is for the CPS to decide on what, if any, action is now appropriate as the result of today’s verdict.”

Kerstin Scheel, John Hogan’s lawyer, appeared to criticise the coroner’s verdict.

In a statement, she said: “Mr Hogan has been acquitted of any crime in relation to Liam’s death by the Greek court because at the time of his actions he was suffering from a psychotic condition such that he neither knew or understood the nature and consequences of his actions.

“The coroner did not question this psychiatric evidence and did not take Mr Hogan’s state of mind into account in reaching his verdict of unlawful killing.”

Dimitris Xiritakis, Hogan’s lawyer, based in Crete, said today’s inquest verdict will not have any impact on Greek proceedings.

Mr Xiritakis said: “The verdict of the (Greek) court was unanimous. This verdict has no reflection on Greek law.”