Balcony death father will appeal

The father who jumped from a Crete hotel balcony with his two children is to appeal against a coroner's verdict that his son was unlawfully killed.

John Hogan, 34, from Bradley Stoke in South Gloucestershire, was found not guilty of murdering six-year-old Liam at a trial in Greece in 2007.

But an inquest in Bristol later ruled the boy had been unlawfully killed.

Liam's then two-year-old sister Mia suffered several broken bones in the 50ft (15m) fall.

Papers filed

During the two-day trial in Greece the court heard the family had gone on holiday to the Petra Mare hotel in Ierapetra in an effort to resolve marriage difficulties in 2006.

On the night of Liam's death, the couple had argued.

The court ruled that Mr Hogan had been "incapable" of murdering his son because of his mental state.

He was committed to a psychiatric unit in Athens for a minimum of three years after the trial.

Mr Hogan has filed the papers for an appeal, but a date has not yet been set for the hearing.

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