A former British miner who killed his wife in manslaughter has been imprisoned in Cyprus.
In their house on the island, Janice Hunter, his wife of 52 years, was suffocated by David Hunter, 76, after she ‘begged him’ to do so since she had blood cancer.
Hunter received a two-year prison term from the Paphos District Court judges; he has already completed the most of his sentence after spending 19 months in imprisonment.
According to Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, the firm that is defending Hunter, a defendant in Cyprus will serve 10 months in jail for every year they are sentenced to.
He had been ruled not guilty by judges before of the more serious crime of premeditated murder.
In a case that is a legal first for the nation, Hunter’s defence team had argued that he should receive a suspended sentence.
Ritsa Pekri, the defence attorney, claimed last week that the defendant’s motivation was to “liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.”
According to testimony given in court, Mrs. Hunter’s “wish” was to pass away, and her husband “had only feelings of love for her.”
Hunter, of Ashington, Northumberland, testified during his lengthy trial—which lasted more than a year—that his wife ‘cried and begged’ him to end her life.
He sobbed as he declared that he “never in a million years” would have killed Mrs. Hunter unless she had requested him to.
He demonstrated to the court how he covered his wife’s mouth and nose while telling the jury that after she went “hysterical,” he ultimately chose to grant her desire.
He then allegedly tried to kill himself by overdosing, but doctors were able to save him.
According to Hunter’s legal team, he was formally calculated to be freed from imprisonment by Cypriot prison officials.