A retired miner arrested over the death of his terminally-ill wife in Cyprus will face a murder trial after a plea deal was rejected, it has been reported.
Ashington pensioner David Hunter could face life in a Cyprus jail for killing his wife Janice, 75, at their home in Paphos in December 2021 if he is found guilty after the trial. The 75-year-old is alleged to have suffocated Janice, who was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2016, before taking an overdose of prescription pills, however he was found and survived.
Legal teams from both sides had agreed last month to allow Mr Hunter to plea to a reduced charge of manslaughter, down from pre-meditated murder, which carries a ten-year sentence. But this morning the plea deal was thrown out and a murder trial was announced, the Mirror reports.
