One second he was propped on the window ledge. The next he'd gone: Devastated family reveal what really happened to British two-year-old who fell to his death from five-star Cyprus hotel... and his father's anguish in hellhole prison

By EIRIAN JANE PROSSER, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 01:16, 18 July 2026 | Updated: 01:16, 18 July 2026 This time last week, a very familiar summer scene was being played out in a family home in the Home Counties of England. The packing was in its final stages. Boarding passes were being downloaded. Passports were checked and rechecked. In the middle of it all, two very excited children were taking it all in – a two-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister – their only thought the swimming pool and two weeks of fun that awaited them at their five-star hotel in Cyprus. Today, that family is shattered beyond recognition. The father, a 37-year-old banking executive, is in a police cell, under suspicion of fatally neglecting his son. The mother, a 38-year-old health professional, meanwhile is trying to remain strong for the sake of their confused little girl. And that little boy? He died after falling from a fourth-floor hotel window in a dreadful accident. For that’s what it was – an accident – someone close to his family, speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, insisted yesterday. A terrible, split second chance happening, as the boy’s father propped him for a moment on the 4ft window ledge in front of what he must have assumed was a closed glass pane, as they waited for the lift on their way down to dinner. Yet, in what is increasingly being viewed locally as an unspeakably ‘cruel’ act by Cyprus Police, the father has been locked up for the past six days in a cell in Paphos while investigations take place – a remand often reserved for the country’s worst criminals. Amidst their shock and grief, friends close to the family are speaking out following the terrible events of last Sunday evening. They are doing so under the condition we do not reveal their names, however, as they are mindful of the father’s perilous legal position. The two-year-old boy died after falling from the fourth-floor window while on holiday in Cyprus The family caught a late-night flight from London last Saturday evening to arrive at the all-inclusive King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas in the early hours of Sunday ‘We want people to know that he would never risk his child’s life,’ said one. ‘The little boy slipped out of his dad’s arms. ‘He wasn’t sat up there for ages. It happened within seconds. He would never put his son at risk, ever. His children are his world.’ Speaking about the adored two-year-old, the friend added: ‘He was a truly special, easy-going little boy who brought so much joy to everyone around him. ‘He found happiness in the simplest things. He had the happiest smile and the cheekiest personality, and his joyful spirit could brighten even the darkest day.’ The friend described the toddler as ‘gentle, loving and incredibly caring’, adding: ‘He had a beautiful way of making everyone feel special. ‘He was deeply adored, and his infectious smile, warm cuddles and kind heart are already so deeply missed and always will be.’ As the Cypriot Attorney General convened a meeting yesterday to decide whether the father is to face criminal charges, questions are being asked in the local media as to why the police force seems so intent on ‘psychologically destroying’ a man who is already in a living hell and who they know ‘is not a monster’. Speaking from the Mediterranean island, the source described how the ‘loving and hard-working’ family caught a late-night flight from London last Saturday evening, arriving at the all-inclusive King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas in the early hours of Sunday – with the maternal grandparents in tow to help look after the children. After a few snatched hours of sleep, they headed down to play in the pool with the children. ‘They had a nice breakfast, and a lovely day by the pool,’ the source said. At the end of the day, tired from their flight and late night, the family decided to head up to their hotel room early, to shower and get ready for dinner. ‘The boys were ready first, as boys always are,’ the family source added. ‘The girls were still getting ready, so the father, son and father-in-law went down the corridor to the lift.’ The Daily Mail has visited this corridor, and seen the window from which the boy fell. It is protected by a tall, glass, sliding pane – and very difficult to tell at first glance if it is open or not. What followed, understandably, is a blur for the whole family. The next thing the father knew, he was at the bottom of the hotel, looking at the body of his son, with no recollection of how he had got there. No one is any clearer on how or when the boy’s mother, sister and grandmother emerged to realise the horror that was unfolding. However by 6.40pm, ambulances and police officers had arrived at the hotel before rushing the boy to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Less than four hours later, shortly after 10pm, the boy’s mother – in an obvious state of shock – went back to the hotel to be with their little girl, while the father was taken to the police station to provide a statement. He agreed to take a blood test – the results of which were still pending yesterday. Yet at 10.20pm, he was shown a piece of paper saying ‘these are your rights’ and told he was under arrest on suspicion of ‘causing death through negligence, reckless and dangerous actions’. He was then read his rights, and the following morning the emotionally tortured father was placed in front of a judge at Paphos District Court. Even his wife didn’t know he was to appear in court. Despite his awful predicament, he ‘fully cooperated’ throughout, said the source, and within the first 48 hours all of the witness statements and CCTV footage had been collected. Yet still the unyielding officers would not release him – not even for an hour – to be with his wife so they could tell their little girl, together, what had happened to her beloved brother. In a long letter to the criminal investigation department, the father’s lawyer, Petros Stavrou, pleaded for his client to be released from the holding cell so he could speak to his little girl. Mr Stavrou told assistant chief of police Marios Agiotis: ‘The tragedy that has befallen our client is such that any further detention will only aggravate his already severe psychological condition, as well as that of his family.’ The child fell from a fourth-floor window, which is protected by a tall, glass, sliding pane – and very difficult to tell at first glance if it is open or not It won’t be easy for the father to travel if he is released, with conditions because he is a foreigner with no connection to the Republic of Cyprus Incredibly, the source said, the family, who have now been joined by the father’s parents and sister, spent the following four days trying to continue as normal for the sake of their little girl, who was yet to find out that her brother had died. ‘His wife is such a strong woman and she is being strong for their daughter,’ said the family friend. ‘For four days they have been telling her that her brother was in hospital, and that a terrible tragedy has happened, that he’s hurt and Daddy’s with him. ‘They knew this could not go on, so they had to make a decision to tell their daughter on Facetime, as he sat in his cell.’ The conversation was too painful to share. ‘That poor little girl,’ was all the family friend could say. ‘They were best friends.’ The parents are, the source stressed, a close and loving couple who met at university. They had recently celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary. In yet another cruel twist, they revealed how they’d struggled to start a family, before their daughter was born in 2021, followed by their son in September 2023. In the prison, both officers and inmates have been looking after the father – guards have bought him food and made his bed for him. ‘They know he is not a monster who would ever try to hurt his son and have shown nothing but kindness,’ said the source. ‘Nobody could be any kinder. When his parents came to visit him, the prison guard put his hand on his father’s shoulder, and said, “Sir, your son is not a criminal – he should not be here”. ‘He shares a cell with an Englishman who has been unbelievably kind, too. Everyone has been so kind even though there is crazy stuff happening and it has been scary at times.’ The father’s lawyer Mr Stavrou told the Daily Mail that the father is ‘in a tragic situation’, adding: ‘His family is supporting him and I am supporting him. He has had some psychological assistance from the authorities. It won’t be easy for him to travel if he is released, with conditions because he is a foreigner with no connection to the Republic of Cyprus. ‘We have tried on a humanitarian basis to get him released before the eighth day finishes.’ He added: ‘They can never be OK again. The family have been trying to hold everything together for the other child. It is very easy to lose your mind in situations like this, and custody does not help because he is confined and he is left alone with his thoughts. This is the worst thing for him. There should be special measures for these people.’ The detention centres in Cyprus have huge problems with overcrowding and, said Mr Stavrou, the father is with people who are ‘not from his world – people who are criminals and have committed low-level crimes’. He added: ‘He should have been released days ago. We need to make it clear there is no legal or humanitarian necessity for him to be in custody right now. It is that simple. ‘When I was driving home from meeting with him in Paphos, I felt so sick. I have had many cases – car accidents, rapes, horrible deaths – but this is not the same. It is so tragic.’ The father has received psychological help while in prison, with medical staff giving him tablets to help him sleep. Yet his wife has received no support from the police welfare team and no visits from any staff from the British Embassy, while the High Commissioner of Cyprus is on holiday. The Foreign Office appears to have been of little help. The only people to visit her and her family have been undertakers who are helping repatriate the toddler’s body – being mothers themselves, they promised to take the best care of their little boy and get him home as soon as possible. ‘The father fears the little boy may beat him home,’ the family source added. ‘They want him home, but they want him to come home with them.’ The father is now in limbo waiting to hear whether the Cypriot attorney general will proceed with his case and charges will be brought against him. It had been hoped that the father would have been released from custody yesterday under strict conditions, such as handing over his passport. But authorities have now confirmed that further investigations are required. Police spokesman Vyron Vyronos told the Daily Mail: ‘He remains in custody as the investigation is still in progress and further enquiries are being conducted.’ A legal source said, ‘The reason they have not reached a conclusion is because the attorney general is yet to receive the toxicology report.’ With the Cypriot courts now already closed for the weekend, the father will be held in custody until Monday, if not longer. ‘He wants to get out for his daughter and wife so they can start grieving,’ the source said. Back at the hotel last night, the summer season was in full swing. A live band was playing as guests enjoyed their dinner, overlooking the sparkling sea. Children were running, laughing, while parents kept a watchful eye. Meanwhile another loving family is trapped in a living nightmare – with no escape.