In December 2021, David Hunter killed his wife, claiming the incident was an assisted suicide. Today, the Cypriot court heard that she might not have been terminally ill.

Janice Hunter died age 74, near Paphos. Her doctor, haematologist Dr Ourania Seimeni, told the court that Mrs Hunter had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood cancer, but may not have been terminally ill.

Mr Hunter’s lawyers stated that his wife had begged him to end her life.

The 75-year-old has been held in custody for 18 months and denied murdering his wife but admitted to the lesser charge of manslaughter in December.

His plea to manslaughter collapsed and the prosecution are attempting to use the confession as admissible evidence as the trial continues.

Dr Seimeni provided evidence to the court suggesting about 30% of patients with MDS could have leukaemia but it was impossible to state how long Mrs Hunter had to live.

On Monday, another doctor, Dr Andreas Pantelides, suggested the figure may be higher, at about 45%.

According to Dr Seimeni, Mrs Hunter had become increasingly agitated with injections and blood transfusions. Dr Seimeni relayed how she had recommended a colonoscopy to assess the cause of various side effects Mrs Hunter was experiencing at the time as well as a myelogram, used to test for leukaemia, but Mrs Hunter didn’t appear for her scheduled appointment on 9 November.

Mrs Hunter returned for her next blood transfusion about two weeks later, along with her husband, but the court was told that without the myelogram it cannot conclusively be said whether Mrs Hunter had leukaemia or not.

The trial is ongoing and Mr Hunter is expected to give evidence later this month.