Man who 'mercy' killed his terminally ill wife cleared of murder charges

David Hunter, the man who made headlines for killing his terminally ill wife in Cyprus, has been cleared of murder charges. However, on Friday (July 21st), the Cyprus court found Hunter guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter, which as per his daughter is "the best we could have hoped for in the circumstances."He will now be sentenced on 27 July.

The 75-year-old has repeatedly claimed that his wife had begged him to end her misery.

A mercy killing

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74-year-old Janice Hunter, as per Sky News, died of asphyxiation at the couple's retirement home near Paphos in December 2021.

At the time, David admitted to killing her but denied it was a murder. He told the Cyprus court that Janice was suffering from blood cancer and had "begged him" to take her life, relieve her of the pain.

During the trial, while testifying, he reportedly broke down and said he would "never in a million years" have killed Janice unless she didn't ask him to.

"She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend," he exclaimed.

'Best we could have hoped for'

Lesley Cawthorne, Janice and David's daughter told Sky News she was relieved that her father has been cleared of murder charges.

"It's the best we could have hoped for in the circumstances, and I really hope the judges can extend their compassion and be lenient in their sentencing."

In June 2022, she told BBC that her mother had been "in absolute agony" in her final months.

As per David, his wife had been begging him to relieve her of the painfor weeks.

"For five or six weeks before she died, she was asking me to help her. She was asking me more every day," he said.

"In the last week, she was crying and begging me. Every day she asked me a bit more intensely to do it."

He claimed that he kept hoping she will change her mind but that he finally gave in to her pleas and covered her mouth and nose after she got "hysterical". Following this, he also tried to take his own life.

Despite opposition from the defence, the court had allowed his confession, deeming it lawfully obtained.

Not a pre-planned act

As per BBC, Hunter's lawyer Michael Polak, the verdict meant there was a "very good chance" his client would receive a suspended sentence and be able to return to the UK to live with his daughter.

"This wasn't a pre-planned act," said Polak, adding that his client "acted on the spur of the moment because she (Janice) was in so much pain."

According to the lawyer, judges also accepted Hunter had a "loving" and "dream" relationship with his wife of more than 50 years and "on that morning she asked him to end her life".

(With inputs from agencies)

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