Mother to be witness against ex-husband

Published on Sunday 20 January 2008 21:01

A MOTHER is preparing to relive the moment her son died after her husband leapt from a hotel balcony clutching the six-year-old and his sister.

John Hogan, 34, jumped from the fourth floor of the Petra Mare hotel in Crete with Liam, six, and Mia, then aged two, during a family holiday in August 2006.

Liam died after suffering massive head injuries in the fall, but Mia survived with a broken arm.

The couple are now divorced and Natasha Hogan, 35, will be a key witness in her ex-husband's trial for murder in Chania, in Crete, which starts today.

Speaking ahead of her ex-husband's trial, Natasha said she will "never forgive" her ex-husband and sees the image of her dying son "every minute" of the day.

In a television interview last night, she said: "I have to face him and it's going to be very hard, but I'm also anxious about it because I don't know if I'm going to erupt with anger … I'm worried about it.

"I know he's going to be a different man and that scares me the most, actually seeing him."

Hogan faces charges of the premeditated murder of his son and the attempted premeditated murder of his daughter.