FREED FROM MY HELL

Ex-miner's tears after 19-month jail ordeal

- MATTHEW YOUNG

BRITISH pensioner David Hunter walked free in Cyprus yesterday after being sentenced for his terminally ill wife's manslaughter.

The former miner, 76, wept on the steps of Paphos District Court as he struggled to come to terms with his release after 19 months of being in custody over the death of his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74.

David, from Ashington, Northumberland, was last month cleared of the premeditated murder of Janice, who he suffocated on December 18, 2021, to end terminal blood cancer suffering.

David told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife "cried and begged" him to end her life.

He said he would "never in a million years" have taken Mrs Hunter's life unless she had asked him to.

David yesterday thanked his family and old Northumberland mining pals for their unwavering support.

He said: "I would just like to say thank you to all the people who supported me. I don't know where I would be without them.

AMAZING

Daughter Lesley Cawthorne, 50, who stood by him throughout, sobbed as she told the Mirror: "I thought I'd lost him for ever. I cannot believe it. It's amazing. When I see him I'm going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Judge Michalis Droushiotis sentenced David to two years' jail time, the equivalent of 20 months.