British father’s plea to drop charges over the death of his son who fell from a Cyprus hotel window is rejected by authorities on eve of court case
A 37-year-old British banker charged over the death of his two-year-old son at a luxury Cyprus hotel has had his appeal to drop the case rejected by the island's Attorney General, George Savvides, on the eve of his plea hearing. The father must now appear at Paphos District Court to enter a plea to a charge of causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act, with a conviction carrying a possible four-year prison sentence. The case has drawn scrutiny because authorities focused their inquiry on the father rather than the King Evelthon Hotel, where the toddler is the third British guest to die in four years.
The boy fell 33ft to his death on 12 July after his father placed him on a windowsill while waiting for a lift, not realising the window was open. The father was held on remand for eight days before being charged and had to pay £25,750 in bail, with a travel ban briefly lifted in August so he could return home to bury his son and reunite with his wife and five-year-old daughter. His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, had asked the Attorney General to discontinue the prosecution on public interest and humanitarian grounds, citing the family's trauma and the need for stability for the surviving daughter, but this request has now been formally refused.
- Father's bid to drop Cyprus death charges over son's fall is rejected
- Must enter plea at Paphos court; faces up to four years in prison
- Boy, 2, fell 33ft from hotel window; third British death there in four years
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In July, a two-year-old boy died after falling from a window at the King Evelthon Hotel, a resort in Paphos, Cyprus, while his family were on holiday. His father, a 37-year-old British banker, had placed the boy on a windowsill while waiting for a lift, apparently not realising the window was open, and the child fell around 33 feet.
Cypriot authorities investigated the father rather than the hotel, and he was held in custody for eight days before being charged with causing death through a rash, reckless or dangerous act, an offence that can carry up to four years in prison. He was later released on bail of £25,750, with restrictions on leaving Cyprus temporarily eased in August so he could attend his son's funeral in Britain and see his wife and young daughter.
The case has attracted attention partly because the hotel itself has not faced charges, even though the toddler is reported to be the third British guest to die there within four years. The father's legal team asked prosecutors to drop the case on compassionate grounds, citing the family's grief and the needs of their surviving child, setting the stage for the decision now being reported.