British pensioner denies murdering wife in Cyprus ‘as she had terminal blood cancer and wanted to die’

Lawyers seek assisted dying charge as April trial approaches

David and Janice Hunter lived in Paphos on the south coast of Cyprus (PA)

A British pensioner accused of murdering his wife in their Cyprus home is seeking a lesser charge of assisted suicide.

David Hunter, a 74-year-old retired miner from Northumberland, appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Janice at their flat in Paphos in December.

His lawyers said Ms Hunter was suffering from terminal blood cancer and wanted to die.

They said that after her death, her husband of 52 years tried to take his own life but survived and was charged with murder.

Mr Hunter is in custody and faces trial in April. If found guilty he will serve a mandatory life sentence.

Lawyers plan to ask for his charge to be changed to assisting suicide in a letter to Cyprus’s attorney general.

Euthanasia is illegal in the Mediterranean island nation but the Cypriot parliament has recently started to discuss legalisation. Local media suggested that Mr Hunter's case led to the issue being raised in parliament.

Michael Polak, a British barrister from the Justice Abroad organisation that is representing Mr Hunter, said: “At a time when the parliament of Cyprus is discussing the legalisation of euthanasia, and given the circumstances in [Mr Hunter's] case, we will be submitting that assisting suicide would be a much more appropriate charge than murder which carries a mandatory life sentence.”

David and Janice Hunter on their wedding day (PA)

Ms Hunter died on 22 December last year. Lawyers said she had become increasingly unwell during the five years before her death.

They said she was in a great deal of pain and her quality of life had drastically diminished due to the terminal illness, adding that her sister had died of blood cancer.

The daughter of David and Janice, Lesley Cawthorne, has launched an online crowdfunding campaign on the Crowd Justice website to raise money for her father's defence.

She said in a statement: “My dad devoted himself to caring for my mum. We love him very much and want to help him in any way possible.

“That's why we need help to pay for the legal representation which will give him the best chance possible of being allowed to return to the United Kingdom to the people who love him and who can support him through his grief.

“My father is in the latter stages of his life and we just want him to be with us.”

Have you got a story you would like us to report on? Contact us by clicking here