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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
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| 'Milkshake murderer' wins appeal | 'Milkshake murderer' wins appeal |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Hong Kong's top court has overturned the conviction of American woman Nancy Kissel for the murder of her investment banker husband. | Hong Kong's top court has overturned the conviction of American woman Nancy Kissel for the murder of her investment banker husband. |
| The court ordered a retrial for Mrs Kissel, jailed for life for putting sedatives in husband Robert's milkshake and bludgeoning him with an ornament. | The court ordered a retrial for Mrs Kissel, jailed for life for putting sedatives in husband Robert's milkshake and bludgeoning him with an ornament. |
| Her lawyers say prosecutors breached evidence rules during the trial. | Her lawyers say prosecutors breached evidence rules during the trial. |
| The 2005 case heard tales of wealth, adultery, cocaine abuse, violent rows, greed and unhappiness. | The 2005 case heard tales of wealth, adultery, cocaine abuse, violent rows, greed and unhappiness. |
| "The court unanimously allows the appeal, quashes the conviction and orders a retrial," Court of Final Appeal chief justice Andrew Li said. | "The court unanimously allows the appeal, quashes the conviction and orders a retrial," Court of Final Appeal chief justice Andrew Li said. |
| The 45-year-old mother of three, who lost her first appeal, has been serving a life sentence since she was convicted. | The 45-year-old mother of three, who lost her first appeal, has been serving a life sentence since she was convicted. |
| Her lawyer, Simon Clarke, told reporters Mrs Kissel was "very frail, emotionally and physically" and had been "psychologically injured" by the trial process. | Her lawyer, Simon Clarke, told reporters Mrs Kissel was "very frail, emotionally and physically" and had been "psychologically injured" by the trial process. |
| Body in carpet | Body in carpet |
| Mrs Kissel had admitted killing her husband, a banker at Merrill Lynch, in November 2003, but had denied murder, a charge that requires premeditation. | Mrs Kissel had admitted killing her husband, a banker at Merrill Lynch, in November 2003, but had denied murder, a charge that requires premeditation. |
| Prosecutors said she had given Robert, 40, a strawberry milkshake spiked with sedatives, before cracking his skull several times with a heavy statuette. | Prosecutors said she had given Robert, 40, a strawberry milkshake spiked with sedatives, before cracking his skull several times with a heavy statuette. |
| Mrs Kissel had tried to dispose of his body by rolling it up in a carpet and putting it into a storage room at the luxury Parkview apartments complex on Hong Kong island. | Mrs Kissel had tried to dispose of his body by rolling it up in a carpet and putting it into a storage room at the luxury Parkview apartments complex on Hong Kong island. |
| But the stench soon gave her away. | But the stench soon gave her away. |
| The court ruled the jury that convicted Mrs Kissel could have been misdirected. | The court ruled the jury that convicted Mrs Kissel could have been misdirected. |
| "Mrs Kissel killed Mr Kissel. That much is not in dispute. But was the killing certainly murder or might it have been in self-defence?" the court judgement read. | "Mrs Kissel killed Mr Kissel. That much is not in dispute. But was the killing certainly murder or might it have been in self-defence?" the court judgement read. |
| The question was whether, given the evidence provided, a jury "would inevitably feel sure that Mrs Kissel was lying from start to finish and that she had planned and carried out a coldly calculated murder", said the court. | The question was whether, given the evidence provided, a jury "would inevitably feel sure that Mrs Kissel was lying from start to finish and that she had planned and carried out a coldly calculated murder", said the court. |
| The BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong, Anne Marie Evans, says the case, involving expatriates who seemingly had everything, has enthralled Hong Kong. | The BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong, Anne Marie Evans, says the case, involving expatriates who seemingly had everything, has enthralled Hong Kong. |
| Revelations at the original trial about the lifestyle of some members of the territory's wealthy elite gripped the public imagination. | Revelations at the original trial about the lifestyle of some members of the territory's wealthy elite gripped the public imagination. |
| Mrs Kissel lost an appeal in 2008 based on her claim that she acted in self-defence as her husband was threatening her with a baseball bat. | |
| At the trial, prosecutors argued that she had planned the murder due to her uncontrolled passion for a new lover, a TV repairman in the US. | At the trial, prosecutors argued that she had planned the murder due to her uncontrolled passion for a new lover, a TV repairman in the US. |
| They alleged Mrs Kissel had stood to gain up to $18m (£11m) in life insurance payouts from her husband's death. | They alleged Mrs Kissel had stood to gain up to $18m (£11m) in life insurance payouts from her husband's death. |