Retired British miner who killed his terminally-ill wife guilty of manslaughter

David Hunter, 76, killed his spouse of 52 years Janice as she lay dying of blood cancer in December 2021.

David Hunter has been found guilty of manslaughter following the death of his wife Janice (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

A retired British miner who killed his terminally ill wife after she “cried and begged” him to do it may be able to leave prison after being cleared of her murder by Cypriot judges.

David Hunter, 76, was found guilty of manslaughter for killing his spouse of 52 years, Janice, as she lay dying of blood cancer in December 2021.

Janice, who was 74, died of asphyxiation at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos.

Hunter denied premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence.

He will be sentenced on July 27.

Michael Polak, director of Justice Abroad, told PA news agency he may be able to get a suspended sentence and be able to leave prison in light of the verdict. 

Hunter was “speechless” and “too tired to smile” following the verdict, Mr Polak said.

The expat’s legal team will argue his sentence can be suspended in a case which is a legal first in the country.

Mr Polak told the PA news agency: “Being found not guilty of murder means he avoids a life sentence which would have resulted in him dying in prison here in Cyprus.

“The manslaughter conviction, which we think is appropriate, will mean the court has a clean slate to sentence him how they see fit.

“We are fairly hopeful and what we are going to do is put together case law from across the Commonwealth where these cases have been sentenced before.”

In May, Hunter broke down in tears as he told his trial that he would “never in a million years” have taken Janice’s life unless she had asked him to.

He added: “She wasn’t just my wife, she was my best friend.”

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife’s mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant his wife’s wish after she became “hysterical”.

Hunter, from Ashington in Northumberland, said: “For five or six weeks before she died she was asking me to help her. She was asking me more every day.

“In the last week she was crying and begging me. Every day she asked me a bit more intensely to do it.”

Before he finished giving evidence, he asked to address the judge, who he told: “My wife was suffering and she actually said: ‘I don’t want to live any more,’ and I still said no.

“Then she started to become hysterical. I was hoping she would change her mind. I loved her so much. I did not plan it, I swear to God.”

After giving evidence he told reporters his time in a Cypriot prison was “nothing” compared to the last six months of Janice’s life.

Hunter told the court he tried to kill himself after his wife’s death.

At trial, the prosecution said he “had decided to kill her and there was no common consent”.

During closing speeches in June, his defence team said it was not a case of premeditated murder and Hunter “acted spontaneously” to end his wife’s life “upon her begging him to do so”.

They have also argued a confession he is said to have made when he was arrested should not have been used against him, claiming he was suffering from dissociation at the time.

A judge found Hunter was lucid and dismissed the application.

I think the hope has been crushed out of him

Lesley Cawthorne, David and Janice Hunter's daughter

On Wednesday, the couple’s daughter Lesley Cawthorne told the PA news agency his her father is “anxious, tired and lonely” and the past “19 months has taken a huge toll on him”.

She added: “I think the hope has been crushed out of him.

“He would probably tell other people he’s keeping his chin up but I see how much he’s struggling.”

A panel of three judges handed down the verdict following a lengthy trial.