A British pensioner accused of murdering his ailing wife has told a Cyprus court that she begged him to help her end her life.
HE janice hunterwho was 74 years and that he was suffering from cancer, he died in December 2021 at his home near Paphos.
Lawyers for her husband David, 75, a retired Northumberland miner, say her death was assisted suicide. He himself has admitted that he killed his wife.
The 74-year-old man had a rare blood cancer, but may not have terminal leukemia, according to a previous lawsuit.
Submit new evidence, sometimes with tears in the eyes – her husband said she repeatedly asked him for help to end her pain, but he “just couldn’t do it”, adding that “he regret” for what “had to do”.
David Hunter told the court that he loved his wife Janice.
As he explained in court, after his wife told him that he had “Tired of living”, he reluctantly took action.
“For the last four or five weeks, he has also asked me to help him. I said not every day. He kept asking me and I always said “no”, I didn’t want to do it. After 57 years together, he just couldn’t do it. For the last week she kept crying and begging me to help her. She wasn’t responding.”
He went on to say that his wife told him that he felt “lifeless” as he was constantly going back and forth between the hospital and his home, and at one point he had “hysteriaand to calm her down, he told her that he would help her end her pain, although he had no such intention.
“blow my mind”
However, on the day of his death, David Hunter said he had gotten up to make coffee and his wife was crying.
When the defense attorney asked him what he remembered, he said that “his mind went crazy. I never wanted to kill her”, adding that then he drowned his wife With his hands
“I don’t even know how I thought of it. I don’t know how long I kept my hands there. He didn’t try to stop me. In my statement I said that he was resisting, but he did not resist. She was shaking her head. I don’t even think she opened her eyes,” she noted.
When asked how he felt about her, he replied that he loved his wife, adding: “I’m sorry for what I had to do. She would never have helped her take her life if she hadn’t begged me.
David Hunter is in custody following the death of his wife.
As he recounted his last weeks, he said: “She was crying. She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t move. She slept in the leather chair downstairs and for the last week we’ve been sleeping in those chairs together.”
Responding again to a question from defense counsel, David Hunter insisted that his wife was unable to care for herself.
“For the last two or three days, he said he couldn’t move his arms and had problems with his legs. She couldn’t take it. She only ate soup. She couldn’t contain anything. she lost a lot of weight“, he said.
“He was in pain”
When questioned by prosecutor Andreas Hatzikyrou, David Hunter said he expected a “Little Miracle” so that his wife’s health would improve and he would change his mind about wanting her to die.
“My mind was thinking 24 hours a day about my wife. Lying in pain, suffering, there was nothing he could do to help her. I wanted him to change his mind. I kept saying it ain’t easy [να βοηθήσεις κάποιον να πεθάνει], you can not do that. I had no intention of killing her,” she said.
And continued:It was his decision, he did not want any other treatment. She wasn’t just my wife, she was my best friend. She didn’t see the torture of the last six years, because of what she’s been through, the situation, the pressure. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the last six months we spent together.”
Janice and David Hunter were together for over 50 years.
Asked by the prosecution why he told a doctor that he had decided to end his wife’s life but didn’t tell her in case she changed her mind, David Hunter replied that he was “under a lot of pressure” and that there were some things they might not remember as a result of an estroke.
He also noted that he had told his wife that if he died, she would have to commit suicide, telling him: “I do not want to live without you for the rest of my life”.
Earlier in the trial, he testified that he contacted his brother on Facebook to tell him that he had killed his wife and then tried to commit suicide at his home in Tremithouse.
“I didn’t decide to just kill her. she loved her so much”
HE cypriot police notified by Interpol in the UK on December 18, 2021. The couple moved from Ashington to Paphos 20 years ago.
After the process was completed, the 75-year-old, speaking to reporters about the statement, said: “I told him by my side, That’s what i wanted. To tell them things they hadn’t even thought of.”
At home in the UK, the couple’s daughterLesley Cawthorne said it was “a very emotional experience watching my father have to relive the worst day of his life.”
The trial continues.
With information from the BBC