Two British children found dead in Corfu
Corfu is a popular holiday destination for Britons
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Thursday, 26, Oct 2006 10:00
Investigations are underway on the Greek island of Corfu today after two young British children were found dead and their parents found unconscious in a hotel room.
Police found the family at their five-star hotel in the upmarket resort of Gouvia. The two children, Christianne, aged seven, and Robert, aged five, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The children's father, Neil Shepherd, 38, and his partner, Ruth Beatson, 26, were both rushed to a hospital and are currently in comas in an intensive care unit. Their conditions are said to be serious.
"The children are dead and their parents are in a comatose condition," a police official confirmed. "They are all British citizens."
A local coroner has indicated that the children, who had been dead for ten hours before being found, appeared to have been poisoned.
Carbon monoxide poisoning, which has been responsible for a number of tourist deaths in the country in recent years, has been ruled out prompting speculation that their deaths may have come about as part of a suicide pact.
Details are still emerging but this incident is the third such tragedy involving British holidaymakers in the popular Greek islands this year.
In August, Briton John Hogan, 32, leapt off his hotel room balcony in southern Crete while holding his six-year-old son Liam and two-year-old daughter Mia.
Liam suffered fatal injuries in the incident while Mia escaped with a broken arm. Mr Hogan, who has since been charged with murder and attempted murder, suffered a broken arm, leg and chest injuries.
Then earlier this month, Michael Edwards, 40, from High Wycombe, allegedly pushed his pregnant girlfriend Sarah Maskell, 34, from a balcony at the resort of Malia in Crete.
Ms Maskell, who was three months pregnant, fell 21 foot onto an iron railing spike. She was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung and although she is now said to be in a comfortable condition doctors were unable to save her baby. Mr Edwards has been charged with attempted murder.