MOSCOW, April 27 (UPI) -- A Russian couple accused in the slayings of a lawyer and a journalist tried to commit suicide before a scheduled Moscow court appearance, an attorney revealed.
The lawyer said Yevgenia Khasis attempted to slit her wrists Wednesday while her common-law husband, Nikita Tikhonov, tried the same thing Tuesday, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
He said he planned to petition the court to postpone their hearing on grounds of poor health.
The couple are accused of killing human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova.
The pair were gunned down in Moscow in January 2009.
Russia's Investigative Committee has said Markelov was the target and Baburova was killed because she witnessed his death.
Markelov was an active member of an anti-fascist group.
