David Hunter has been charged with murder for the December 2021 death of Janice Hunter, 75, on the island. The former Northumberland miner admitted to murdering Mrs. Hunter, but his defense team maintained that it was an aided suicide.
A British pensioner is expected to plead guilty to the manslaughter of his terminally sick wife in Cyprus, as the murder allegation against him is “off the table,” according to his attorney.
David Hunter has been on trial for the December 2021 death of Janice Hunter, 75, on the island.
The former Northumberland miner admitted to murdering Mrs. Hunter, but his defense team contended that it was aided suicide, not murder.
Mrs. Hunter, who had terminal blood cancer, was suffocated by her husband, who afterward attempted suicide by overdosing.
Last month, the Paphos District Court postponed Mr. Hunter’s trial after his attorneys requested that the murder allegation against him be reduced to manslaughter.
The prior request for assisted suicide charges was denied by the attorney general of Cyprus.
The prosecution and defense revealed at a hearing on Friday that they had reached an agreement on the facts of the case, and Mr. Hunter will submit a guilty plea to manslaughter on 5 December, according to Justice Abroad, which represents the Briton.
Director of Justice Abroad Michael Polak said: “We are ecstatic that the murder charge has been dropped, as our goal has always been to get David out of prison and back home as quickly as possible.
“At the next hearing, the court will consider David’s significant mitigating factors, such as his good reputation and long, love connection with his wife.
“We hope, based on the specifics of this case and international precedent in comparable circumstances, that the court will consider deferring the eventual punishment.”
Mr. Polak stated that he anticipated sentencing to occur before Christmas and that if Mr. Hunter receives a suspended term, he will be permitted to return to the United Kingdom.
Lesley Cawthorne, the Hunters’ daughter, testified before the hearing: “It is making the most of a very awful circumstance, albeit a poor best.
“If he is proven guilty of murder, he must serve a mandatory life term. There is no room for negotiation. There is no place for forgiveness.
With a manslaughter accusation, there is a possibility that they will be more lenient.
Mrs. Cawthorne’s father insisted, according to Mrs. Cawthorne, that his wife made it obvious that she “wanted it to end” because she did not want a “long, drawn-out dying.”
She stated that Mr. Hunter was “haunted” by recollections of her mother’s “screaming in pain” throughout her battle with cancer and a host of other health issues.
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, who had been married for 56 years and were high school sweethearts, had retired and relocated to Cyprus 20 years ago.
Mrs. Cawthorne stated that her father was confined in a prison cell with up to eleven other men following his arrest.
Although euthanasia is illegal in Cyprus, the country’s legislature has begun studying possible amendments to the law.
