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After an arduous 19 months, David Hunter was on Friday found guilty of manslaughter.
The news was met with a wave of relief across the packed courtroom in Paphos court, as friends, family and the defence team feared Hunter, now 75, would have been found guilty of premeditated murder instead.
The charge would have meant a life sentence for Hunter in prison.
“We’re ecstatic about the result. He would have died in prison had he been found guilty of premeditated murder,” his lawyer Michael Polak told reporters after the decision was announced.
Hunter, who appeared in court looking harrowingly skinny, clad in a black t-shirt and jeans was relieved with the result, hugging his lawyers and shaking their hands in a warm embrace.
The decision announced by the three-member judges, stressed there was no proof that Hunter had premeditated the murder of his wife Janice, in December 2021. As such, he was found guilty of manslaughter.
State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said the attorney-general will be reviewing the decision before deciding on any other measures. He did not rule out filing an appeal over the decision “but this does not mean we will file one.”
One of Hunter’s friends, Barry Kent, aged 67 who flew over from the UK to be there with him, said “it’s almost like life floating along. We’re so relieved,” he said visibly happy as he feared Hunter would have been behind bars for the rests of his life.
Hunter’s neighbours, who drove from Paphos to support Hunter and earlier said they were very scared about the outcome, were beaming with joy after the verdict was read out.
Reading out the decision, the judge said it could not be conclusively proved that Hunter had premeditated the murder. Nonetheless, murdering his wife, despite the circumstances was an illegal action.
The judges also said they did not doubt Hunter’s testimony before the court, saying “he had no reason to lie because quite simply, had police not arrived at the scene, he too would have been dead and not been on trial here.”
Hunter, after suffocating his wife, took “every pill in the house” and a bottle of alcohol to kill himself. His attempt to kill himself was thwarted after his brother – whom he called after killing Janice – informed British police which in turn alerted Interpol in Cyprus.
Reading out the decision, the judges also referred to a contentious argument put forth by Dr. Ourania Seimeni when she testified in May, saying Janice Hunter, who was 74 when she died in December 21, was not in fact terminally ill with leukemia but instead had MDS.
Nonetheless, the judges unilaterally agreed that whether Janice was terminally ill or not, was secondary to the fact that both Hunter and his wife believed that Janice was dying. Their fears were also impacted by the fact that Janice’s sister had suffered – and eventually died of leukemia.
Court will convene again on July 27 for mitigation pleas surrounding the sentencing.
Polak said they were preparing arguments to seek a suspended sentence for Hunter.
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Dave
Moira And Dave
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
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