Nikos Mallios, 57, was convicted of breaching health and safety laws and sentenced to four years behind bars after Jessica Hayes, 15, and Mikey Connelly, 13, died in a horror crash on holiday
The father of a schoolgirl who died alongside her cousin in a holiday parasailing tragedy has shared a new vow after the boat operator was jailed.
Tony Hayes described it as a “positive step in the right direction” after watersports operator Nikos Mallios, 57, was found guilty of failings that resulted in the death of his daughter Jessica, 15, and Mikey Connelly, 13. The young pair died in October 2020 after Mallios took them out to sea in his speedboat despite an approaching storm, in Greece.
Mikey’s elder brother, James, then aged 15, miraculously survived but remained in a coma for two weeks. A three-member panel at the Misdemeanour Court of Rhodes heard the rope connecting them to Mr Mallios’ speedboat “detached”. The vessel pursued the parasail before it drifted into the water where witnesses hoped they might rescue the teenagers from the sea. However, a “gust of wind” caught it and sent Jessica, Mikey and James crashing into rocks near Lindos, Rhodes.
Mallios was convicted yesterday of breaching health and safety laws over the tragedy and handed a four-year prison sentence. He was temporarily freed after signalling his intention to appeal. In October he will face two more serious charges – manslaughter by serial negligence and grievous bodily harm by serial negligence – when he appears at a higher court in Kos.
But Tony, 43, welcomed the initial conviction but vowed to fight for more, stating: “It’s the first step on the journey to justice. Its a positive step in the right direction, one that Jess and Mikey will look down on and be proud. I am happy that a long sentence was given. However, the fight will continue and the next step is to take this to the higher court and make that sentence even longer.
“But doesn’t take away the loss. It doesn’t change the fact that Jess is not here. It doesn’t change the fact that Mikey is not here. It doesn’t change the fact that our lives have been ruined”, reports the Mirror.
“We still have some distance to go. Even though the outcome moves us forward, it still doesn’t take away the emptiness that remains from the loss.” The family’s Greek lawyer, George Moschos, added: “The sentence reflects the scale and seriousness of Mallios’ failings.”
Mallios gave evidence as he finally offered an apology for the tragedy, saying: “I want to say sorry to the families.” However, he rejected any wrongdoing and attempted to justify breaching rules prohibiting triple-seat parasailing and taking children under 14. He also denied violating guidelines by operating in poor weather conditions and venturing outside a designated watersports zone.
But, on Friday, the Greek justice system rejected his denials and imposed a “significant sentence”. Tony, from Corby, Northants, said: “I look at [Mallios] and I don’t think he went out of his way to do this. He has had his life devastated as well. However he continues to defend some of his actions that day. I understand he feels bad and guilty but, for me, the apology would mean more if he just admitted he made a mistake. If he admitted he did something wrong.”
Tony travelled to the Greek island in 2020 with his wife Kayleigh, 39, for a surprise 65th birthday celebration for his father-in-law Phil. The couple were holidaying with Kayleigh’s brother Phillip Connelly and his wife Sharon – parents to James and Mikey. In the days leading up to the accident, Jessica, Mikey and James enjoyed games and watched bands at the hotel. Jessica told her parents the day before her tragic death that it was “the best holiday she’d ever had”.
On 28 October, they booked Mr Mallios’ boat in Lardos Bay after spotting the rides advertised on a board in the hotel. The family bid farewell at 12.30pm on the beach outside the hotel, but tragically never saw them again. Rhodes Courthouse heard how the rope “detached” and Mr Mallios started chasing the parasail as “black clouds and dark skies” rolled in. A witness on the boat – who had been airborne just moments earlier – said she felt “relieved” when the parasail carrying the three teenagers began “drifting down and landed in the water”.
However, she became tearful as she recounted to the court how a “gust of wind caught the parasail”. She informed the court: “We were speeding towards the children, for about two or three minutes. It had started drifting down and it landed in the water. We were relieved and thought we would be able to pull them aboard. But then a gust of wind caught the parasail and dragged it back up.”
Jessica, Mikey and James ultimately crashed into the rocks at Cape Ginas, approximately 5km from their departure point on the shore. The British holidaymaker also testified that they were told they could embark on an excursion but “we had to go immediately”.
She informed the court: “They said we could go but we had to go immediately because a storm was coming and if we wanted to go then we had to go right now.” Other witnesses alleged they were in the water when a “terrible” storm blew in, making the water “pretty choppy”.
Another witness recounted how his three children – aged just 12, nine, and seven – had been taken on a parasailing trip in the days leading up to the tragedy. He stated he had repeatedly been told “it was the close of the season and storm was coming”. He informed the court: “So if we wanted to do any watersports you needed to do it soon because it was about to close.”
Despite being the subject of a criminal investigation, Mallios was able to carry on operating from the same location where he collected Jessica, Mikey and James. In 2022 the Mirror revealed he was ferrying boatload after boatload of thrillseekers out to sea on 75 Euro trips. Our exclusive pictures showed him launching his neon yellow speedboat with the word “parasailing” emblazoned on the hull.
This week the Mirror joined Tony as he visited the spot where Jessica lost her life for the first time since the tragedy. And he also went back to the same beach where he waved Jessica off and told her: “We love you.” In an exclusive interview, Tony said: “I never want anyone to have to experience anything as traumatic as this. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen. I need to come back to re-live some parts of it so I can process it.”
