Filenews 12 October 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
The trial before the Paphos Assize Court continues today for the 74-year-old British permanent resident of Cyprus who is accused of murdering his wife in Tremithousa.
Today's proceedings are awaited with particular interest, given that at the last hearing the intention of the accused through his defence to change his testimony from non-admission to admission, since the indictment will be amended. This, according to the defence, will provide an opportunity to scientifically prove that the case falls into a category other than manslaughter and that indeed the 74-year-old was acting to assist his partner following a joint decision.
The trial is arousing huge interest in Britain. Each time the Paphos Courthouse should be in and out of the midst of representatives of the British media. The defendant himself, who is transferred in every process from the Central Prisons to Paphos for the procedure, is the centre of attention of his many compatriots who were there.
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.
In their country, the view prevails that the accusations should be amended as requested by the family of the tragic couple, because ordinary people in the country believe 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 essence.
Update today:
Close to the change of charge for the 74-year-old marital killer are the prosecution and defence, as was evident from today's proceedings before the Paphos Assize Court. The defence of the 74-year-old Briton accused of murdering his wife in Tremithousa had called for the charge of murder to be changed to manslaughter in order for the defendant to change his non-admission to admission.
The defence today received from the prosecution the facts of the case and handed over to the prosecution a medical opinion on the incurable disease suffered by the British wife of the accused.
Both sides believe that there is now room for understanding in order to withdraw the charge of premeditated murder and for the Briton to proceed with an admission to the charge of manslaughter. After today's proceedings, the Assize Court decided to grant a final adjournment to November 18 in order to make the change in the charge, for the defendant to respond and for the defensc to speak for mitigation of the sentence.
The court clarified that if there is no conclusion between the two sides on November 18, the trial will continue with the presentation of the prosecution witnesses.
The trial continues to arouse huge interest in Britain, with the Paphos Courthouse packed with representatives of Britain's media.
The 74-year-old, in a case that shook the nationwide on the evening of Saturday, December 18, 2021, 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.
In their country, the view prevails that the accusations should be amended as requested by the family of the tragic couple, because ordinary people in the country believe 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 essence.
