MAN ATTEMPTS SUICIDE AFTER KILLING ATTORNEY, INJURING WIFE

SLATINA, March 22 (Hina) - Antun Nikl (aged 53) from Slatina, a town east of Zagreb, shot himself in the head on Friday afternoon after having killed attorney Marija Brnic-Bljakaj and seriously wounding his wife Marica Nikl earlier in the day. Doctors at a Virovitica hospital are fighting for his life while his seriously injured wife has been transferred to a hospital in Osijek. #L# According to a statement by the Virovitica-Podravina County police, Marica Nikl was attacked on the street around 10 am while the attorney was killed in her office half an hour later. After the shooting, Nikl called the police saying he wanted to turn himself in. However, when the police arrived at his address, he would not come out but threw two hand-grenades and opened fire at them. After almost six hours, special police units managed to break into the house, but found Nikl lying on the floor with a wound to his head. The killed attorney was representing the injured woman in divorce proceedings. Nikl has a police record for violent behaviour and last year the police pressed charges against him for threatening his wife. Croatian attorneys are appalled by the latest murder, the Croatian Bar Association (HOK) said in a statement, warning that the number of attacks on Croatian attorneys was increasing by the year. The president of the Croatian Judges' Association (UHS), Vladimir Gredelj, believes that "those who damage the reputation of judicial institutions and their employees with daily libels" share responsibility for the tragedy. He calls on the public and senior state officials to refrain from "false accusations against judicial officials" and thus help prevent any further tragedies. (hina) rml