A former British expatriate living in Cyprus, who was convicted of causing the death of his terminally ill wife, has passed away in a hospital, according to his family.
David Hunter, aged 78, was found guilty of manslaughter in 2023 for suffocating his wife Janice, aged 74, at their residence in Tremithousa, near Paphos, in December 2021. Janice, who was battling terminal blood cancer, had reportedly pleaded with Hunter for weeks to end her suffering.
His daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, aged 53, confirmed that her father had died in a Cypriot hospital. Hunter, a former coal miner from Ashington, Northumberland, had been experiencing deteriorating health since his release from prison three years prior.
Reports indicate that Hunter was hospitalized earlier in the week due to a urinary tract infection, and unexpectedly passed away today, as disclosed by Lesley. Following Janice’s death, Hunter received a two-year prison sentence, but had already served time and was released in the summer of 2023.
He chose to remain in Cyprus to be near Janice’s grave in Tremithousa, where the couple had settled after retiring in 2002.
Expressing their devastation, Lesley, who resides in Norwich, stated, “We are devastated, and the support we have received over the past few years means the world to us.”
The attorney general of Cyprus had appealed both the manslaughter conviction and the sentence imposed on Hunter, leading to ongoing court proceedings.
During Hunter’s trial in Paphos, it was revealed that after suffocating Janice, he attempted to take his own life but was intercepted by police officers who were alerted by Interpol following his communication with family members about the incident.
The controversial case garnered global attention, sparking debates on the topic of mercy killing.