Murder trial of Gu Kailai, wife of fallen China politician Bo Xilai, ends after just 1 day

(CBS/AP) BEIJING - It ended in one day. The secretive yet high-profile trial of Gu Kailai and a household aide for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood lasted just about four hours, with a guilty verdict all but assured and the possibility of a death sentence looming.

Gu, the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, sat in the courtroom seemingly impassive as prosecutors laid out their case: how she lured him to a hotel room, got him drunk and personally poured poison down his throat, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

The speed of the trial, while not necessarily unusual for China, underscored the ruling Communist Party's anxiousness to put the scandal behind them quickly. The party is embarrassed because there are allegations of corruption that could reach in to the party's highest ranks.

Most observers think the trial is more about the party going after Bo, who was party boss of one of China's biggest cities. He was on his way to a seat in the elite politburo that runs China but was suddenly stripped of his leadership role.

International media were barred from the courtroom, so details of the case against Gu were provided afterward by Tang Yigan, the court's deputy director.

He said prosecutors told the court that Gu sent her aide, Zhang Xiaojun, to meet and accompany Heywood from Beijing to Chongqing, where Bo was the Communist Party boss.

Gu and Heywood were business associates but had had a dispute over economic interests, according to Tang, whose account matched details from the indictment reported in official media several weeks ago. Gu thought Heywood was a threat to her son, 24-year-old Bo Guagua, and decided to have him killed, said Tang, who did not specify what sort of threat Heywood posed.

On the night of Nov. 13, Gu went to Heywood's hotel and drank alcohol and tea with him.

"When Heywood was drunk and vomited and wanted to drink water, she then took pre-prepared poison that she had asked Zhang Xiaojun to carry, and poured it into Heywood's mouth, killing him," Tang said.

Heywood's friends and family have said he was never a heavy drinker, and they rejected investigators' initial conclusion that he drank himself to death. His body was cremated and no autopsy was performed.

Tang said the prosecutors believed the facts of the crime were clear and the evidence sufficient, and that "Gu Kailai is the main culprit and Zhang is the accomplice."

Before Thursday, the 53-year-old Gu had not been seen in months and has never publicly offered her side of the story.

The scandal came to light in February, when longtime Bo aide and former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun suddenly fled to the U.S. Consulate in the city of Chengdu. Apparently fearing for his safety if he remained in Chongqing, Wang told American diplomats about his suspicions that Heywood had been murdered and that Bo's family was involved.

However, in a surprising twist, a man who attended the trial said the court heard evidence that Gu had reported her plans to Wang, the police chief, before she committed the crime as well as after the deed was done. "Wang Lijun knew all about it, and even participated in planning it," the man said on condition of anonymity due to the secrecy surrounding the case and fear of government retaliation.

Gu's lawyer raised questions about how Heywood died, pointing to tests that showed the level of cyanide found in a blood sample from Heywood's body was not enough to cause death and that the blood sample appeared to have been tampered with, according to the man who attended the trial.

State broadcaster CCTV aired video during the day showing a calm-looking Gu being led into court with a sheaf of papers in one hand. She and Zhang both wore white shirts and neither was handcuffed. In an apparent indication of the government's desire to keep the trial low-key, no report on the trial appeared on CCTV's main evening news broadcast, which is more widely seen and where sensitive content is more stringently controlled.

Chinese officials agreed to let two British diplomats attend court, but the British Embassy in Beijing said it would offer no statement on the proceedings.

The quick trial contrasts with often-lengthy high-profile murder cases around the world. But it's common in China, where even the verdict can be delivered the same day in death penalty cases.

"It's very unusual for criminal trials (in China) to extend beyond a day," said Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher based in Hong Kong who said trials are short in part because witness testimony is usually written, instead of delivered in person.

"It's very rare to see what you see in other countries, where a trial starts on one day and extents through many, many days," he said. "The process is very structured. A Chinese criminal trial is not a free-flowing process."

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[jefforsythe]

I meant British business man, not American. There are one hundred million Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China in all the different classes of people including the cruel Party itself.Falun Gong has a very clear picture of what the truth is when it comes to the brutality of the evil Chinese Communist Party. Thank you for your consideration.

[exposecuny]

There is another murder case need to be investigated. See: http://exposecunyandpeterbookstein.blogspot.com/. This case maybe links a treason case of destroying Chinese National Reunification. It maybe also links to 911. Evidences are available! Hope to investigate and trial these. More information are available.

[andacar]

Evidences show is above troll! Ignoring are we.

[jefforsythe]

The reason that Mrs. Bo poisoned the American is because he was going to expose the fact that her husband has made a good deal of money practicing organ harvesting on innocent Falun Gong practitioners. Organ harvesting is removing the organs from living people and selling these organs to people who could not find an organ in their country. One Communist Party doctor just defected, confessing that he had removed the corneas of hundreds of Chinese children, leaving them blind. This is the truth about the brutal Chinese Communist Party, thank you.

[famca]

The hostile attitude of the Chinese authorities toward the Falun Gong suggests that this is not an explanation but at attempt to kill two birds with one stone, that is, blame Bos and his wife for crimes the communists themselves practiced or countenanced.

Most likely explanation is that the Bo faction fell out of favor with the powers that be. As George Orwell would have said, "Some communists are more equal than other communists."

[jefforsythe]

This is a very common practice in Red China. Top officials of the brutal Chinese Communist Party pick out someone to point their fingers at and this gives the public the impression of their innocence. The CCP is a gangster regime.
The cruel CCP does not care about anything except its own paranoid survival and is responsible for the deaths of 80 million of its own people since 1949. Since 1999 the CCP has been attempting the genocide of tens of millions of innocent Falun Gong practitioners by the use of torture, slavery, organ harvesting and murder.
The Western World and media has turned its backs on a multitude of human rights violations for the sake of corporate greed. This is my understanding, thank you.

[famca]

Bo disgraced, but for what? If you're in the Chinese leadership you can get away with anything. After all these are communists with no accountability to a free and informed electorate (kinda where were headed, but I digress) If Bo was in favor he and his wife would never be tried. Nor would the other unidentified defendants who are about to be tried.

This has all the earmarks of a purge in process. Stay tuned.

[Dukme]

Gu should be executed for this crime and Zhang to get life in prison. In Chinese culture the servant, Zhang, will carry out her master's order without question.

[chroniccomplainer]

Perhaps we could learn from China when it comes to Mass Killings that seem to occur every other week here in USA. There is no deterrance to these idiots. We are going to loose our rights anyway so might as well start now.

[karek40]

I read the article and I read the 2 comments, there is another possibility. That is they are quilty, the material evidence, written evidence, witness statements and other materials were presented all agreed showing them guilty. If so then why have a prolonged trial, the solution should be a bill for the bullet sent to the family!

[euge005]

In a nation of 1.5 billion slaves where the prosecutor writes the decision for the judge, it is no surprise. The verdict is decided before the arrest is made. they have so much to learn and only when we stop buying their products will this dictatorship finnaly die.

[Well_You_Aint_Me]

The dictatorship survived for many years before "we" started buying their products. All that "we" have done by buying their products is to help reinforce and support the established dictatorship.