Balcony-plunge father denies murder
John Hogan, the father accused of killing his son when he plunged 50ft from a hotel balcony, today denied murder, telling a court in Crete: "I do not accept the charge that I planned to kill my children."
A jury of three men and a woman was selected to sit alongside the three judges, who will hear Hogan's case between them.
Defence lawyer Dimitris Xiritakis handed the panel a list of witnesses he plans to call before the prosecution was called to enter its case.
Mrs Papanikolopoulou, prosecuting, briefly described the fatal events of August 15, 2006.
She said: “He took the children and fell from the balcony 12 metres. This led to the death of his son and light injuries to his daughter. He also sustained injuries. He is charged with murder and attempted suicide.”
Hogan, 34, plunged 50ft from the four-star Petra Mare hotel, in Crete, with Liam and his daughter Mia, then aged two, during a family holiday in August 2006.
Liam died after suffering massive head injuries in the fall, but Mia survived after breaking her arm. She was cushioned in the fall by her father's body.
Hogan, who ran a tiling business in Bristol, England, was later charged with murder and attempted murder and has been held on remand in Greek jails for more than 16 months.
His lawyers had argued he was not mentally fit to stand trial after a series of suicide attempts and should be held in a psychiatric unit.
But in November, reports carried out by a number of psychiatrists found he was fit to stand trial.
Hogan’s former wife Natasha, 35, will give evidence for the prosecution, as will eyewitness Kevin Swift, 43, from Nottingham in England.
