Gu Kailai's trial ends

August 10, 2012 11:37 AM

Gu Kailai's trial has concluded but no verdict has been delivered. Many things about the political background of the murder trial, and Gu Kailai's personal motives, remain unclear, although it is said that Gu has not disputed the charge that she killed Neil Heywood.

According Edward Wong and Andrew Jacobs in the New York Times, Many legal experts say the trial was political theater and little more than a forum to present an official narrative of the crime. The session raised as many questions as it answered.

Previously.

posted by BibiRose (13 comments total)

Its a good story - mother does anything to protect her son, stands up and suffers consequences. Am pretty impressed.
posted by captaincrouton at 12:22 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

i have been following fairly closely but i still don't understand her motive. how was her son threatened? i'm not saying he wasn't, i'm saying i don't know how.
posted by facetious at 1:04 PM on August 10, 2012

Am pretty impressed.

I save impressed for folks who, you know, improve the world in some measurable way. Not for folks who commit murder to avoid blackmail. But maybe that's just me.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:13 PM on August 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

"Mr. Heywood then locked Mr. Bo up in a residence in England, according to Mr. Zhao’s account of the prosecutors’ case. Mr. Bo called his mother and told her about the abduction."
Supposedly he held the son hostage.
posted by captaincrouton at 1:44 PM on August 10, 2012

There's no translation problem. As the article mentions many people believe that trial to be political theater. It doesn't matter whether the official story makes sense.
posted by rdr at 2:27 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Who knows what happened, who did it, or why
posted by knoyers at 6:52 PM on August 10, 2012

"Mr. Heywood then locked Mr. Bo up in a residence in England, according to Mr. Zhao’s account of the prosecutors’ case. Mr. Bo called his mother and told her about the abduction."
Supposedly he held the son hostage.

So she decided to kill the guy rather then, you know, calling the British police?
posted by delmoi at 9:23 PM on August 10, 2012

Hmm, she apparently went to the local police chief who said "nothing could be done"? And then that police chief helped come up with a plot to help kill him, but then got cold feet?

Also:

Around 11 p.m., they drove to the secluded Nanshan Lijing Resort, where Mr. Heywood was staying in Room 1605 of a villa. Ms. Gu went into the room alone and drank whisky with Mr. Heywood. He vomited and became woozy. Mr. Zhang came in and handed Ms. Gu the vials of poison. They put Mr. Heywood in bed. When he asked for water, Ms. Gu poured the poison into his mouth. She then spread drugs around the scene, prosecutors said. Ms. Gu and her associates left at 11:38 p.m.

Even if Haywood had locked up the kid at some point in time, Heywood and this woman were clearly on good enough terms to drink together in a hotel room, and the kid must not have been locked up at the time, otherwise killing him would have made it impossible to get the kid out.

So yeah, very bizarre. But it doesn't appear that Bo's life was in danger at the point in time where she killed him.

I'm also amazed that so many people are totally cool with plotting all kinds of criminal conspiracies over email.
posted by delmoi at 9:35 PM on August 10, 2012

Gu claims to have been suffering from mental disorders but that again is apparently from a state-controlled source. Her actions as narrated certainly sound like those of a paranoid, delusional person.
posted by BibiRose at 6:22 AM on August 11, 2012

Chinese Law Prof Blog: Unofficial report of proceedings in the Gu Kailai trial
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:50 AM on August 12, 2012

Gu Kailai Is Not The "Jackie Kennedy of China"
posted by homunculus at 2:59 PM on August 15, 2012

Gu Kailai given suspended death sentence over Neil Heywood murder: Wife of politician Bo Xilal has been handed a suspended death sentence which is usually commuted to life imprisonment
posted by homunculus at 12:58 AM on August 20, 2012

Why Gu Kailai stood by her man
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:58 AM on August 22, 2012