David Hunter relives final moments of wife's life following prison release in Cyprus

David Hunter, the Northumberland pensioner who killed his ill wife in Cyprus says he sees her in his nightmares and is plagued by flashbacks of her final moments.

The 76 year old was released from custody on Monday 31 July after being sentenced to two years for manslaughter after killing wife Janice at their home in near Paphos in December 2021.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Hunter who is originally from Ashington said: "She just closed her eyes and said, 'Give us a kiss.' I kissed her on the cheek.

"I've seen some awful things in my life, but the memory of her face as she died. She went grey. Her jaw was twisted. I tried to straighten it. She looked nothing like my wife.

"Those are the nightmares I still get. I see her face in those nightmares. And they are always so vivid. There are always lots of faces, all Janice's face, and I turn round and think she is by me — but she's dead. I can't get those images out of my mind. She doesn't, she didn't, look anything like my Janice. Her face changed so quickly."

David Hunter has spoken to the newspaper from a hotel in Cyprus where he has been staying following his release from prison.

He had already served 19 months in prison so was able to be released following the hearing at Paphos Court.

Mr Hunter had denied murder and claimed his wife Janice Hunter, who had blood cancer, had "begged him" to end her life and he had done so to end her suffering.

He suffocated her before trying to take his own life.

Mr Hunter said his wife begged him for weeks to end her life and if she hadn't been too ill to make the journey they could have gone to Dignitas in Switzerland, where doctors assist in suicides of those with terminal or debilitating illnesses.

"Over six weeks she'd pleaded with me. She'd said, I don't want to carry on like this.

"Janice was in such pain. She was saying for weeks, 'Darl, I can't fight any more. I want to kill myself.' She was going through hell. I couldn't bear to see her like that.

"Of course, if we'd had the money and Janice hadn't been too ill to make the journey, we could have gone to Switzerland."

David and Janice Hunter had been married for 52 years and retired to Cyprus.

He said they had a fantastic life abroad until Janice was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Speaking to the Daily Mail he spoke about how Janice's health meant they had to sell their house.

"Janice didn't want to sell our home and move. She was crying, but I decorated the new place and she grew to love it.

''And she was doing OK, not as tired as she was. We went to the general hospital in Paphos for weekly blood tests and if her haemoglobin count was too low they would increase the injections."

During the coronavirus pandemic Mr Hunter said they struggled to get hold of medication.

"The local hospital that supplied Janice's medication closed. I couldn't get hold of our GP for a prescription. I kept ringing and the phone would go dead. No one would answer. We were desperate but everything was shut, barred, and none of the doctors or specialists Janice had seen called to check if she was all right."

"She said, I'm sick of life. I'm not going to get better. She was having blood transfusions which gave her nose bleeds and a side-effect of the injections was terrible diarrhoea. She wore adult nappies. She was a proud woman and it was so embarrassing for her, but I told her I didn't mind helping her — not one bit.

"Her hair was coming out in clumps, the weight was falling off her. When she had her last blood transfusion they couldn't find a vein and they put the needle in between her fingers. She was crying her eyes out. Her whole arm was purple.

"She said she didn't want another blood transfusion after that. She had such bad headaches, flashes of pain and her sight was going."

'"She was dog-tired. One night she said I can't manage the stairs, so I put her on my back and carried her. After that, for the last six weeks, we slept on recliner chairs in the sitting room side-by-side. I held her hand.

"She said, I can't fight any more. I can't walk, I need help to go to the toilet. Nothing will get better. I want you to help me die. And I'd say, No, no. We'll just take it day by day.

"I kept thinking, 'What do I do?' I loved her so much and she was in such pain. Ten days before she died she was hysterical with pain. She begged me again to end it. I was hoping she'd change her mind. I was waiting for a miracle. It never came."

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