Crete death fall inquest adjourned

An inquest into the death of a six-year-old boy who plunged from a hotel balcony with his father and younger sister has been opened and adjourned.

Businessman John Hogan, 32, is facing a possible murder charge after his son, Liam, died and his daughter, Mia, two, was injured during the fall from the fourth floor of a hotel in Crete.

Hogan and his wife, Natasha, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol, had been on a two-week holiday with their children in the popular resort of Lerapetra when the tragedy happened last Tuesday.

On Tuesday, an inquest into Liam's death was formally opened at a packed Flax Bourton Coroner's Court near Bristol.

In a brief statement, coroner's officer David Griffiths confirmed the basic details of the death.

"His death was confirmed at 00.30 on August 16, 2006 by Professor Michalodimitrkis at Heraklion Hospital in Crete and he was later identified to police officers by his mother, Natasha Hogan, at the hotel Petra Mare.

"He fell from the balcony of a hotel to the ground. He sustained a head injury from which he died."

He also confirmed that Liam Stephen Hogan had been born on May 30, 2000 in Bristol and that he had been living in Dewfalls Drive, Bradley Stoke, with his parents.

Avon Assistant Deputy Coroner Terence Moore concluded the two-minute hearing by stating that the inquest would be adjourned "pending further inquiries by the Greek authorities".

Mrs Hogan, 34, and Mia returned to the UK on Friday after the child was discharged from hospital following treatment for a broken arm. They are being comforted by friends and family in Clevedon, Somerset.