British children found dead in Corfu hotel
Pastor Dale Morgan
British children found dead in Corfu hotel*
By Bonnie Malkin
Last Updated: 6:26pm BST 26/10/2006
Two young children died and their father and his girlfriend were left
seriously ill in hospital with suspected poisoning while on a half-term
holiday in Corfu, Greek police have said.
The hotel where the family was staying
The apartment within the Louis Corcyra hotel where the family were staying
The group, from Wakefield in West Yorkshire, were discovered at about
11am local time this morning by a cleaner in their room in a five-star
hotel in Gouvia, on the island's east coast.
Christianne, 7, and Robert, 6, died and their father Neil Shepherd, 38,
and his girlfriend Ruth Beatson, 27, were found in a coma and taken to
hospital, where they were said to be in a serious condition.
A police spokesman said an initial investigation led them to believe the
family had ingested something poisonous and officers were investigating
whether they had consumed something, possibly mushrooms.
He said: "The doctor says it's poison. We are still investigating but a
possible cause could be mushrooms.
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"I stress this is only a possibility as we are still investigating the
deaths. Other guests said they didn't see the family have dinner in the
hotel last night.
"So we think they may have had dinner outside but they could have eaten
in their rooms, although we haven't found anything."
The four, understood to be on half-term holiday, were found by a cleaner
at about 11am local time after she knocked on their hotel door and got
no answer.
Police superintendent Dimitris Bineris said the cleaner looked through a
window into the room and could see one child lying on the bed. The
cleaner then opened the room and discovered the family inside.
Supt Bineris said police were called and arrived on the scene 20 minutes
later.
The group were last seen the previous evening, he said.
"There are witnesses, two English men who became friends with the family
on holiday, who saw them coming into the hotel on foot between 7pm and 8pm.
"Maybe they had been to a taverna outside the hotel, they seemed normal,
nothing was wrong."
Supt Bineris said it was not clear, if the family had fallen ill during
the night, why they did not call for a doctor.
"The big question is why they didn't call the hotel reception, that's
the big question."
A coroner is due to carry out a post mortem examination on the children
later today.
He told local television there was evidence that a strong poison had
been consumed, according to BBC Online.
The coroner added that the children may have been dead for 10 hours when
they were found.
Corfu, off the western coast of mainland Greece, is a popular holiday
destination for Britons.
They were on holiday with tour operator Thomas Cook, which said they
were staying at the Louis Corcyra hotel.
Thomas Cook said in a statement: "At this stage it is not possible to
speculate on the causes. However, we are working closely with the
hospital and the police to gain further information and to support the
family."
The hotel is on Gouvia Bay and is set in lush gardens, with five
beaches. It is five miles from Corfu airport and about the same distance
from Corfu town.
Later a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed the deaths and said officials
were trying to contact next of kin.