The British expat on trial for killing his terminally ill wife in Cyprus could be released next week after being cleared of murder today.
David Hunter, 75, who spent 19 months in a cage in a Cypriot jail, has been found not guilty of premeditated murder for ending the suffering of his childhood sweetheart, Janice, 74.
He was sentenced by the minor manslaughter charge by a judge in Cyprus who could see him leave with a suspended sentence. He will hear his fate in Paphos District Court next Friday.
Earlier, it emerged that Mr. Hunter was left so “destitute” that he would not have been able to appeal a guilty verdict if he had been convicted of murder.
The mounting costs of his harrowing 19-month trial have cost him all his savings. It has also left him unable to afford to make phone calls to friends in prison and having to survive on the meager rations offered for free.
“It just breaks my heart,” said his daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, 50. “When my mother was still alive, she had a house, a car, and money in the bank.” She now she has a bag with her clothes, that’s all she has.
David Hunter, 75, who has spent 19 months in a cage in a Cypriot jail, was found not guilty of premeditated murder for ending the suffering of his childhood sweetheart, Janice, 74.
David Hunter, 75, originally from Northumberland, was charged with murdering his wife of 46 years, Janice, at their home in Paphos, in December 2021. Today he was found not guilty of her murder, but found guilty of manslaughter.
A prison van carrying David Hunter arrives at the Paphos District Court in Cyprus on Friday.
Mr. Hunter had faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of premeditated murder.
A crowdfunding for his defense is empty and he has racked up thousands of pounds of debt fighting the case to date.
Mrs Cawthorne said: ‘I don’t know what we’re going to do. She said she wants to appeal, she said, ‘We have to, I can’t spend the rest of my life here.’
‘Honestly, I don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t know where we’re going to get the money. There will be thousands.
Hunter had struck up a friendship with his 27-year-old British cellmate Owen Williams. But after Williams was released three months ago, he was locked up with 11 other hardened criminals who don’t speak a word of English.
Her only chance to talk is through her phone, but now she can only afford to make occasional calls to her daughter.
She said: ‘He has no one to talk to. He has not been able to call people.
He is not allowed to receive calls, he has to pay to make them himself. He hasn’t been able to talk to his brother or his friends Barry and Kevin for a long time. He just talks to me.
It is absolutely devastating.
David Hunt arrived at a court in Cyprus today where he was found not guilty of murdering his terminally ill wife, Janice.
David Hunter is escorted to court in Paphos by police officers on Friday.
Mr Hunter’s daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, 50, says it “breaks her heart” that her father was left “destitute” at trial.
David Hunter and his wife Janice on their wedding day
Mr. Hunter wants to pay his last respects to his wife if he is released.
The retired Northumberland miner was forced to treat her at home with injections for terminal blood cancer due to Covid restrictions as it deteriorated before her eyes.
In her final days, she cried in pain 24 hours a day, unable to move from the couch or take painkillers as she begged him to kill her.
He finally relented and took his life on December 18, 2021. He tried to overdose on drugs, but authorities arrived, pumped his stomach, and put him on trial for manslaughter.
Mrs Cawthorne said: ‘He wants to see my mother. He wants to sit down and talk to her. He needs it for her sanity.
“I think if they offered to release him but he couldn’t visit her and had to go back directly, he would refuse.” He just wants to visit my mother.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.