David Hunter’s trial was postponed for a week on Thursday, after his defence asked for more time to prepare their closing arguments.

Paphos criminal court was due to hear the closing arguments from both defence and prosecution over the ongoing trial, where Hunter faces premeditated murder charges for killing his wife Janice Hunter who had cancer.

His wife was 74 when in December 2021, he suffocated her to death in their Tremithousa home.

David Hunter, now 76, took the stand last month and told the court he never wanted to kill her and only caved in after she repeatedly begged him to take her life for weeks. He then took “every pill in the house” to kill himself but his attempts were thwarted after police showed up at the door.

They had been alerted by Interpol Manchester, after Hunter’s brother notified them.

Janice Hunter suffered from cancer and a host of witnesses including her hairdresser and neighbour testified she was visibly unwell and became withdrawn as her suffering worsened.

David Hunter said his wife eventually could not leave the house as she had to wear diapers for around three years as one of the side effects of her medication was diarrhoea.

“I had no intention to kill her. I was hoping something good would happen, a small miracle. That she would change her mind. She kept asking me after that and crying. I didn’t want to kill my wife; I loved her so much.”

The defence on Thursday said it needed more time to prepare the closing arguments. Prosecution raised no objections. The development marks yet another delay amid a host of postponements, as Hunter awaits to find out his sentence.

Should he be found guilty of premeditated murder, he will face a life sentence.

The new court has been set of June 29.

Earlier in the trial process, it was initially hoped Hunter would face manslaughter charges as opposed to premeditated murder, though court finally moved to go with the latter.

Prosecution attorney Andreas Hadjikyrou cast doubt on whether the killing had been agreed upon, saying that while Hunter may have killed his wife out of pity, that does not mean she had consented to it.

The justification was that there was no physical or verbal proof of the agreement, either by way of a note or through conversations with her daughter. As pointed out in court, accepting this could set a precedent for future crimes on trial.

“It is unclear whether this agreement really took place,” he said, accusing Hunter’s lawyers of unethical behaviour by “agreeing to one thing one day, and saying another thing before the court”.