UPDATE: Man pleads Cyprus courts show mercy to assisted suicide pensioner

Updated: Monday, May 15, at 12:58 pm

Owen Williams, who shared a cell with David Hunter until last month, April 2023, in a high-security prison in Nicosia, has stated that Mr Hunter obviously loved his wife and the courts should show compassion. 

The cell where they were housed and Mr Williams spent 16 months for starting an unlicensed fire, was shared with a number of criminals including drug addicts and thieves. Mr Williams has said it is no place for a man like Mr Hunter.

Mr Hunter is on trial for murder, having had his case for assisted suicide dismissed at the end of last year, but Mr Williams is absolutely convinced that David Hunter poses no threat to society at large.

It would seem from what Owen Williams has said since being released from jail, that he had formed a close relationship with Mr Hunter, and was saddened to have to leave him there.

He said, as reported in the Mail: “It’s no place for a man of his age. We would be rotated to clean out the toilets ourselves.” These toilets, one of which was described as a hole in the ground, are shared by 13 men in a single cell, and the food was described as cold, unvaried and even ‘slimy’.

Mr Hunter will finally get to give his evidence in court today, May 15, after numerous previous appearances. His murder trial continues but Owen Williams has criticized the Cypriot courts, describing their treatment of David Hunter as ‘disgusting’ and the assisted suicide of his wife was: “done out of love”.

Monday, May 8, at 9:53 pm

As British pensioner, David Hunter’s plea of manslaughter collapsed in December 2022, he now faces the charge of the murder of his cancer-suffering wife, Janice, at their home in Paphos, Cyprus. His defence argues that it was assisted suicide. 

Mr Hunter, 75, a retired miner from Northumberland, UK, has been reported to have tried to kill himself after suffocating his 74-year-old wife but was revived in hospital only to be arrested. 

He had contacted his brother via Facebook to tell him of killing his wife and of his own attempted suicide, which may have been how Interpol UK got the information which they passed on to Cypriot police. 

The Cypriot police got the notification around 8:00 pm on December 22, 2021, and David Hunter was arrested shortly afterwards. He appeared to be in a state of delirium when the police arrived, having killed his wife and attempted to kill himself.

Katie Cole reported on Mr Hunter’s court testimony on January 18, 2022, via Twitter:

“I opened the door and the police came in. It looked like a dream, when he was asking questions it was like I was in a tunnel. He was saying things. I didn’t know what I was saying.”

David Hunter takes to stand in Cyprus where he's on trial for murdering terminally ill wife." I opened the door and the police came in. It looked like a dream, when he was asking questions it was like I was in a tunnel. He was saying things. I didn't know what I was saying." pic.twitter.com/1wGU2nXZho

— Katie Cole (@katiecoletv) January 18, 2023

Mrs Hunter was said to have been suffering from leukaemia and possibly from a second form of cancer that may have been the root cause of the leukaemia. Lab tests agreed with the autopsy report, that Janice indeed suffered from leukaemia according to Dr Andreas Pantelides, as reported by the BBC.

But lab tests have so far been unable to determine if she died of asphyxiation as David Hunter had told the court. Lawyer Michael Polack, from Justice Abroad, is working as part of Mr Hunter’s legal team has said on Twitter:

“The David Hunter murder case continues at Paphos Assize Court. He is likely to give evidence on Monday, 15 May 2023.”

The David Hunter murder case continues at Paphos Assize Court. He is likely to give evidence on Monday, 15 May 2023. #cyprus #law #lawyers https://t.co/S5o64WjFL7 pic.twitter.com/oHGIjLfpPm

— Michael Polak (@MichaelPolakLaw) May 8, 2023

Mrs Hunter’s doctor is believed to be giving evidence on Tuesday, May 9, in regard to whether Janice’s condition was terminal. We will aim to keep you up to date with any new developments as the trial continues.