An elderly Briton accused of murdering his terminally ill wife in Cyprus has been denied the chance to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, almost a year to the day after Janice Hunter died.
The state prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said he could not accept a deal that would have allowed David Hunter, aged 76, to make the guilty plea, which had raised hopes of the retiree being released by Christmas.
“There is no evidence that convinces us Mrs Hunter had agreed to die in the way she did,” he told judges sitting in the island’s south-western port town of Paphos. “If she had, why was there no [suicide] note? Why was her daughter not informed? It defies logic and human experience that she would elect to die in such a painful way.”
The decision, described by the defence as a “last-minute U-turn”, annulled a plea bargain that both sides had previously been keen to reach.
Hunter has spent most of the past year incarcerated in a cell with 11 other men in Nicosia’s central prison and only last week told the Guardian he would accept the manslaughter charge in the hope of prolonged legal proceedings being concluded so that he could “be close” to where his wife of 56 years is buried.
The about-turn came on the day the former Northumberland miner had been expected to plead guilty to the mitigated charge. It was announced after the attorney general, the island’s top legal officer, made what amounted to an 11th-hour intervention openly disputing the facts of the case.
“We do not want this case to set a legal precedent,” said Hadjikyrou. “We do not want to open the door to others doing the same.”
Michael Polak, the British barrister whose legal aid group, Justice Abroad, is representing Hunter and who had flown in for the hearing, reacted in disbelief. Accusing Cypriot authorities of “going back on the agreed facts”, he said: “We entered into dialogue with the prosecution in good faith and unfortunately it appears that the case against Mr Hunter is being treated like a game by the Cypriot authorities.”
The Briton tried to take his own life after informing his brother, William, back in the UK, that he had killed his cancer-stricken wife, aged 74, by blocking her air passages as she sat in the couple’s living room in their home outside Paphos. He was saved by emergency services alerted by his sibling.
The case has stirred debate about assisted suicide in a country heavily influenced by the Orthodox church. Euthanasia is outlawed in Cyprus with the issue long being considered taboo; MPs who debated it this year described it as highly sensitive. Powerful bishops have weighed in, expressing their disapproval in a society where life is cherished against all odds, no matter how ill a person may be.
Tuesday’s proceedings continued with the prosecution calling witnesses including the Greek Cypriot businessman Christofis Petrou, who had rented a two-storey maisonette in the village of Tremithousa to the Hunters. Hunter was buried in the village cemetery.
The couple relocated to Cyprus more than 20 years ago in the hope of living a “dream life” abroad as retirees.
Testifying before the court, Petrou, who is also the village mayor, said he had seen Janice Hunter’s health deteriorate badly during the pandemic. Prior to her death on 18 December last year, leukaemia had ravaged the retired shop worker to the point that she had lost her sight, was unable to eat or walk, and needed to wear nappies.
“They were a loving couple,” said Petrou. “I saw them regularly and everyone liked and trusted them.
“I saw her deteriorate and I heard her complain about the severe pain she was in. David would take her to the hospital for treatment. I never heard him complain.”
The trial was adjourned until Thursday after the defence raised legal objections over points made by Hadjikyrou. It is expected to continue in the new year. If found guilty of premeditated murder, Hunter could spend the rest of his life in prison.
