4月11日晚间11点，中国官方新华社、中央电视台新闻频道双双发布通稿，宣布薄熙来“同志”已被解除中共政治委员、中央委员职务并被双规。此外，官方宣布，公安机关对尼尔-伍德（neil heywood）死亡案依法进行复查。而薄熙来的妻子谷开来，则因涉嫌英国人尼尔·海伍德命案，已被移送司法拘捕。
杰奎琳·肯尼迪（jackie kennedy，1929-1994），美国第一夫人，肯尼迪家族成员，英文全名jacqueline lee bouvier kennedy onassis。她的穿戴极富个性，她独到的审美情趣，成功地倡导了美国的流行时尚。
the woman accused of involvement in the murder of a british businessman has been described as the "jackie kennedy of china".
a us lawyer who worked with gu kailai several years ago told the bbc that she was attractive, charismatic and funny.
ed byrne, from denver in colorado, said he was "shocked" to hear that she was embroiled in a murder investigation.
but that is exactly what has happened.
ms gu has been "transferred to judicial authorities" because she is a prime suspect in the murder of british businessman neil heywood.
it is a case that has also led to the downfall of her husband, bo xilai, who until recently was one of china's most senior politicians.
groundbreaking lawyer
ms gu, who is mr bo's second wife, studied law at the prestigious peking university before opening her own law firm.
mr byrne first met her when he visited the chinese coastal city of dalian - where bo xilai was the mayor.
he went with a client and met ms gu to talk about a business venture.
"i was very impressed with her. she is very attractive, very charismatic and very funny."” -- ed byrne, colleague of gu kailai
later, she got in touch with him and asked him to represent several companies from dalian that were involved in a case in mobile, alabama. it was 1997.
fluent in english, ms gu played a major role in the lawsuit, which went in favour of the chinese firms.
she even wrote a book about her experiences as the first chinese lawyer to win a legal battle in the united states.
mr byrne then worked with ms gu - whom he knew by the name of horus kai - on a number of other cases, meeting her in both america and dalian.
he also met her husband and was an "honoured" guest at lunches and dinners.
"i was very impressed with her. she is very attractive, very charismatic and very funny," mr byrne told the bbc in an interview.
"people likened her and her husband to the jack and jackie kennedy of china. they were the modern liberal element there."
'conflict of interest'
a source close to bo xilai's family also described ms gu is glowing terms.
he said she closed her law firm down when her husband became the communist party chief in chongqing to avoid the impression that she was benefitting from his position.
"she shut down the law firm just when it was getting very big and very exciting for her," said the family contact.
but he also painted a picture of a woman whose health has not been good in recent years and who hardly stepped outside the family home in chongqing.
"she stayed at home reading books," he said of ms gu who, like her husband, is the offspring of a senior official.
but the idea that gu kailai had completely detached herself from any business seems to be false.
china's state-run news agency xinhua said she had "economic interests" with mr heywood.
it said there had been conflict over those interests that had "intensified".
gu kailai is now a suspect in a murder investigation.