THE Chinese woman accused of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood admitted guilt and blamed a mental breakdown for the events that brought her to trial.

Bogu Kailai had "confessed to intentional homicide" in poisoning Heywood in November.

"I will accept and calmly face any sentence and I also expect a fair and just court decision," Bogu told her trial on Thursday.

"This case has been like a huge stone weighing on me for more than half a year. What a nightmare," she said.

More than 140 people attended the trial of Bogu and Zhang Xiaoyun at the Hefei City Intermediate People's Court.

It lasted around seven hours, and the court announced that its judgment would be delivered on a day that has yet to be announced.

Bogu, nee Gu Kailai, was born on November 15, 1958 in Beijing,. She was a practicing lawyer in Beijing.

Zhang was born on October 22, 1979 in Guxian County of north China's Shanxi Province, and his household registration is listed in Yuzhong District of Chongqing Municipality in southwest China. He was an employee of the General Office of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The hearing started at 8:35am and after the chief judge informed the parties of their legal rights, Du Wei, a prosecutor for the People's Procuratorate of Hefei City, presented the indictment.

It said that Bogu and her son Bo Guagua had disputes with Heywood over economic interests. Concerned about Heywood's threat to her son's personal safety, Bogu poisoned him with the assistance of Zhang.

The case was a joint offense, with Bogu as the principal and Zhang as the accessory.

Mental state

During the examination and prosecution phases of the case, defense counsel filed an application to the prosecuting body to evaluate Bogu's mental state at the time of Heywood's death.

The forensic examination institute under the Shanghai Mental Health Center concluded she had been treated for chronic insomnia, anxiety and depression and paranoia in the past.

She used to take anxiolytics, antidepressants and sedative hypnotic drugs, and also received combined treatment by taking antipsychotic drugs, but the curative effect was not enduring. She developed a certain degree of physical and psychological dependence on sedative hypnotic drugs, which resulted in mental disorders.

However, the prosecutor said Bogu had a clear goal and a practical motive in committing the alleged crime. Preparations were made prior to the alleged criminal act, including, for example, asking for poison from others and storing the poison, planning to take the victim to Chongqing and arranging the location for committing the alleged crime, among others.

She was also able to determine the environment for committing the alleged crime, and she had a relatively strong awareness of protecting herself.

She should be identified as having the capacity to accept full criminal responsibility, the prosecutor said.

'What a nightmare'

When the trial was about to close at 3:10pm, Bogu said in her final statement that she accepted all the facts written in the indictment, saying, "This case has been like a huge stone weighing on me for more than half a year. What a nightmare. During those days last November, I suffered a mental breakdown after learning that my son was in jeopardy. The tragedy which was created by me was not only extended to Neil, but also to several families."

"The case has produced great losses to the Party and the country, for which I ought to shoulder the responsibility, and I will never feel at ease. I am grateful to the humanitarian care shown to me by those who handled the case. I solemnly tell the court that in order to maintain the dignity of the law, I will accept and calmly face any sentence and I also expect a fair and just court decision," she said.

Zhang said in his final statement that he confessed his guilt, and would say "sorry" to the relatives of the victim.

"I hope the court can give me a chance to take a new lease on life. I really know that I did wrong," he said.

According to the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, after Neil Heywood was found dead on the morning of November 15, 2011, then-deputy chief of the Public Security Bureau of Chongqing Municipality Guo Weiguo, who has close ties with Bogu Kailai's family, was designated to handle the case by Wang Lijun, then-vice mayor of Chongqing as well as the chief of Chongqing's Public Security Bureau.

Guo asked Li Yang, then-chief of the criminal section of the Public Security Bureau of Chongqing, Wang Pengfei, then-chief of the bureau's technical detection team as well as the chief of the Public Security Sub-bureau of Chongqing's Yubei District, and Wang Zhi, then-executive deputy chief of the Public Security Sub-bureau of the municipality's Shapingba District to investigate.

Through interviews and on-the-scene investigations, Guo and other individuals found that Bogu was highly suspected of committing the crime. They covered up the fact of her presence at the scene by fabricating interview records, hiding material evidence and other measures.

Guo and other individuals decided to list the cause of Heywood's death as sudden death after drinking alcohol, and did not put it on file as a criminal case.

They also persuaded Heywood's family members to accept their conclusion of the cause of death and cremated the body in Chongqing without performing an autopsy.

After Wang Lijun entered the United States Consulate General in Chengdu without authorization, the Ministry of Public Security paid great attention to his report that Bogu was suspected of murdering Heywood.

Guo Weiguo, Wang Lijun, Li Yang, Wang Pengfei and Wang Zhi have all been investigated in other cases.

The ministry set up a team to reinvestigate the case, and found that Heywood had been the victim of homicide. Bogu and Zhang were then considered prime suspects.

Bogu said in her testimony that "it was in about 2005 when my son was studying in Britain that Neil Heywood wrote us a letter of self-introduction, showing his intent to get to know us."

Payment dispute

Bogu testified that after she and her son became acquainted with Heywood, she introduced him to serve as a proxy to a company and participate in the planning of a land project, which never got started. Heywood later got into a dispute with Bogu and her son over payment and other issues, and he threatened her son's safety.

In court, prosecutors presented emails exchanged between Heywood and Bo, showing how the dispute between the two had escalated.

According to the evidence prosecutors brought to court, after Bogu learned of the escalation of their dispute, she believed Heywood was a threat to her son and decided to kill Heywood.

"To me, that was more than a threat. It was real action that was taking place. I must fight to my death to stop the craziness of Neil Heywood," according to Bogu's testimony that prosecutors presented in court.

Defense counsel for Bogu presented their opinions on the criminal motive, while prosecutors presented a series of evidence to prove Bogu's criminal motive.

Zhang said that Bogu asked him to contact Heywood and take him to a meeting in Chongqing. "She instructed me repeatedly that I should accompany Heywood to Chongqing. I called Heywood and told him that Bogu Kailai wanted to meet him in Chongqing. Heywood replied that he also wished to see her, but had to check his schedule. Within half an hour, Heywood called me back, telling me he would be available the next day and asking me to book a flight for him."

At the Lucky Holiday Hotel in Chongqing on November 13, 2011, according to the testimony of Bogu and Zhang, Bogu had prepared two bottles - a glass bottle that contained cyanide compound and another medicine bottle of capsulated drugs. Bogu gave the glass bottle to Zhang.

Bogu and Zhang visited Heywood's hotel, bringing the two bottles, as well as wine and tea. Bogu drank wine and tea with Heywood while Zhang waited outside. Later, Heywood became drunk and fell in the hotel bathroom, and then Bogu called Zhang into the room and took the bottle of cyanide Zhang was carrying.

Zhang said he put Heywood on the hotel bed. After Heywood vomited and asked for water, Bogu put the cyanide into Heywood's mouth. Then she scattered the capsulated drugs on the hotel floor, making it seem as though Heywood had taken the drugs.

Bogu told hotel staff to leave the guest alone in Room No. 1605, after hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.