Father who threw his son from Crete hotel balcony set to be released in a year

Natasha Hogan collapsed in tears as a Greek court decided John Hogan was insane at the time of the tragedy and therefore legally "unpunishable".

Hogan, 33, appeared elated as the presiding judge cleared him of murdering his six-year-old son Liam and trying to kill his daughter Mia, aged two.

But the court ordered he be detained indefinitely in a secure mental unit until deemed safe for release - but it's emerged he may be released from a psychiatric ward within a year.

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Professor Ioannis Nestoros, a psychiatrist who treated Mr Hogan for eight months in Athens, said: "If he goes to a good hospital and has psychotherapy maybe he could leave in about a year."

In court, Hogan insisted his ex-wife and children "meant the world to me", and that his actions were caused by an "earthquake" of psychosis.

Asked whether he was happy with the decision, Hogan told reporters: "How can I be pleased when my son is dead?"

After the verdict in the Cretan town of Chania, Mrs Hogan, shuddering with emotion, described the decision as "unexpected", saying it had left her "feeling Liam lost his young life for nothing".

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The 35-year-old, who refused to look at her ex-husband as he was led from the court, added: "I accept that an act in a moment of complete madness was uncharacteristic of John but to have done this to our children is unforgivable.

"I know we all miss Liam but it is Mia and I that are left to rebuild our lives without a loving, caring son and brother.

"John is no longer my husband and plans are afoot to rebuild our lives."

It is believed she plans to move to Australia with her daughter and new husband Richard Visser, a former work colleague.

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Earlier in the day, Hogan, a former floor tiler from Bristol, told the court he did not feel guilty for killing his son because he was suffering from mental problems at the time.

Tears streaming down his face, he said in a voice slurred by anti-depressants: "I do not feel guilty because I did not do it. I feel no guilt.

"This person you see before you is not the person who jumped from the balcony from the fourth floor."

At one point he told judge Paraskevi Kiraleou: "Whatever you do to me in this court - which I will accept - no one can do any worse to me than what I have done to myself.

"I have lost a daughter and I have lost a son - until God decides to take my life."

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Later he addressed his ex-wife and his mother Josephine, saying: "You both know a sane John Hogan would not have done what he did that night.

"Please do not judge me on that one action. If there was any way I could bring my son back I would."

The Hogan family were four days into their holiday in the Cretan resort of Ierapetra when Mrs Hogan, a nurse, announced she planned to move out of the family home.

In a fit of anger, her husband threw Liam from their hotel balcony before jumping over himself with Mia under his arm. Although Liam died almost instantly, both Hogan and his daughter survived with minor injuries.

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Yesterday, he gave his own highly emotional account of what happened on the evening of the tragedy, August 15, 2006.

Insisting he could not remember many details, Hogan, who repeatedly broke down in tears under cross-examination, said: "I remember being sat on the balcony with my boy Liam in my arms and my girl Mia here in my arms. As far as I can remember they were asleep.

"Then I remember arguing with my wife - I mean my ex-wife - on the balcony.

"I remember her turning around and going back to the room."

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He described the holiday as an attempt to prevent his ex-wife from leaving him, saying: "What I was trying to do in those four days was to make somebody love me who didn't love me."

When asked why he turned on his children, Hogan repeatedly referred to his psychiatric problems and said his wife's threats to leave had caused him to "run away from reality".

"I was in a panic. I was in a state of distress. I thought I was going to lose everything," he added.

Yesterday, Hogan also revealed he has had no contact with his daughter during his time in jail.

He said: "I am not allowed to write a letter to her. My ex-wife has every right to do that and I do not blame her for it. She has every right to hate me. I took her boy away from her."

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As Hogan was ordered to be held "indefinitely" in a secure psychiatric unit - likely to be in Korydallos prison - his psychiatrist, Professor Ioannis Nestoros, from the University of Athens, claimed he could be free in less than a year.

"If he has good psychotherapy, I believe, maybe, he could leave in about a year's time," he said.