David Hunter trial: Cyprus murder accused's daughter fears verdict

Janice and David Hunter retired to Cyprus 20 years ago

The daughter of a British man accused of murdering his terminally ill wife at their home in Cyprus is "fearing the worst" ahead of a court verdict.

David Hunter, 76, said his wife Janice, 74, begged him to end her suffering in December 2021 and his lawyers claim her death was an assisted suicide.

Their daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, said her father cared for her mother and his trial had left him "crushed".

Three judges are due to give their verdict on the murder charge on Friday.

'Crushed hope'

Mrs Hunter, who had blood cancer, died of asphyxiation at the couple's retirement home and her husband then tried to take his own life.

If convicted the former miner from Ashington, Northumberland, would face a mandatory life sentence.

Ms Cawthorne said she was "not feeling very optimistic" ahead of the court's decision.

She told the PA news agency her father was "anxious, tired and lonely" and the past 19 months had "taken a huge toll on him".

She said: "I think the hope has been crushed out of him. He would probably tell other people he's keeping his chin up but I see how much he's struggling."

Janice and David were married for more than 50 years

Ms Cawthorne said the family had been "worn down" by the long trial and the court's previous ruling that a confession her father made when he was arrested could be used as evidence against him.

"He was very clearly not in his right mind when they took it," she said.

The pensioner's defence team argued his confession should have been inadmissible and claimed he was suffering from dissociation at the time, but a judge found Mr Hunter was lucid and dismissed the application.

Giving evidence in May, Mr Hunter told the District Court in Paphos he would "never in a million years" have killed his wife of more than 50 years unless she had asked him to, adding: "She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend."

He demonstrated to the court how he suffocated her with his hands after he eventually decided to grant her wish when she became "hysterical".

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

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

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

During closing speeches last month, Mr Hunter's defence team said it was not a case of premeditated murder and he "acted spontaneously" to end Mrs Hunter's life "upon her begging him to do so".

Prosecutors argued there was no evidence Mrs Hunter had asked him to kill her and her death would have been "horrible" and not painless or peaceful.

Michael Polak, director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Mr Hunter, said: "This remains a tragic case. Janice and David were loving partners for over 50 years and enjoyed their retirement together in Cyprus until she became ill and was in excruciating pain.

"We remain hopeful that David will receive a verdict that does not deny him a chance of leaving prison and returning home."