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U.S. woman loses appeal in 'milkshake murder' trial |
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Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Tuesday, 07 October 2008 |
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HONG KONG - An American woman sentenced to life in prison in Hong Kong for the beating death of her husband lost an appeal Monday for a new trial in the sensational "milkshake murder" case.
Dressed in black, Nancy Kissel nodded her head and appeared to be holding back tears when a judge announced the decision in the Court of Appeal. Kissel, who suffered a knee injury in prison, limped out of the courtroom aided by two policewomen.
The 44-year-old housewife from Minnesota was convicted in 2005 of giving her husband a milkshake laced with sedatives before fatally bashing the wealthy banker on the head with a metal ornament in 2003.
Kissel said she was defending herself from an abusive husband and appealed the conviction and her life sentence in prison. But prosecutors argued Kissel was a cold-blooded wife who planned the attack in the couple's luxury apartment.
The sensational trial made headlines worldwide because of its allegations of drug abuse, kinky sex and adultery in the wealthy world of expatriates in this Asian financial center.
Defense attorney Simon Clarke said he was "very disappointed" but not surprised by Monday's ruling.
"This court doesn't uphold many appeals at all," Clarke said. "But we are expecting a better hearing at the Court of Final Appeal."
The three-judge panel did not give approval for the case to proceed to a higher court, and Kissel will need to apply to the Court of Final Appeal to hear the case.
The defendant's mother, Jean McGlothlin, said her daughter was fragile physically. But she added, "Her spirit is strong. Her will is strong. Her heart and mind are strong."
Kissel said her then 40-year-old husband, Robert, an investment banker for Merrill Lynch, was an erratic whiskey-swilling workaholic who also snorted cocaine and forced her to have painful anal sex. She testified that she killed him as he was threatening her with a baseball bat in a quarrel.
During the appeal hearings, Kissel's defense lawyer said the woman suffered an abnormality of mind that substantially impaired her self-control.
Prosecutors said Robert Kissel of New York had been angry about his wife's affair with a repairman who worked on the couple's vacation home in Vermont. He had planned to seek a divorce just before she killed him.
Robert Kissel's estate was worth $18 million in life insurance, stocks and properties before he was murdered, prosecutors said.
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