Filenews 19 September 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
The trial before the Assize Court for the 74-year-old British permanent resident of Cyprus accused of murdering his wife in Tremithousa, Paphos, has been postponed until today.
The trial, which has already been postponed twice, is arousing huge interest in Britain, a fact that has been proven today, with the Paphos Courthouse being in and out of the crowd of british media representatives. The defendant himself, who was transferred from the Central Prisons to Paphos for the procedure, was the focus of attention of the many of his compatriots who were there and appeared calm and committed to the procedural part that was unfolding inside the room. Speaking to British defence representatives and the media, he said he spent a lot of time reading inside the prison and talking to his daughter in Britain.
The 74-year-old, in a case that shook the nationwide on the evening of Saturday, December 18, confessed to killing his 75-year-old wife at their home in Tremithousa, citing her own desire to redeem her from the suffering caused to her by her incurable illness. He then tried to commit suicide by taking more than 100 pills, but the timely intervention of the Police resulted in the doctors at Paphos Hospital preventing the fatality.
After his arrest, the 74-year-old confessed to committing the murder against his 75-year-old wife by occluding her nose and mouth with his hands. During the autopsy at the scene on the same night, the coroner Nikolas Charalambous found that the 75-year-old had bruises and abrasions in the face, and according to official data her death was due to a criminal act.
Meanwhile, in Britain, the relatives of the tragic couple have raised thousands of pounds in support of the accused perpetrator. The couple's daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, is continuing the online campaign to pay her father's legal costs in Cyprus and speaking to a British publication she had claimed that her father was dedicated to caring for her mother. We love him tremendously and want to help him in every way, she said.
"We will ask the Attorney General to change the charge to assisted suicide that fits perfectly with the facts of this case," said Michael Pollack, a lawyer for british legal aid team Justice Abroad who arrived from London to Cyprus as part of the defence team.
The trial is receiving huge publicity in Britain and it is characteristic that in Paphos there were still television crews and newspaper correspondents to cover the proceedings. Members of the UK media in discussions at the Paphos Courthouse, on the sidelines of the proceedings during the proceedings postponed in April, stressed that in their country there is a prevailing opinion that the charges should be amended as requested by the family of the tragic couple, as ordinary people in the country consider that the 74-year-old proceeded to an act of love and supreme devotion to his partner and not to an act of murder in the substance.
NB - He is being charged with premeditated murder.
