Sentencing of David Hunter, from Ashington, for manslaughter of his wife delayed by court in Cyprus

The court in Paphos found Mr Hunter, a former miner, not guilty of the premeditated murder of his wife, Janice Hunter, 74, but guilty of the lesser charge on Friday, July 21, an outcome described as “exactly what we were hoping for.”

Janice was found dead at their home near Paphos in December 2021 and Mr Hunter has always insisted that his wife, who had blood cancer, had begged him to end her misery.

The pair had been married for over 50 years and retired to Cyprus several years before.

Mr Hunter’s sentencing was due to take place today, but the court was instead adjourned until Monday, July 31.

Founder of Justice Abroad and leader of Mr Hunter’s legal team Michael Polak said: “Today we gave lengthy written submissions which include case law from across common law countries such as Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Australia.

“This is important as Cyprus has never sentenced a case such as this before.

“Cases from those jurisdictions show that a suspended sentence can be given in these circumstances. We will be asking the court to give David a suspended sentence.

“He has spent the equivalent of almost 2.5 years in custody and no proper purpose would be served by him spending more time in prison.”

Justice Abroad is fundraising to help pay the legal costs for the case at crowdjustice.com/case/help-bring-david-home/.