MCLC: Gu Kailai formally charged with murder

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Gu Kailai formally charged with murder
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Source: NYT (7/26/12):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/world/asia/wife-of-disgraced-chinese-lead
er-charged-with-murder.html

Bo Xilai¹s Wife Is Charged in Killing of British Businessman
By ANDREW JACOBS 

BEIJING ‹ Gu Kailai, the wife of the disgraced political leader Bo Xilai,
has been charged with the intentional homicide of a British businessman, a
crime that triggered China¹s most serious political crisis in decades, the
state media reported Thursday evening.

The official Xinhua news agency published a brief dispatch announcing that
Ms. Gu and an aide employed by the family had been formally charged in the
poisoning death of Neil Heywood, the 41-year-old Briton whose body was
found in November in a hotel in Chongqing, the municipality in southwest
China led by Mr. Bo until he was deposed by Communist Party leaders.

Although the announcement repeated earlier accusations that tied the
murder of Mr. Heywood to ³a conflict over economic interests,² it added
fresh detail, saying that Ms. Gu committed the crime in order to protect
her son, Bo Guagua. The article did not mention Mr. Bo¹s full name,
suggesting prosecutors have decided not to implicate him in the crime.

The announcement said no trial date had been set.

The authorities in Chongqing originally attributed Mr. Heywood¹s death to
excessive drinking, but a scandal unfolded after Wang Lijun, the city¹s
police chief and a trusted associate of the elder Mr. Bo, sought refuge in
the American consulate in Chengdu, a city not far from Chongqing.

Mr. Wang stayed overnight, reportedly revealing details of the crime to
consular officials. Mr. Wang, who was said to be fearful of Mr. Bo¹s
wrath, left the consulate in the custody of officials from Beijing. He
remains in custody.