Norwich woman’s dad ended mum’s life after she ‘begged’ him

David Hunter took to the witness box to tell the Paphos District Court judge he felt “helpless and hopeless” during the last weeks of Janice Hunter’s life, adding: “I didn’t want to do it. I said no.”

Lesley Cawthorne has supported her father over what he claims was assisted suicide (Image: ITV)

The 75-year-old said he eventually decided to grant his wife’s wish after she became “hysterical” and unable to take care of herself.

Janice, 74, died of asphyxiation in December 2021 at the couple’s retirement home near the coastal resort town of Paphos.

The couple’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”.

She 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. 

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

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

Mr Hunter, who held back tears as he gave evidence on Monday, said his wife, who had blood cancer, “did not attempt” to stop him as he put his hands over her mouth and nose.

He said: “I just kept my hands there.”

The retired Northumberland miner described his marriage as “perfect”, adding: “After 57 years together, I really didn’t want to do it.”

David Hunter leaving court in Cyprus (Image: PA)

As he recounted Janice’s final few weeks through an interpreter, he said: “For five or six weeks before she died she was asking me to help her. She was asking me more every day.

“In the last week she was crying and begging me. Every day she asked me a bit more intensely to do it.”

The trial continues.