David Hunter: British husband who killed wife in Cyprus released
David Hunter assisted his wife in her death due to her battle with blood cancer
PA
David Hunter, a British expat guilty of mercy killing his seriously ill wife, has been freed.
Hunter, 76, was convicted of manslaughter of his wife Janice, 74, who died of asphyxiation at the couple’s retirement home in Cyprus in December 2021.
The British pensioner admitted to killing his wife but denied murder.
He was jailed for two years but was freed after 19 months in custody awaiting trial, having already served the majority of his sentence.
The British expat was charged with manslaughter of his wife
PA
The former coal miner told the court that she had blood cancer and “begged him” to help her take her life as she was in such terrible pain.
He was cleared of murdering his wife but was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month.
Outside the Paphos District Court, he thanked his fellow coalminer colleagues for their support.
"I'd like to say thank you to all the people who've donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates,”, he said.
"I don't know where I would be without them."
"When you work in a colliery, you're a family."When asked about how he was currently feeling, Hunter described how it felt indescribable.
"I can't describe [how I am feeling]. I wish I could find words to describe it but I can't.
The house in Cyprus where Hunter helped his wife in her assisted suicide
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"When you're under that pressure for two years, wondering which way it was going to go, you don't know," he said.
His legal team had argued that he should be given a suspended sentence, initially suggesting he would be released by 18 August.
However, prison authorities released him on Monday after they officially calculated his release date.
The court in Paphos saw Hunter break down in tears as he said he would “never in a million years” have suffocated his wife had she not asked for his help.
He demonstrated to the court how he held his hands over his wife’s mouth and nose to assist her in her death.
The court then heard that he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but paramedics arrived in time to save him.
State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou had previously said that Hunter had killed his wife for “selfish motives”.
They highlighted Janice’s fortnightly trips to the hairdressers as proof that she had a buzzing social life.
When sentencing Hunter, judge Michalis Droussiotis said: “"This is a crime that goes against human life, which is the highest virtue. Taking it is a crime," he said.
"Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness."
His daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, 19, told Sky News that herself and her father spoke on FaceTime after discovering he had been freed.
She said they were both "elated, stunned and deeply, deeply grateful".
Their daughter said that she believes her father will stay in Cyprus so he can visit his wife’s grave, before returning the UK immediately.
Michal Polak from Justice Abroad, which has been representing Hunter, said that the sentencing had not been straightforward “given that a case like this has never come before the courts of Cyprus before”.
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