I HAD TO SEE WHERE MY BABIES DIED

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Oct 29, 2006 | by LORI CAMPBELL in Corfu

GRIEF plainly etched on her face, the mum of the two children killed in the Corfu gas poisoning yesterday paid a heartbreaking visit to the bungalow where they died.

Wiping away tears, Sharon Wood, 35, laid flowers where her son Robert, six, and daughter Christianne, seven, were poisoned in their sleep by gas from a faulty heater.

With dark shadows under her eyes, she somehow summoned the courage to spend 20 minutes in the bungalow, emerging to say: "I had to see where my babies died."

Last night Greek police said the hotel manager, its maintenance manager and an engineer would all face manslaughter charges over the avoidable and unnecessary deaths.

The children, who were on a half-term break with dad Neil Shepherd - Sharon's ex-husband - and his new partner Ruth Beatson - were found dead on Thursday by a cleaner.

Yesterday, there were harrowing scenes as Sharon made the journey to room B112 of the Louis Corcyra Palace Hotel supported by new husband Paul Wood. Unable to stand alone, Paul clasped her tightly to his chest as she entered the bungalow flanked by British consul officials.

Weeping Sharon told an embassy worker: "I just had to see where it happened. I wanted to say a final goodbye to my children."

She went into the two-bedroomed chalet accompanied by two officials who took away a large red suitcase containing the tragic family's belongings.

Earlier, Sharon - who travelled from her home in Wakefield, West Yorks, to Corfu on Friday - spent 10 minutes at a morgue where she had the task of identifying the bodies.

A worker said: "The mum of the children only spent a few minutes here. She was in pieces and could barely walk up the path through the graveyard without being held up by her family. She didn't want to stay any longer than she had to."

Their bodies are being stored in huge white freezers attached to the side of a Greek Orthodox chapel in the grounds of a cemetery.

Sharon, accompanied by her parents Paul and Ingrid Aspey, is expected to bring the tiny coffins bearing her children back to Britain tomorrow morning to be buried.

Sharon and Paul then went to the hospital where Neil and Ruth were last night still seriously ill - and unaware of the children's deaths. They were found unconscious next to the bodies of the youngsters at the hotel, which is popular with British tourists.

The couple were yesterday said by medics to be making progress after initial fears they too would die from the poisonous leak of deadly carbon monoxide.

It is expected they will both be well enough to leave the intensive-care unit in the next few days. Both have been taken off their life support machines.

Police hope to interview them about the incident next week. Last night, medics and psychologists were waiting to give Neil and Ruth the dreadful news about the children.

Doctors warned relatives they are still in too much shock to cope with the news. A psychologist was due to speak to the family to help them work out how best to tell them.

Dr Ioannhe Mantzaponos said: "They are still suffering from shock and an emotional blow like that could be dangerous. They need to be fit enough to be able to deal with it."

Ruth's parents, Helen and Stephen, are also on the island and have been keeping a vigil at their daughter's bedside. A family friend yesterday spoke of the agony they faced at having to reveal the children are dead.

"They've been in far too bad a state to cope with such shattering news. It is going to be the most heartbreaking thing imaginable.

"Neil hasn't opened his eyes yet, he is drifting in and out of consciousness.

"He is talking sometimes, but it is gibberish. He has no clues as to what has happened. He is suffering from severe shock. Ruth's condition is slightly better, she is conscious but not completely lucid."

The friend added: "The doctors have said it was a massive step when they came out of their comas. But they warned this is the most risky time for their major organs after they have been taken off the life support machine."

Tests confirmed the youngsters died from massive doses of carbon monoxide poisoning. Pathologist Theodore Vouyouklakis said the poison leaked from a water boiler next to the bungalow in the hotel's grounds.

It is believed a hole was left between the boiler room and the holiday bungalow when a new air-conditioning and heating unit was installed. It allowed lethal carbon monoxide from the boiler to escape into the room.

He said: "The concentration of carbon monoxide in the children's blood is so heavy there is not a doubt this was the cause of death. Carbon monoxide is odourless and quick. It numbs your feelings and puts you to sleep before you can even realise what has happened. The only explanation is the carbon monoxide escaped through faulty piping."

Greek police are now preparing manslaughter charges against the hotel manager, its maintenance manager and a technician. Under Greek law, the charges of negligence leading to manslaughter can lead to a jail term of up to 15 years. Police could also charge those responsible for "negligence leading to grievous bodily injuries" - a reference to Neil and Ruth's conditions.