UK inquest opens into death of toddler who fell from Paphos hotel

An inquest has opened in the United Kingdom into the death of two-year-old Jaxon Foster, who fell from a fourth-floor hotel window in Paphos in July, in a case that saw his father, Joshua Foster, fined €3,000 by a Cyprus court last month. According to the BBC, the inquest was formally opened on Friday and adjourned until January 6, when a full hearing will take place. Senior Essex coroner Lincoln Brookes described the case as “particularly tragic”, while the provisional cause of death was recorded as severe head injuries and multiple injuries to the body and vital organs resulting from a fall from height. Brookes also expressed his condolences to the child’s family. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail on Friday, Foster’s lawyer throughout the proceedings in Cyprus, Alexandros Alexandrou, explained that the inquest was a standard procedure intended to establish the cause of death. “This is the procedure provided for. The inquest examines the causes of the child’s death. It is something that is routinely carried out,” Alexandrou said. He added that such proceedings are customary when someone dies abroad and the death subsequently comes under the jurisdiction of the authorities in their home country. The inquest follows the conclusion of criminal proceedings against Foster in Cyprus on October 16, when Paphos district court imposed a €3,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act. The tragedy occurred on July 12, the first day of the family’s holiday at a Resort in Chlorakas. The court heard that Foster had been walking along a fourth-floor corridor with his son and father-in-law when the child wanted to look outside towards the hotel’s waterpark. Believing the window was closed, Foster lifted his son towards it, unaware that one of its panels was open. The boy fell approximately 12 metres before his father could react. He was taken to Paphos general hospital, where efforts to save his life were unsuccessful. In her sentencing decision, district judge Froso Christodoulou described the incident as a fatal, momentary error, finding that Foster had not acted with conscious indifference towards his son’s safety. In determining the sentence, the judge took into account Foster’s guilty plea, cooperation with police, clean criminal record and the devastating consequences of losing his own child. Following the ruling, Alexandrou told the Cyprus Mail that the tragedy had resulted from a momentary mistake rather than serious negligence, reiterating his view that the criminal proceedings should have been discontinued on humanitarian grounds. The fine brought the criminal case in Cyprus to a close, allowing Foster to return to Britain and reunite with his wife and daughter. The forthcoming UK inquest will examine the circumstances and cause of the child’s death, separately from the criminal proceedings already concluded in Cyprus.