- .John Hogan pushed Liam, 6, from the fourth floor balcony before leaping with his daughter Mia, two
- .Both Mia and her father survived the horror plunge and she is now living in Australia with her mother Natasha
- .Hogan was cleared of murder on the grounds of mental disorder and is in a secure psychiatric hospital
By EMILY ALLEN
The former wife of a crazed father who threw their little boy to his death from a hotel balcony has revealed the heart-breaking way her daughter recalls the horrendous attack which almost killed her too.
John Hogan pushed little Liam off the fourth-floor before leaping himself with his daughter Mia, then two in an 'earthquake of insanity'.
But remarkably Mia and her father survived the horror plunge on the Greek island of Crete seven years ago.
Hogan, 39, was cleared of murder on the grounds of mental disorder and is still in a secure psychiatric hospital.
Moving on: Natasha Hogan and her daughter Mia on the beach before their move to Australia. Today she has revealed how Mia has made a 'remarkable' recovery after witnessing her brother Liam's death
'Remarkable recovery': Mia, pictured with mother Natasha on the beach, recovered well from the nightmare of 2006 which left her with a broken arm
Poignant: Natasha and her family always celebrate Liam's birthday by releasing balloons out over the sea. He would have been 13 this year
Now, his ex-wife Natasha, 41, is living in Queensland, Australia, with Mia, now nine, and her new husband Richard with whom she has a three year-old son Reuben.
Today, she has revealed how her daughter has made a remarkable recovery from the nightmare of 2006 which left her with a broken arm.
She said: 'At the time she had a vivid memory of what her father had done to her. She would say "Daddy shouted at you, threw all the clothes and then pushed me in the mud".
'It was so much for a little one to bear.'
Family: John Hogan pictured with Natasha and their two children Liam and Mia before the tragedy in Crete where Hogan threw Liam to his death from a hotel balcony
Scene: The tragic incident happened at the four-star Petra Mare hotel, in Lerapetra, Crete
Holiday destination: The couple were on a make or break holiday at the hotel on the island of Crete when the incident happened
'Mia is loving life and excelling at school. She is a happy and well-balanced child, which is somewhat of a miracle.'
Hogan and Natasha, who lived in Bristol, were on a make-or-break holiday with their two children as their marriage foundered.
Hogan returned to the UK in June 2009 for psychiatric care. Since 2011 he has been receiving treatment under the Mental Heath Act at a psychiatric unit.
Grief: Liam's mother Natasha has revealed she always celebrates Liam's birthday, releasing balloons into the ocean every year
In 2010 he was pictured out shopping in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, while still living in care.
Natasha said: 'We always celebrate Liam’s birthday - he would have been 13 this year - and release balloons out to the ocean.'
She added: 'I hear nothing of John Hogan, nor do I wish to. I am not in contact with his family though they are kind enough to send Mia cards, gifts and letters.
'It is a beautiful place here, good for the soul, and has been the turnaround point in Mia and I being able to get our lives back.
'New surroundings have brought new memories which are non-painful.'
Natasha spoke of her new life Down Under as she raises money for the Winston’s Wish charity which helped her and Mia recover.
She said: 'The only reason for me getting out of my bed in the morning was Mia, and Winston’s Wish had the tools to give me strategies in which to carry on.
'They saved my life and strategies given to me to survive the mental torture are still being used today.
'They gave me strategies to enable my two-and-a-half-year-old, Mia, to comprehend where her brother and father had suddenly gone.
'They prepared me for the future and helped me to understand that children have different stages of grief depending on their age, due to their cognitive development.
'I am loving life on the Sunshine Coast and continue to use strategies that were given to me when Winston’s Wish counselled me in the early days following Liam’s death.'
On August 25, Natasha and Richard, 47, will be running in a half-marathon close to their Queensland home.
In 2011, Avon coroner Maria Voisin ruled that Hogan was not been mentally ill at the time of the tragedy in August 2006.
On trial: John Hogan pictured arriving at court during his trial over the death of his son Liam on the island of Crete
Grief: John Hogan pictured in tears arriving for his second court appearance on the island of Crete
It was the second time a coroner had ruled Liam was unlawfully killed.
Ms Voisin’s predecessor, Paul Forrest, recorded the same verdict at the end of the original inquest in 2008.
The initial verdict was overturned by the High Court in 2009 because Mr Forrest had not addressed properly Mr Hogan’s mental state.
He was also set free by an Athens court in 2009 after almost three years in a Greek jail and psychiatric hospital.
An earlier decision to jail him for the unlawful killing of his son was overturned when it was accepted that he had been temporarily insane at the time.
A Greek jury concluded he had suffered an 'earthquake of insanity' as he pushed Liam to his death and then leapt with Mia.
New life: Natasha is now happily married to new husband Richard, left. Her ex-husband John Hogan, right, is spotted shopping in Weston Super Mare in 2010
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