Court refuses posthumous divorce

A US court has refused to finalise a couple's divorce because the husband was murdered the day before he was due to sign the final papers.

Dr John Yelenic was found dead on April 13th 2006 and the Indiana County Superior Court deemed it unnecessary to complete the proceedings because the dentist's death brought an end to the marriage.

The 39-year-old and his wife Michele separated in 2002 and agreed to a divorce and a property settlement, the Associated Press reports.

Effie Alexander, Mr Yelenic's lawyer, has requested that the divorce be finalised because he asserts that the process was of great importance to his client. Given that the decision on how to divide the property had already been made by the couple, the lawyers' request was mainly a symbolic one.

Friend's of the deceased man held a vigil on April 14th this year outside his former home in Pittsburgh, where he was killed. The crime has not yet been solved.

Maggie McCartin, who travelled from Los Angeles to pay her respects, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "It was a joy and a privilege to know him."