Hearing postponed for couple in child abuse case

The preliminary hearing for a deputy state attorney general and his wife accused of abusing their two adopted children from Ethiopia has been postponed.

Douglas and Kristen Barbour of Franklin Park face charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. The two children, a girl, who is 19 months, and a boy, who is 6, were admitted Sept. 14 to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Doctors said the boy was starving and had lesions from being kept for long periods of time in urine-soaked clothing. The girl, who suffered abusive head trauma, is blind in one eye and will likely be paralyzed.

The parents were released from custody after posting 10 percent of $25,000 bond each. The children are no longer in their care.

The hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon but now likely will be held in November.