31 July 2023 , 09:33
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The daughter of David Hunter has said she is going to hug her dad 'so tightly' after he was released by a judge in Cyprus today.
David, 76, was this month found guilty of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice, 74, in December 2021 - but walked from Paphos District Court after receiving a two year sentence, which he has already served.
Emotional David cried on the steps of the court as he 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.”
He was found guilty this month of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice, 74, in December 2021 (PA)
Daughter Lesley Cawthorne said she feared she had 'lost' her dad 'forever' (Albanpix.com)Asked how he was feeling after 19-months in Nicosia prison, an overwhelmed David said: “I hope I’m feeling the same as my family, when I say family I also mean all my lads.“We’re all family, when you work in the colliery you’re all a family.”
When asked what it felt like to reach the end of the trial, he said: “I can’t describe it. I’m sorry, I wish I could find the words to describe it but I can’t. When you’re under that pressure for two years, not knowing which way it was going to go, you don’t know”.
Speaking through tears daughter Lesley, who is unable to travel from the UK because of a health condition, told the Mirror: “I thought I’d lost him forever. I cannot believe it. It’s amazing. “I don’t know what to say. When I see him I’m going to hug him and never, ever let him go. I’m going to feed him and make sure he’s eating and I’m going to just hug him so tightly. I just didn’t think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.”
In the cafe of the court room underneath where David had just been freed moments earlier, he spoke on Facetime to Lesley, where he told her he loved her. “Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together,” said Lesley.