BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - An alleged hired assassin pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancee in Slovakia, a suspected contract killing that brought down the country’s government. Miroslav Marcek acknowledged that he shot dead Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova in February 2018. Three other defendants, including the businessman accused of being the mastermind of the slayings, pleaded not guilty to murder. Prosecutors at the court in the town of Pezinok, north of the capital Bratislava claim a total of 70,000 euros ($77,640) was paid. The suspected mastermind, Marian Kocner, is a businessman who had allegedly threatened the journalist following publication of a story about him.

Source: thestar January 13, 2020 12:33 UTC