Elderly British man 'confesses' to killing wife while high on drugs in Cyprus

A 75-year-old man who hails from Ashington, England, allegedly smothered his terminally ill wife to death while he was high on drugs and drinks.

It is being reported that the accused, David Hunter, was so high that he did not even recognise his daughter when she met him. The couple used to live in Tremitthousa, Cyprus and had been married for 52 years.

According to a report in The Mirror, he smothered his wife, Janice Hunter, following a suicide pact in December last year. Janice, who had been suffering from blood cancer since 2016, had allegedly begged her husband to end her life.

David Hunter is understood to have confessed to the crime at the couple's home in Tremithousa while he was heavily intoxicated. He is believed to have given the statement in intensive care in Paphos General Hospital.

"There are huge question marks over his confession. Was he in the right state of mind to know his right to remain silent and his right to a lawyer? I spoke to him at that time and he didn't even recognise me," said his 49-year-old daughter, Lesley.

Michael Polak, a lawyer with legal aid group Justice Abroad, said that Hunter did not have a lawyer when he made the alleged submission and added that he was sanctioned for ten days before being put in prison.

Hunter's lawyers have decided to challenge the basis of the statement in the court stating that he was not in the right frame of mind when the he made the admission.

"His mental condition was never taken into account when he gave the statement. This is a matter which should be separately examined by the court, the extent to which rights were granted and applied properly," said his lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou.

The trial in the case will begin in September, and the man faces a life sentence if found guilty of the crime.