Retired coal miner accused of killing wife is not a murderer, says ex-cellmate
A former cellmate of accused pensioner David Hunter says the fellow Brit is not a murderer – and that even the prison guards in Cyprus agree.
Owen Williams, 28, claimed jail staff kept asking about the 75-year-old “why is he even here?”.
Hunter is on trial in Cyprus for the premeditated murder of his terminally ill wife, Janice, 74.
Ex-miner David, who has been in custody since Janice’s death in December 2021, insists she pleaded with him to end her life.
Owen said that after serving 16 months for petty arson, it was “bittersweet” being released in April because it meant leaving his new pal David behind.
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Owen Williams says he speaks to David Hunter twice a week on the phone (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)He added: “We got on very well straight away when he came into our block. He talked about Janice a lot, about how they met and about their daughter, Lesley.
“He clearly loved Janice dearly and just wanted to help her – there is no way that man is a murderer.
“Even the guards are on his side. They used to say ‘why is he here? He’s 75 years old and a good man’.
“Nobody had a bad word to say about him.”
Owen, who is from Southampton, but has lived in Cyprus for 18 years, said he speaks to David twice a week on the phone.
He said he “felt guilty” leaving prison knowing David was still there, adding they have become best friends. Owen was jailed for starting a fire without a permit after he had not taken his bipolar medication.
David Hunter leaves court in the back of a police vehicle earlier this month (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)He says he was taken to a police station at around 3am when he was drunk and after suffering a mental breakdown.
He claims a statement was taken from him without a lawyer present, with police telling him if he confessed it would make it easier for him at trial.
David, from Ashington, Northumberland, last week told Paphos district court that Janice, his wife of 52 years, had “begged” for him to kill her as her blood cancer deteriorated.
He said he finally gave in by smothering her at their retirement home near Paphos. His lawyers say her death was assisted suicide.
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The trial continues.
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