British pensioner to face murder charges after all

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In a new twist of events, a British man accused of killing his terminally ill wife will now be facing charges of premeditated murder, despite earlier indications that the prosecution had agreed to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

David Hunter, 75, had faced a murder charge in last year’s death of his wife, Janice, although his defence lawyers had asked the Attorney General to reduce the charges to assisted suicide and have changed his plea to manslaughter.

The court had adjourned last Tuesday after it appeared that the two sides had been in agreement over the facts of the case, which would allow the accused to change his answer from non-admission to murder, on the condition that he be charged with manslaughter.

However, Attorney General George Savvides’ office has reportedly had a change of heart, arguing that accepting the argument of assisted suicide could set a precedent for murder cases in the future.

His defence lawyers have been arguing that Hunter acted on his wife’s wishes, whom it says was ill with terminal blood cancer.

Hunter himself, tried to take his own life after killing his wife.

British media had quoted Hunter’s daughter, Lesley, as saying that her mother had “begged him for a long time (to assist her death) and was very clear about what she wanted.”

However, the Paphos court on Tuesday heard the prosecution cast doubt on whether the killing had been agreed upon, saying that while Hunter may have killed his wife out of pity, that does not mean she had consented to it.

No proof

Prosecution attorney Andreas Hadjikyrou told the court that there was no physical or verbal proof of the agreement, either by way of a note or through conversations with her daughter.

As pointed out in court, accepting this could set a precedent for future crimes on trial.

“It is unclear whether this agreement really took place,” said Hadjikyrou, accusing Hunter’s lawyers of unethical behaviour by “agreeing to one thing one day, and saying another thing before the court”.

The matter has now been adjourned for a legal ruling on December 22, where the court will set dates for the rest of the proceedings.

In a written statement to the press, Michael Polak of Justice Abroad, said the defence was disappointed by the latest development.

“It is clear that the prosecution in this case is attempting to ensure that Mr Hunter receives the highest possible sentence and to prevent mitigating factors, which arise from the evidence in the case, from being put before the court,” said Polak.

Suffering

“Getting justice in Cyprus is always difficult as we have experienced in the past in cases of foreign nationals who have appeared here. However, we will continue to fight for David, who continues to suffer, to ensure he gets the best possible result in this very sad case,” noted the advocate for Justice Abroad.

In December 2021, Hunter caused the death of his wife Janice, who was in the final stages of cancer, claiming that he acted on her wishes, adding that he could not bear to watch her suffer.

David and Janice Hunter, teenage sweethearts, had lived together for over 50 years when, just before Christmas last year, the 75-year-old allegedly urged her husband to end what had become a life of extreme suffering due to advanced leukaemia.

Hunter said he finally succumbed to his wife’s wishes, using his hands to block her air passages and smother her to death in the sitting room of the couple’s rented maisonette in Tremithousa, Paphos, on the island’s south coast.

He then attempted to take his own life by overdosing on prescription pills and alcohol before being found by police.