David Hunter trial: The miner's retirement abroad that ended in a killing

David and Janice Hunter retired to Cyprus 20 years ago enjoyed living near the coastal resort of Paphos

After 40 years working in the mines, David Hunter and his wife Janice moved from north-east England to Cyprus to enjoy a well-earned retirement in paradise. How did their idyllic days end in a mercy killing?

The couple were teenage sweethearts.

He loved her from the moment he met her, his friends recalled over pints in an Ashington working club.

"He doted on her," Barry Malecki said, adding the young lovebirds never lost the "spark".

That love led him to kill her, his friends and family said.

The Hunters moved from Ashington to Paphos - a Cypriot city boasting yellow beaches, blue skies and stunning sunsets - 20 years ago.

Their lives there had been happy ones, far removed from life down the mines where Hunter spent about 40 years.

David Hunter worked at the Ellington Colliery during his 40 years as a miner

He was well respected by his colleagues, a father figure to the new starters and "more than a gentleman", one old co-worker remembered.

No-one begrudged them a move to warmer climes and they enjoyed their place in the sun.

But in 2021, Janice was diagnosed with blood cancer which, their daughter Lesley Cawthorne said, destroyed their bliss.

"He said she was in absolute agony," Lesley said, adding Hunter, now aged 76, would have to clean Janice after "frequent accidents".

"She hated that loss of dignity," Lesley said, adding: "It destroyed her.

"She'd be crying as he cleaned her saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry'."

Janice and David were married for 57 years

In December 2021, Hunter suffocated his wife of 57 years with his hand before trying and failing to take his own life.

He said he finally acted after six weeks of his wife's begging, her pleas becoming more intense each day that passed.

"In the last week she was crying and begging me," he would later tell the court.

He was arrested by the Cypriot authorities, which initially accepted his plea to manslaughter before making a legal U-turn and prosecuting him for murder.

He claimed Janice, 74, begged him to end her suffering, his defence lawyer Ritsa Pekri telling the murder trial it was a "crime of love and mercy".

Janice Hunter was killed at the couple's home in Tremithousa, Paphos

Michael Polak, of Justice Abroad and Hunter's lawyer, said he could have been prosecuted for assisting suicide rather than murder.

But for "whatever reason" the authorities pursued a murder charge under which assisted suicide was not a defence in Cypriot law.

Prosecutors said there was no proof Janice had asked her husband to help her die.

David Hunter has been on trial in Cyprus accused of murdering his wife

State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou told the BBC Hunter killed his wife for "selfish motives", adding: "It's himself he was taking care of."

He told the court Janice died from asphyxiation, telling the three judges it was a "horrible death" and her end was "not painless or peaceful".

Hunter's lawyers said there was no evidence the couple did not love each other or that the defendant was fed up with caring for his wife.

Everyone said they loved each other and he looked after her, his team argued.

Prosecutors said Janice still went to the hairdresser every fortnight which, they said, proved she had a social life and took care of herself.

She had not spoken to her brother and sister about dying and left no note or recording of her wishes, the prosecutors said.

David and Janice Hunter doted on each other, friends and family said

Back in the club at Ashington, there is little doubt Hunter acted out of love for his wife.

They have raised thousands of pounds for his legal fees and just want to get him home with the people who love him.

Organiser Barry Kent said a guilty verdict would have been a "total injustice" and funds would have continued to be raised for an appeal, adding: "I would move heaven and earth to get the funds."

Friend Steven Hankinson agreed, saying they would "fight on" and they could not "just leave him across there".

The Hunters' daughter Lesley said she respected the culture and laws of Cyprus and was "truly grateful" to the country for giving her parents a "wonderful retirement".

But, she said, her dad needed to be shown some "compassion" and be able to spend his final years with his family rather than alone in a Cypriot prison.

"He is a good, good man and isn't a risk to anyone," she said.