Trial of British man who killed wife postponed yet again

The trial of David Hunter on Wednesday, who is being charged with the pre-meditated murder of his wife, has been postponed for fifth time since his arrest last December.

Hunter admitted to killing his wife Janice, 75, who had leukaemia, in their home in Tremithousa in Paphos. He said it was because he could not bear to see her suffer.

In his confession to the police, he said he suffocated the woman by blocking her mouth and nose with his hands while she was sitting in an armchair.

Hunter, 74, appeared in Paphos Criminal Court earlier on Wednesday, where his lawyers Ritsa Pekri and Nicoletta Charalambidou requested the trial be postponed once again, so that they may have time to discuss with the prosecution and the suspect lowering his charge to manslaughter and changing his plea.

At the hearing, the prosecution presented to the defence details for changing the charges to manslaughter.

The defence then requested the postponement of the trial, so that they may have time to discuss with the changed charges with their client.

The prosecution agreed, as did the judge, and a new date was set for November 18, 2022.

The court was also presented with a medical report on Janice’s leukaemia.

In mid-September, Hunter appeared in court for his first hearing, which had been postponed three times before.

Outside the court that day, Hunter, who also tried to take his own life and spent two weeks in intensive care, described life without his wife as “a black hole”.

Speaking to journalists outside the court, he said he wants the trial to take place so he knows where he stands.

“I used to think I could never imagine life without Janice but it’s just so much harder,” he said. “I just live day to day. I have to keep my chin up.

“Janice’s sister had died from leukaemia and she saw what was coming.  She made me promise her if she ever got it to help her. She said I don’t want to go through that. She knew the symptoms and saw them coming.”

Speaking to Sky News in June, Hunter’s daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, urged the judges to “show compassion” to her father.

“My dad is not a risk to society,” Cawthorne said. “He told me what happened and I have no reason to disbelieve him or to think anything other than the fact that he’s telling me the truth.

“My mum made her wishes clear and my dad helped her. She just wanted it to end. She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want treatment or a long, protracted death. She’d had enough and she just wanted to go.”