David Hunter was found not guilty of murder (Image: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

       A British expat has been cleared of murdering his terminally sick wife but a judge in Cyprus ruled him guilty of manslaughter.

       David Hunter, 76, had been imprisoned in Cyprus for 19 months.

       The court found him not guilty of premeditated murder since he had stopped the suffering of his childhood sweetheart, Janice, who was 74 at the time.

       M Hunter is currently experiencing significant financial hardship, to the point where he would be unable to finance an appeal in the event of a guilty decision.

       The tragedy happened in December 2021, near the beach resort town of Paphos. Janice died as a result of asphyxiation.

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       David Hunter, 76, denied premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. (Image: Getty)

       Although Hunter denied planned murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, he was found guilty of manslaughter. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27.

       Hunter became emotional during his May trial and stated that he would never have taken Janice's life unless she had asked it.

       He told the court: "She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend."

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       He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant his wife's wish after she became "hysterical".

       Hunter, from Ashington in Northumberland, 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."

       Before he finished giving evidence, he asked to address the judge, who he told: "My wife was suffering and she actually said: 'I don't want to live any more,' and I still said no.

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       "Then she started to become hysterical. I was hoping she would change her mind. I loved her so much. I did not plan it, I swear to God."

       Mr Hunter revealed in court that he attempted to take his own life after his wife's passing.

       During the trial, the prosecution asserted that he had made a deliberate decision to kill her, and there was no mutual agreement or consent.

       In the closing arguments delivered in June, his defence team argued that this was not a case of premeditated murder, and Hunter acted impulsively in response to his wife's pleas to end her life.

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