A British man who was on trial for murder after smothering his terminally ill wife to death was found not guilty of murder last week. Instead, the court ruled that David Hunter committed manslaughter in the death of his wife Janice.
David admitted to killing Janice by suffocating her in their Cyprus home in December 2021, but claimed that his actions were an act of assisted suicide, not murder, and that Janice “begged him” to do it. After killing his wife, David attempted suicide by overdosing on drugs and alcohol.
David said Janice had a form of terminal leukemia, though her doctor testified during the trial that she actually suffered from a different form of blood cancer, which was not terminal.
Though prosecutors sought a murder charge, David’s lawyers claimed that the death was not premeditated. They argued for the lesser manslaughter charge, on the basis that David’s sole motivation for the death was to end Janice’s suffering.
David wanted to “liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions,” argued his lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, during the trial. “There was no personal benefit for him,” Pekri added.
Justice Abroad, the law firm representing David, put out a press release saying they were “ecstatic” with the ruling.
“This remains a tragic case,” said Michael Polak of Justice Abroad. “Janice and David were in a loving relationship for over 50 years and it is clear that David did what he did out of love for Janice upon her request.”
Despite the argument that David should receive a lighter sentence and the court’s ruling, assisted suicide and euthanasia remain illegal in Cyprus. Catholic News Agency reports that lawmakers in Cyprus started deliberating whether or not to legalize it last year.
David is set to be sentenced next Monday. According to Justice Abroad, a murder charge would have carried a mandatory life sentence, while manslaughter charges are left to the discretion of the court.
