Pair to face Corfu deaths retrial

Two workers to face retrial over deaths of Christianne Shepherd and her brother, Robert
12 April 2012

Holiday company Thomas Cook is standing by two employees after it was revealed they are to face a retrial in connection with the deaths of two British children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu.

Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her six-year-old brother Robert, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, died after a faulty boiler leaked gas into their bungalow on the Greek island in October 2006.

Thomas Cook employees Richard Carson, 28, and Nicola Gibson, 26, were charged in connection with the deaths but were cleared of any wrongdoing earlier this month.

Thomas Cook said it believes Mr Carson, a customer affairs executive, and Ms Gibson, a holiday representative, will face a retrial alongside eight Greeks, who were also involved in the original trial.

It is believed an appeal by prosecutors against the verdicts was upheld and a new trial may take place next year.

Prosecutors were reported to have decided that "vital court evidence had been ignored by the judges" and guilty verdicts called for by court prosecutor Maria Tataki had been largely ignored.

During the lengthy court case at Corfu Town courthouse, judges heard that carbon monoxide fumes at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in Gouvia leaked into the bungalow from an outhouse next door.

Christi and Bobby were on a half-term holiday with their father, Neil Shepherd, and his partner, Ruth Beatson, who were both left in a coma as a result of the accident but survived.

Mr Carson and Ms Gibson were charged alongside nine Greeks with manslaughter by negligence in relation to the children and causing bodily injury by negligence to Mr Shepherd and Ms Beatson.

Speaking after the pair were found not guilty, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland chief executive Pete Constanti said: "We have always maintained that this tragic accident was the result of a unique set of circumstances, none of which could be the responsibility of the company or Richard Carson and Nicola Gibson."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT