Bo Xilai's Wife Gu Kailai Named Murder Suspect

Gu Kailai, the wife of former Communist Party official Bo Xilai, has been arrested as a suspect in a murder investigation. Chinese state-run media reported that she was “transferred to judicial authorities” for the suspected murder of British citizen Neil Heywood.  

 

The report of her arrest appeared right after the announcement that her husband had been removed from his positions in the Communist Party’s central leadership—the Politburo and the CCP Central Committee.  

 

State-run Xinhua and CCTV made their reports in the evening with the English and Chinese versions going up almost simultaneously.  The report included information from a police investigation into Heywood’s death. Previously, Heywood, who died in November, was reported to have died of a heart attack. 

 

The report also referred to Gu Kailai as Bo-Gu Kailai, which combines her husband’s last name with her own.  This is uncommon practice in mainland China, and appears to be a way of emphasizing Bo Xilai’s connection with his wife.