A pensioner accused of killing his terminally ill wife did not tell her he was about to kill her in case she changed her mind about the “assisted suicide,” a court in Cyprus has heard.
David Hunter of Northumberland previously admitted to killing his wife Janice, who suffered from terminal blood cancer, before attempting to take his own life.
Janice, 74, died of suffocation in December 2021 at the couple’s home near Paphos, Cyprus.
Lawyers for the 75-year-old retired miner claim Ms Hunter’s death was assisted suicide and that she had begged her husband to end her life.
Now Paphos District Court has been told by clinical psychiatrist Katerina Stylianiduo that Mr Hunter had not told his wife what he was going to do, in case she changed her mind.
Former Northumberland miner David Hunter, 75, (pictured arriving at Paphos District Court in Cyprus in March) is on trial in Cyprus for first degree murder after a plea failed on the lesser charge of manslaughter
Mrs. Stylianiduo examined Mr. Hunter shortly after his wife died.
The defense has asked the psychiatrist if she has explained to him that she can appear in court as a witness at a later date.
She replied that she did not need it at the time.
Mr Hunter has been trapped on the island for 16 months so far and told the BBC he was ‘confused’ about today’s hearing in Paphos.
Last month, a judge ruled that the statements he made immediately after his wife’s death without a lawyer present were “lucid.”
His defense team had argued that his admission of her murder should be inadmissible as evidence in the trial, and that he was suffering from “dissociation.”
They say he made the statements in a 72-hour period when he had not been psychologically assessed and so could not understand that he could have a lawyer present.
Mr Hunter’s daughter Lesley, 50, reacted to the “devastating” verdict.
Shortly after the alleged murder, she had a heartbreaking video call with her father, which was played in court.
David Hunter, 75, (left) is charged with the murder of his wife of 46 years, Janice (right), at their home in Paphos, in December 2021. She was suffering from terminal cancer
Pictured: David Hunter (right) is seen with his wife Janice (center) and their daughter Lesley
It showed Mr. Hunter slumped in a chair and unresponsive when his daughter begged him not to commit suicide.
Lesley said: ‘I’m devastated and struggle to understand how someone can be judged ‘lucid’ when they don’t even recognize their 50 year old daughter.
“My father had taken every pill and drank alcohol. I’m amazed how they can come to such a decision, it makes no sense.’
Michael Polak, of Justice Abroad, who represents the retired Northumberland miner and previously fought for the British woman falsely accused of fabricating rape charges in nearby Ayia Napa, denounced the decision.
He told the Mail: ‘David was shocked and depressed by this statement.
“We brought in a top forensic psychiatrist from Britain to testify, but his testimony was totally ignored by the court.
“We are shocked by this, but we are getting used to it, because during the Ayia Napa case, all foreign experts were rejected at the trial level.
“As far as his rights to a lawyer are concerned, before obtaining evidence from a suspect there must be an unequivocal reading of the right to a lawyer.”
Mr Hunter is still on trial for first degree murder after a plea deal failed on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Earlier in the trial, it appeared that a settlement would be reached whereby the British grandfather would be released after admitting the lesser charge of manslaughter.
But in an apparent 11-hour change, the prosecution went ahead with first-degree murder.
Mr and Mrs Hunter were married for 46 years and moved from Ashington, Northumberland, to Paphos 20 years ago.
The trial continues Monday, when the prosecution will hear from another psychiatrist who examined Mr. Hunter after the murder.