Jean McGlothlin, mother of Nancy Kissel, speaks to the press outside the High Court in Hong Kong yesterday. Kissel, who in 2005 was convicted of drugging and killing her husband, lost an appeal against her conviction. China Daily

Nancy Kissel, jailed for life in Hong Kong for the murder of her banker husband, lost her appeal against the conviction at the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Kissel, dubbed the "milkshake murderer", was sentenced to life in prison in 2005 for murdering her husband, Merrill Lynch banker Robert Kissel.

She was accused of feeding him a milkshake laced with sedatives and then bludgeoning him to death with a metal ornament in their Tai Tam apartment in November 2003.

His body was found wrapped in an old carpet in their flat's storeroom.

She admitted to the crime but argued she acted in self-defense against her abusive husband.

Her lawyers appealed on grounds that the judge of the original murder trial put excessive focus on the prosecution's testimony.

They also said she had been improperly cross-examined in the trial.

The Court of Appeal justices, Stuart-Moore, Stock and Wright dismissed the appeal.

There was "no material misdirection or irregularity" in the trial, and "none would have affected the inevitability of a conviction," they wrote in the judgment.

There are no reasonable arguments against the key "central and clear" facts, they wrote. It was a fact that Robert Kissel consumed a milkshake prepared and given by Nancy Kissel before his death.

It was also a fact that five drugs, which she obtained from doctors, were found in her husband's stomach.

Also, she had searched on the Internet for the side-effects of the drugs.

The judgment also said she told "a variety of lies".

She didn't mention the baseball bat to the police upon her arrest or to her family and friends, which she claimed her husband had attacked her with, the justices wrote.

Neither her family and friends nor her colleagues were aware of the alleged abuse.

The appeal dismissal dealt a great blow to Nancy Kissel, who has been serving her life sentence at a women's prison in Tai Lam since 2006.

After hearing the verdict yesterday, Kissel had to be helped out of the court room by two female officers.

Nancy Kissel's mother and lawyers said they plan to take the case to the Court of Final Appeal.

Speaking outside the court building, Jean McGlothlin, mother of Nancy Kissel, said she was disappointed that her daughter didn't "get more support from these three judges".

She said her daughter hasn't received a fair hearing from the beginning.

"We'll just do what we need to do next. We know this case has merit in the Court of Final Appeal".

She described her daughter as "very fragile" and has to be in a wheelchair due to her knee problem.

"But her spirit is strong. Her will is strong," she added.

Simon Clarke, a defense lawyer for Nancy Kissel, said the case might be heard in the Court of Final Appeal in six to nine months.

(HK Edition 10/07/2008 page1)