Norwich woman hears evidence in 'assisted suicide' trial

David Hunter, 75, denies premeditated murder claiming he ended his wife Janice's life at their retirement home in Paphos in December 2021 because he wanted to end the pain from blood cancer.

Lesley Cawthorne with her parents David and Janice Hunter (Image: Family handout)

Mr Hunter's daughter Lesley Cawthorne, 49, who lives in Norwich, has supported her father over what he claims was assisted suicide, saying her mother had been incurably ill and in “terrible pain and suffering”.

But Mrs Hunter's doctor Dr Ourania Seimeni, a specialist in haematology, told the court on Tuesday that while she had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare type of blood cancer, it was not necessarily terminal.

The haematologist said around 30pc of MDS cases lead to leukaemia but she could not say whether her patient had two months, two years or more to live.

The house in Tremithousa, Cyprus where Janice Hunter was killed by her husband David (Image: PA)

The doctor had last seen Mrs Hunter two days before she died of asphyxiation. 

But she told the court she had not told her or her husband that she had leukaemia.

“I didn’t see something that would make me tell her that she had leukaemia,” she said.

Mr Hunter has admitted killing his wife but a plea deal on a lesser charge of manslaughter collapsed in December and he is now being tried for her murder.

David Hunter leaving court in Cyprus after an earlier hearing (Image: PA)

His defence team has said the retired Northumberland miner was acting on the wishes of his wife who had begged him to end her life.

Miss Cawthorne launched a fundraising drive to pay legal costs and has said she fears her father, who faces the prospect of life imprisonment, will die behind bars. 

The court has previously seen a video of her pleading with her father not to kill himself following his arrest.

The trial continues.