A Coptic Christian man who was accused of attempting to kill his wife for converting to Islam died on Sunday upon jumping off the fourth floor of an Assiut court before his trial.

The defendant's wife had publicly announced her decision to convert, marrying a Muslim and asking for the custody of her son.

She was stabbed in the neck and admitted to a hospital yesterday evening.

Muslim-Christian tension over conversions and intermarriages is not uncommon in Egypt.