Greek police await results

Investigators on the Greek island of Corfu are hoping post-mortem tests will reveal what killed two British children in their holiday apartment.The bodies of six-year-old Robert Shepherd and his seven-year-old sister Christianne were found by a cleaner at a five-star hotel complex in Gouvia on the island's east coast.Their father Neil Shepherd, 38, and his partner Ruth Beatson, 27, had lapsed into a coma at their bungalow apartment at the Louis Corcyra hotel and were rushed to a hospital in Corfu Town.Post-mortem examinations are now being carried out to try and find the cause of the children's deaths. Carbon monoxide poisoning is being suggested as the most likely explanation.A coroner on Corfu said the children may have been dead for ten hours when they were found.The family, from Horbury, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, were staying at the resort for a week's break during half-term on one of the most popular Greek islands for Britons.A Corfu police spokesman said that Mr Shepherd's condition had improved slightly overnight but that Ms Beatson was "still no better."The spokesman said police still did not know what had caused the tragedy and were still considering the possibility that poisonous mushrooms may have been involved.He added that the results of toxicology blood tests would now not be available until Monday at the earliest.According to reports, the two children lived with Mr Shepherd's ex-wife Sharon Aspey, a dance teacher who lives in the same village.Last night Ms Aspey was being comforted by relatives after being told of the children's deaths.

ITN | October 27, 2006

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