A British father has been convicted over the death of his two-year-old son who fell from a hotel window in Cyprus.
asserted
who → convict → Cyprus
The City executive, 37, from Essex, today pleaded guilty to causing death by 'a rash, dangerous or reckless act'.
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executive → plead → act
He was arrested just hours after his son plunged from a fourth-floor balcony on July 12.
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son → arrest → July
Having appeared today at Paphos District Court, he could now face up to four years in prison.
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he → appear → prison
The man placed his son on a windowsill at the five-star King Evelthon Hotel while waiting for a lift, believing it was closed.
To his horror, the boy fell backwards and plunged 33ft.
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boy → place → horror
He was pronounced dead on arrival at Paphos General Hospital shortly afterwards.
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He → pronounce → Hospital
The father was initially held on remand without charge for eight days in what local press described as Cypriot police's 'cruellest act'.
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press → hold → act
The toddler was the third British tourist to die at the five-star King Evelthon Hotel near Paphos in four years
The father placed the toddler on a windowsill at the King Evelthon Hotel, near Paphos, while waiting for the lift not realising the window was open.
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window → die → lift
Authorities focused their inquiries on him, rather than the hotel where three British guests have now died in four years, and which is owned by an influential Cypriot family.
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which → focus → family
Stuck behind bars, he was forced to tell his surviving five-year-old daughter of her brother’s death over FaceTime.
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he → stick → FaceTime
Her and her mother - a 38-year-old health professional - returned home to the UK at the end of July.
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Her → return → July
Toxicology reports found a very small quantity of alcohol, equivalent to one or two drinks, in the man's blood.
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reports → find → blood
Once he was formally charged, he was forced to pay a total of €30,000 (£25,750) in bail.
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he → charge → bail
The grieving father was banned from leaving the island, though this was temporarily lifted for a month on August 5 to allow him to bury his son.
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him → grieve → son
Of the toddler, a family member told the Daily Mail: ‘He was a truly special, easy-going little boy who brought so much joy to everyone around him.
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who → tell → him
‘He was deeply adored and his infectious smile, warm cuddles and kind heart are already so deeply missed and always will be.
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smile → adore → ?
The father's conviction today came after he was informed last week - on what would have been his son's third birthday - that Cyprus attorney general George Savvides had rejected an appeal for the case to be dropped on humanitarian grounds.
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case → come → grounds
His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, had argued that there was no public interest in continuing the prosecution.
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lawyer → argue → prosecution
Any prolonged criminal process, he added, would only deepen the family’s trauma.
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he → add → trauma
Speaking after the case was adjourned last week, Mr Alexandrou said his client was 'not in a good way'.
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client → speak → way
Friends previously told the Mail they were worried about how the family would survive if the legal proceedings continued.
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proceedings → tell → Mail
One said: 'His main worry is about his daughter and his wife.
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worry → say → daughter
'Obviously, he needs to go back to his job as soon as possible.
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he → need → job
I imagine his employer can’t keep his job open forever…'
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employer → imagine → job
Ruaridh Nairne, six, from Inverness, Scotland, tragically drowned in the hotel's pool in 2023
Ben Woods, 21, from Leigh in Greater Manchester drowned while playing volleyball in the hotel's pool in July 2022
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Woods → drown → July
When the Mail visited the King Evelthon Hotel, where the British toddler fell to his death, it found the large fourth-floor window was still open.
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window → visit → death
UK health and safety guidelines state hotel windows large enough that children can fall through should be restricted to an opening of 10cm or less.
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children → state → cm
But in Cyprus the window must simply be above a ledge at least 1.1 metres tall - which King Evelthon complies with.
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Evelthon → comply → which
The resort’s safety record has come under scrutiny after it emerged the child was the third British tourist to die there in four years.
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child → come → years
Ben Woods, 21, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, drowned while playing volleyball in the hotel's pool in July 2022.
Only the following year, six-year-old Ruaridh Nairne, from Inverness, also drowned.
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Nairne → drown → Inverness
And another woman reportedly died while swimming there in 2024.
The British father is set to be sentenced on October 5.
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father → die → October
The Aporia
