Johnson County officials in China for murder case

IOWA CITY — A group of local officials are in China to observe legal proceedings related to the 2014 death of an Iowa State student whose body was discovered in a car trunk in Iowa City.

Iowa City police Lt. Mike Brotherton, commander of the investigations unit, said two of his detectives — Andy Rich and David Gonzalez — flew to China on Sunday. They are joined by Assistant Johnson County Attorney Elizabeth Dupuich, said Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness.

'(Dupuich) had been invited by the judge that was in charge to view the courtroom the day before the trial,' said Lyness, added the group would also be permitted to view the trial in the courtroom or watch from an adjacent room with translators.

The contingent is expected to view either the trial or sentencing hearing of 24-year-old Xiangnan Li, the former University of Iowa business student accused of killing Shao, his ex-girlfriend. Both Shao and Li are from China.

Li is accused of killing Shao on Sept. 7, 2014. The pair checked into a hotel in Nevada, Iowa, on Sept. 5 and Shao was last seen alive at the hotel on Sept. 6.

Police said Li made arrangements to fly back to China on Sept. 6. Shao was later reported missing and her body was found in the trunk of her car on Sept. 26, 2014.

Local authorities investigated the case, but complications arose out of the United States' lack of an extradition hearing with China. Li eventually turned himself into law enforcement in Wenzhou, China on May 13, 2015. The following June, Chinese officials came to Johnson County, and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness turned over the case against Li. Later that month, Li was charged with 'international homicide.'

According to a March 22 CNN report, Li's attorney declined to say whether his client has pleaded not guilty. Shao's parents told CNN they met with Li's parents, who asked for forgiveness and offered them compensation for their daughter's death.

Shao's father has called for the death penalty for Li.

'I wouldn't forgive him however much money they offered,' Shao told CNN.

Li could face anywhere from 10 years to the death penalty.

While homicide trials can last for weeks in the United States, Brotherton said that was not the expectation in this case.

'They were indicating it was going to be about a daylong process,' he said.

Brotherton said he was not sure what his detectives' role would be in the legal proceedings.

'I don't know if they're going to be testifying,' he said. 'My initial inclination is they were invited over to observe.'

The detectives and assistant county attorney are expected to return to the U.S. this weekend, Brotherton said. He said the entire experience has been a new one for the department.

'This has never happened in the entire time I've been here,' he said. 'This is kind of a big deal.'

CNN contributed to this report.