Beijing ( CNN ) -- The wife of a former Communist Party leader will go on trial next week in the alleged killing of a British businessman , a friend of the suspect 's family said Friday . The trial of Gu Kailai , the wife of disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai , is expected to start Thursday in the eastern city of Hefei , according to the friend , who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter . Gu and a family aide were charged in the November death of British businessman Neil Heywood . If convicted , Gu could face the death penalty , but the friend said her life is expected to be spared . Read more : Bo scandal 'good ' for China , expert says . Each of the defendants will be allowed to have two relatives at the trial , which is expected to be speedy , according to the friend . Heywood died in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing , where Bo was the Communist Party chief and a rising star in the party -- the son of one of the `` eight immortals '' of the revolution that created modern China . Heywood was found dead in his hotel room , and officials quickly blamed his death on excessive alcohol . His body was cremated without an autopsy . But controversy swirled in February , when Bo 's longtime lieutenant , Wang Lijun , sought refuge at the U.S. Consulate in nearby Chengdu . Wang , the former police chief who managed Bo 's anti-crime push , wanted political asylum , apparently fearing for his life and allegedly holding incriminating information against his boss . Read more : The inside story of China 's great political drama . Media reports and online posts claimed he clashed with Bo after suggesting that Heywood had been poisoned amid a business dispute with Gu -- an allegation that appears in the charges announced . Gu and the family aide , Zhang Xiaojun , were arrested in early April and have not seen their relatives since then , the friend said . The Xinhua news agency also announced in April that Bo had been stripped of his seats on the Communist Party 's Central Committee for an unspecified `` serious breach of regulations . '' Wang was taken into custody once he left the consulate for entering the diplomatic post without authorization . Authorities say Gu and her son squabbled with Heywood over `` economic interests , '' and she regarded him as a threat to her son 's safety . Britain , which had asked China to investigate the matter further , said it welcomed the charges . Read more : Interest in Bo Xilai scandal bigger abroad than in China . `` The details of the ongoing investigation are a matter for the Chinese authorities , '' a Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement last week . `` However , we are glad to see that the Chinese authorities are continuing with the investigation . We are dedicated to seeking justice for him and his family and we will be following developments closely . '' Speculation has grown over the nature of Heywood 's work in China and his ties to Bo 's family . Heywood had lived in China for more than a decade and was married to a Chinese woman . Among the companies he advised was a consulting firm founded by former officers of the British spy agency MI6 . That link fueled rumors that he may have had connections to British intelligence services , but Foreign Secretary William Hague denied that possibility in a public statement in April . Read more : Inside China 's murder mystery hotel . `` Mr. Heywood was not an employee of the British government in any capacity , '' he said in a letter . He said that the British government usually never confirms nor denies those accounts , but that he was making an exception , `` given the intense interest in this case . '' The case has forced the Communist leadership to confront allegations of wrongdoing by a high-ranking member in an unusually public way , according to Douglas Paal , a top China analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington . `` The disruption of his departure from office and his wife 's crimes have made it difficult to present a facade of unity to their people , '' Paal said . That united front has been key to ruling China for 2,000 years , he said . The current generation of leaders has been particularly sensitive to maintaining it since 1989 , when the party hierarchy split over how to deal with the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing 's Tiananmen Square . The leadership is trying to resolve the affair before its once-in-a-decade leadership transition at the Communist Party Congress meeting this year , said Joseph Fewsmith , an international relations professor at Boston University and a longtime China watcher . CNN 's Matt Smith contributed to this report .
The trial of Gu Kailai is expected to begin Friday . Bo Xilai and a family aide are accused in the murder of a Communist businessman . She is the wife of disgraced Xinhua news agency figure Gu Kailai .