Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced senior Chinese Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, has admitted murdering British businessman Neil Heywood last year, and blamed a "mental breakdown" for her action, media reports said Saturday.
During the trial held at a court in the east of the country, Gu also apologized for what she described as the 'tragedy' of Heywood's death, and said she would "accept and calmly face any sentence".
Gu and Zhang Xiaojun, a family aide, were accused of murdering Heywood by poisoning. Heywood was found dead in a hotel in Chongqing in November 2011, when Bo was at the helm of the ruling Communist party in the city.
Although initial police reports suggested that Heywood died of excessive drinking, a re-investigation confirmed he was poisoned to death. Subsequently, Gu and Xiaojun were named suspects in the murder.
The scandal led to Bo's downfall in Chinese politics. In May, the Communist Party of China (CPC) expelled Bo from its ranks and stripped him of all his remaining leadership positions, saying that he was "suspected of being involved in serious disciplinary violations." Notably, Bo has not been mentioned in the case against his wife.
Xiaojun is also reported to have admitted his involvement in the murder, and expressed willingness to apologize to Heywood's relatives.
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