Children’s tragic holiday deaths re-examined

THE DEATHS of two children who were killed by carbon monoxide fumes whilst on holiday are to be re-examined.
Christi and Bobby Shepherd.Christi and Bobby Shepherd.
Christi and Bobby Shepherd.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed it will re-examine the case of Bobbi and Christi Shepherd, who died from carbon monoxide fumes at a bungalow in the grounds of a hotel in Corfu in 2006.

Last month an inquest ruled that Christi, aged seven, and Bobbi, aged six, from Wakefield in West Yorkshire, were unlawfully killed and the tour operator had breached its duty of care.

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A CPS spokesperson said: “Following the recent findings of the Coroner’s Court, the CPS is currently re-reviewing the evidence in this case in line with the relevant case law and CPS practice.”

In relation to the re-examination of the case, Thomas Cook is reported to have said: “We fully support the review by the CPS, which was entirely expected once the coroner directed the jury to return a finding of unlawful killing, in order to be consistent with the Greek convictions of manslaughter of the hotel employees in 2010.

“We will continue to co-operate with the CPS as we have done at all times since 2006.”

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive at the firm, met with the children’s parents – Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood – last month and issued a public apology to the family.

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It was previously reported that the firm received around £3m compensation from the hotel chain responsible for the incident and later said it would donate £1.5m to the charity Unicef, while the remaining £1.5m would go to its insurers for underwriting legal fees.

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