r/news • u/CharlieKonR • 8h ago
British man fined €3,000 for causing two-year-old son’s death in Cyprus | Cyprus
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/16/british-man-joshua-foster-fined-son-death-cyprus151
u/Djinn42 8h ago edited 8h ago
I remember the story of a grandpa who sat his granddaughter on the railing on a cruise ship to take a picture and she fell overboard. I don't remember if she died or they just never recovered her.
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u/Pheighthe 8h ago
Died. Hit the concrete pier.
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u/jesuisjens 8h ago
I am going to guess that you are probably not talking about the same girl.
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u/AraiHavana 5h ago edited 1h ago
He placed his son on the sill of what he thought was a closed window but it was open and the kid fell out.
That guy must be absolutely destroyed and will possibly never get over this.
I fucking really feel for him.
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u/Peach__Pixie 8h ago
This man will probably emotionally punish himself for the rest of his life. That's more than enough in a tragic accident. Hopefully his family can hold together and heal.
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u/themagpie36 8h ago
Jesus, poor guy. I can't even imagine how it must feel to be at fault for your child's death and then have to relive it all multiple times in a courtroom.
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u/Hayabusa_Blacksmith 8h ago
i cant imagine being at fault for your child's death and NOT reliving it in a courtroom, either
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u/themagpie36 7h ago
I fail to see the point you're trying to make.
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u/Hayabusa_Blacksmith 7h ago
my point is what alternative would there be realistically? and would it be so much better for him if he didnt have to go to court? he still dropped his baby off a building. is the trial so bad?
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u/atypicaltype 6h ago
Your comment makes it sound like you have no idea how trauma works
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u/Hayabusa_Blacksmith 6h ago
courtrooms specifically are worse for trauma, got it thanks for clarifying
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u/LyricalDucking 7h ago
Shouldn't have gone to court. This is just a tragedy.
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u/EarthBounder 6h ago
Hotel covering their ass and making Dad legally culpable. I'm sure they're quietly changing the windows. Very weird situation, but... it is Cyprus.
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u/emerikanSky 8h ago
Either it was an accident and we should all feel terrible for him or he did it intentionally and he should be in prison.
This is a very weird middle ground.
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u/SubstantialPressure3 8h ago
Jail is not appropriate,” the judge said, telling the courtroom that as there was “clearly no intent to kill” she had decided against a custodial sentence and would instead order Foster to pay the fine.
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u/R7SOA19281 6h ago
Not really, I think it’s very unlikely he did it on purpose, I think he lifted the child and rested him on a window he thought shut but it was open slightly and then pushed open and the child fell as he couldn’t grab quick enough
The reason for the fine is that’s the minimum charge for this case so had to have a charge, it’s the default
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u/CharlieKonR 8h ago
Why would anyone think this might have been intentional?
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u/thisismynewacct 8h ago
The person you’re responding to didn’t read the article
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u/Shes_dead_Jim 8h ago
I did actually. That’s how I knew to make a joke about dropping his son out of a window. Context clues
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u/Shes_dead_Jim 8h ago
If I come to you and say “hey I was carrying my son and I wanted to show him the view and didn’t know the window was open and oop butter fingers” would you think I threw my son out a window or accidentally dropped my son out a window?
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u/ClemFandango25 8h ago
...if you said 'oop butter fingers'?
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u/Shes_dead_Jim 8h ago
Yeah like when you drop something. Like your son
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u/DAVENP0RT 7h ago
I once dropped a hot dog with three bites left and cried.
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u/rainbowgeoff 6h ago
Important context: were you intoxicated?
I too have gone to the depths of despair when my questionable food choices on the way back from getting knackered have been fumbled.
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u/athena06 8h ago
If you phrased it like that.....
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u/CharlieKonR 8h ago
Having read the story, I think it’s beyond implausible to imagine that this man intentionally threw his son out of the window. Nobody involved is alleging that. It’s a tragedy, pure and simple.
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u/Kriemhilt 8h ago
If it was
a tragedy, pure and simple
then why did he plead guilty to
causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act
This insane tabloid binary of "it was either deliberate or a tragic accident" needs to stop. You need to stop doing it.
Negligence is a real thing. There's a huge middle-ground between murder and, as another poster says, "oop butterfingers".
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u/surnik22 7h ago
A reckless or dangerous act can still be a tragedy. Those are mutually exclusive.
Hell, most literary “tragedies” are specifically about someone suffering consequences based on a character flaw.
Someone being reckless and that leading to them losing a child is a tragedy
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u/spacetimebear 7h ago
How many dad's have never lifted their kid up to look at something interesting? Shits tragic as fuck.
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u/Kriemhilt 7h ago
Sweet Jesus the literacy in here.
Yes, it's tragic. My dad lifted my up when I was small and I can very easily imagine that going wrong.
That doesn't make the false binary... not false. It's not either deliberate or a tragedy. It can be both, it can be neither, it can be a careless accident or negligence. Being tragic doesn't also mean it wasn't avoidable.
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u/spacetimebear 7h ago
You're right. Should have done a risk assessment first and gotten approval from hotel management. For someone trying to act smart you're saying some dumb shit.
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u/CharlieKonR 7h ago
Guy made a negligent / reckless (however you’d like to characterize it) mistake, thinking a window was secured when it was not and inadvertently exposed his child to a fatal fall. He’ll be paying for that mistake the rest of his life. If that doesn’t qualify as a tragedy for both of them, I don’t know what would. We are all human and all have lapses of judgement. Fortunately, for most of us, the lapses don’t result in the loss of a child. Having compassion for this guy (while still recognizing his role) is entirely appropriate.
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u/Kriemhilt 7h ago
Quibbling over your use of a false binary (which I see a lot and really object to) has nothing to do with the father, the child, or compassion or anything else.
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u/CharlieKonR 6h ago edited 3h ago
I was responding to speculation that the dad might have intentionally thrown his son out of the window. Please excuse me for not simultaneously anticipating your particular kink about your “false binary”. I’m pretty sure I’ve already acknowledged that the dad had a role in this tragedy.
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u/internThrowawayhelp 7h ago
It was a tragic accident that his actions caused. "Causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act." Does not require intention. Murder requires intention.
He's not denying that his actions caused his sons death. He has pleaded guilty for doing so. But it was a tragic and unfortunate accident of his doing.
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u/Kriemhilt 7h ago
I understand that it was accidental, and obviously it was and is tragic.
I'm pointing out the extremely popular and misleading false binary "it was either deliberate or just an accident" as if being accidental is an excuse.
This is consistently used to erase the middle ground of carelessness, negligence, and wilful negligence in reporting & commenting.
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u/CthulhuLies 3h ago
It's either deliberate or unintentional. That isn't a false binary those are the two options.
If it's deliberate it's murder.
If it's unintentional it's not clear without further evidence.
A pure accident is something a reasonable person wouldn't have been able to foresee.
Negligence requires you to not act with a "reasonable" standard of care. Ie would we expect a reasonable person to be able to foresee the likely consequences and thus avoid it?
There is gross negligence and slight negligence but it just alters what we could consider the standard of care of to be.
Lastly there is wilful / wanton negligence. Which is like they can prove you know your actions would put people in danger but consciously disregarded that fact.
There is some degree of negligence ie if you don't hang your kid out the window you can't drop them, but did he consciously disregard that likely possibility or is it possible he didn't perceive it to be an actual risk?
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u/Confident-Ship-5062 7h ago
dude who has never heard of concept of negligent death
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u/Kriemhilt 7h ago
Am literally discussing negligence, are you reading a different comment to the one I wrote?
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u/Confident-Ship-5062 7h ago
im strictly replying to your "then why did he plead guilty to" comment about it being an accident.
It was a tragedy and clearly not intentionial, nobody is insinuating its murder. He feels guilt by letting his son fall out of a window. Any parent would be burdened with guilt, aka negligence.
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u/jovial_rebel 7h ago
It was a tragedy, and it was reckless, which is why he plead guilty you fucking moron.
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u/robserious21 8h ago
If thats the case this man is stupid enough to need to be required to wear a helmet 24/7 for the rest of his life for his own safety.
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u/Freckles93 8h ago
Probably pushed for by the hotel to avoid liability and subsequent payout for unsafe windows.
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u/Probablynotspiders 8h ago
They didn't find him guilty of any wrongdoing but he has to shell out 3k ...for why exactly?
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u/GreenHorror4252 8h ago
They didn't find him guilty of any wrongdoing
He pleaded guilty, according to the article.
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u/Probablynotspiders 8h ago
Guilty of holding his child to look at a window. Did not realize the window was open, kid tumbled out of his arms
It's a nightmare scenario but not like he threw the kid out the window
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u/GreenHorror4252 8h ago
I agree. He didn't have any ill intent, but he was negligent so I think a slap on the wrist is appropriate.
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u/Probablynotspiders 8h ago
Wouldn't you say your child dying is ENOUGH of a terrible consequence?!
Why pay a fine? Ugh
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u/jaytee158 8h ago
Minimum sentence likely to act as something that covers court costs. Just no wiggle room. I agree he paid for it in a more serious way already
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u/Probablynotspiders 8h ago
There's gotta be more room for compassion in the law, this feels too brutl
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u/A_mexicanum 7h ago
On the other hand: If I were responsible for my childs death, I couldn't care less about €3000
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u/romanroarer 7h ago
Yes but it’s unbearably cruel to make a grieving parent go through the procesd
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u/jaytee158 7h ago
Which part? The court case or the fine? Because he was found guilty of a crime.
It makes complete sense when you see cases like this where the grandmother accidentally killed two grandchildren years apart https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-grandmother-be-sentenced-babys-hot-car-death.amp
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u/Gareth79 5h ago
The authorities likely did it to avoid having to admit that their building safety regulations are lax.
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u/notanothergav 7h ago
It's criminal negligence. They have to give him the punishment prescribed by law.
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u/AlecTheBunny 6h ago
I'd considering ending it if I was the primary reason for the death of my own kid.
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u/hellahanners 1h ago
There was a very harrowing story from a few years ago about a father who forgot his infant/toddler in the car and the child died. He did end up killing himself, essentially as soon as he realized what had happened. His wife talked about it extensively on a podcast and man… I can’t even imagine the pain they both experienced, but especially those few hours where the father knew that he was the cause of their child’s death... It makes my stomach hurt to think about these cases. I really feel for this man. He’s got to be in agony.
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u/Boniouk84 7h ago
If its intentional the jail. If its not, why does any money changing hands make ANY sense?
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u/Worldly-Ingenuity843 6m ago
Prosecutor needed another case to meet this year's quota /s
But the real reason is probably that negligence is a crime. If you break the law, you should be prosecuted, and depending on the degree of the crime, the sentence can be more lenient.
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u/Exciting_Policy8203 2h ago
Why the fuck are the 4th floor windows of a hotel hallway able to be opened in the first place?
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u/Subject-Rain-9972 58m ago
Exactly. I have read about this case several times now and I can for the life of me not understand what the fuck? That hotel is liable. A window that high should either be unable to open or fitted with safety bars ex.
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u/Exciting_Policy8203 48m ago
But hotels aren’t made for locals, it’s an insane hazard, and a quick google results show that window related falls do happen and many places have laws to prevent shit like this from happening.
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u/Immediate_Honey9593 2m ago
Oh god, I have windows like this and it’s always scared me how they can just open all the way. I’ve put child locks on all windows. Can’t believe this is allowed at a hotel.
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u/Elegant_Cockroach_24 8h ago
This appears to be the window: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxbEgJXfnKAeDxV8tNfMCopXmZoLObJa5R8mWNm7VYqkwmum7ePcUBAtYt&s=10
I can see how you wouldn’t expect it to be open. He sat his son on the edge while he pushed the button to the elevator