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Joyce Man

Robert Kissel, the investment banker allegedly bludgeoned to death by his wife in 2003, regularly phoned and e-mailed  her best friend about his marital concerns before he  was killed, a court heard yesterday.
Bryna O'Shea testified in earlier proceedings that she and  Nancy Kissel's husband had become closer starting in April 2003, when he  first called her. 
A transcript of O'Shea's evidence  was read out by senior assistant director of public prosecutions Anna Lai Yuen-kee yesterday.
'He was concerned his marriage was changing, that Nancy was not herself,'  O'Shea said, according to the transcript. 
Robert Kissel had asked O'Shea whether she  noticed any change in his wife, the transcript said. He would call her when they had a bad interaction or disagreement. 
Once, she said, he called because he was upset that his wife had  done nothing to celebrate his 40th birthday. Another time, he called after a  marriage guidance session during which Nancy Kissel had said she wanted a divorce. 
O'Shea said Robert Kissel had wanted to see a counsellor about their marital problems. He intended for his wife to attend the sessions with him, but he sometimes went alone.  
'I felt bad that my friends were having problems,' O'Shea said.  
She said her conversations with Nancy Kissel, whom she had known since 1987, became less deep starting in 2002 and  her friend would 'never talk about problems'. 
'I felt closer to Nancy talking to him, and he felt closer to Nancy talking to me,' O'Shea said. 
Nancy Kissel, 46, is  facing a retrial at the Court of First Instance for allegedly murdering  her husband on or  around November 2, 2003. She has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, which the prosecution does not accept. 
David Perry QC, for the prosecution, said Robert Kissel had drunk a milkshake prepared by  his wife before he was killed and six drugs were found in his body, four of which had been prescribed to her. 
Nancy Kissel allegedly dealt blows to his head with a lead ornament,  wrapped his body in a sleeping bag and carpet, and had it removed to a storage space.
According to e-mail correspondence from September 2003 read in court, Robert Kissel told O'Shea that he felt things had been going well  since his wife  visited him at his office one day after the counselling session in which she said she wanted a divorce.  While there,  she informed him that she did not want a divorce. 
However, O'Shea said Robert Kissel  discovered in October 2003 that  his wife had  a mobile phone  that she had used to call a man  in the United States named Mike. 
The trial continues before Mr Justice Andrew Macrae.



Robert Kissel 'confided in wife's best friend'