Boy died from multiple injuries in Cyprus hotel fall

A two-year-old boy who fell to his death from a fourth-floor window of a Cyprus hotel died from multiple severe injuries, a coroner has said.

Jaxon Foster tumbled nearly 40ft (12m) at the five-star King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort on 12 July, the first day of his family holiday in Chlorakas.

The boy, from Chelmsford, suffered fatal injuries to his head, vital organs and body, an inquest at Essex Coroner's Court has heard. The inquest was opened and adjourned on Friday.

Jaxon's father, Joshua, was fined €3,000 (£2,500) at a court in Paphos in October, having admitted causing his death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act.

Foster's sentencing hearing was told he placed Jaxon on a windowsill to show him the view of a waterpark, but failed to realise the window was open.

The 37-year-old auditor's lawyer branded it "a momentary error" with "fatal consequences".

On Friday, Lincoln Brookes, Essex's senior coroner, said it was a "particularly tragic" case.

"This two-year-old child was on holiday with his family in Paphos in Cyprus," Brookes said.

"He sadly fell from a window on the fourth floor of the hotel the family were staying at and, sadly, his death was confirmed that same day at the hospital."

Jaxon's provisional cause of death was given as "severe craniocerebral injuries and multiple injuries of the body and vital organs" due to a fall from height.

The coroner said a full inquest would be heard on 6 January, and offered his condolences to Jaxon's family.

In a statement, the family previously said: "Our son was deeply loved and will be forever missed. His loss is something we carry with us every day."

Foster arrived in Cyprus with his wife, two children and in-laws hours before the incident.

They enjoyed time by the swimming pool before getting ready for dinner in the evening.

Foster, his father-in-law and Jaxon were walking towards a lift at about 18:00 when the boy noticed a waterpark outside, his sentencing hearing was told.

Foster pushed the lift button, placed Jaxon on the windowsill and then could not react before his son fell.

District Judge Froso Christodoulidou said in October: "The window did not appear to carry markings that would necessarily have alerted the defendant to the fact that one section was open."

She added there was no evidence Foster "deliberately exposed the child to danger" and that no sentence could outweigh the consequences of losing Jaxon.

Foster's lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, described him as an "incredible father" with a "beautiful family".