ROSTOV-ON-DON, Southern Russia (AP) -- The parents of slain Chechen Heda Kungayeva failed to show up in court Tuesday when the trial of Colonel Yury Budanov, accused of killing the 18-year-old woman, resumed after an eight-month break, prompting the judge to again delay the proceedings to April 2nd.

Prosecutors said the victim's parents were in poor health.

Meanwhile, one of the witnesses in the trial, Vakhid Batalov, was killed Monday in Chechnya when gunmen opened fire on his car, a Chechen administration official said Tuesday.