Although police had been granted search warrants on the suspicion that Nancy Kissel had murdered her husband, police did not inform her of her right to remain silent, but instead told her they were investigating her assault claims and missing person report, the defense claimed.

Kissel, 40, is accused of serving her husband a pink milkshake laced with sedatives and then beating him to death while he lay unconscious at the foot of their bed on November 2, 2003.

She has denied the charge and is out on bail.

On November 6 that year, Kissel filed an assault charge, claiming her husband beat her up while he was drunk after she refused to have sex with him. That same day, Robert Kissel was reported missing. Police arrived at the Kissels' Parkview residence later that night and, in the early hours of November 7, found Robert Kissel's decomposing body in a storeroom, packed in plastic film and wrapped up in an old rug.

Chief Inspector Yuen Shing-kit told the court Friday he interviewed Nancy Kissel on the night of November 6 following her assault claims and missing person report.

He said Kissel then described where the alleged fight took place. She first denied any knowledge of the storeroom but, after a private conversation with her father, surrendered the keys.

Senior counsel for Kissel, Alexander King, pointed out that the police had been granted search warrants on the basis of a murder investigation prior to that interview.

A team of 12 officers conducted a preliminary inquiry and no one took detailed notes of Kissel's description of the fight, even though she was told they were investigating her claims.

King suggested to Yuen that, at the time of the interview, police had already been informed by the Parkview management office that a ``large stinking carpet'' was moved to a storeroom on Kissel's instructions and ``with your long experience, you must have already had a real suspicion a body was in the carpet.''

Yuen said there were ``other options'' and the smell could have come from a dead animal.

``But you weren't investigating any missing animals were you?'' King asked. Yuen replied, ``No.''

``When you went to make inquiries at the management office, did you know what [then] superintendent Nat Nichols was doing?'' King asked.

Yuen replied he was ``around'' and ``in the vicinity.''

King told Yuen evidence will be produced later to show that, before any search warrant had been granted, two officers were already in the vicinity of the storeroom.

Yuen agreed with King that he would be failing in his duty if he ``allowed a crime scene to be contaminated in any way.'' King pointed out that, when police obtained the search warrants, they could have opened the storeroom without asking for the keys.

``Whose decision was it to go back and speak to Mrs Kissel?'' King asked.

Yuen said it was Nichols' decision.

``You didn't tell her that you were investigating a murder, did you?'' King asked.

``No,'' Yuen said.

He said when he and the other officers arrived at the Kissel residence, they informed Nancy Kissel they were investigating a missing person report and the assault on her, and were allowed to enter.

King suggested that, since Yuen took no notes and had only a sketchy recollection of Kissel's description of the alleged assault, he was not really interested in the assault and was, instead, focusing on the alleged murder.

``At no time while in the apartment did you caution her, tell her you suspected she had been involved in the death of her husband and had the right to remain silent. Nor had you informed her that you had search warrants on the basis that she had killed her husband,''King said. Yuen agreed.

On requesting the key to the storeroom, Yuen said that Kissel and her father had a private conversation during which he clasped his head with his hands and exclaimed repeatedly, ``Oh my God, I don't believe it.''

King suggested that her father had actually said, ``Oh my God, it can't be.''

Yuen disagreed.

``Did you make a note of it?'' King asked.

``No,'' Yuen replied.

King pointed out that a substantial amount of evidence had been taken from the hard drive of Robert Kissel's computer, because of the information gathered by spyware which was sent to his e-mail address.

``Are you aware that the police at no stage seized the hard drive of Mr Kissel's work computer in his Merrill Lynch office?'' King asked.

Yuen did not know that, and agreed that the fact the computer was in the Merrill Lynch office did not mean it could not be seized.

Earlier in the trial, Kissel's secretary at Merrill Lynch testified that his office had been left unlocked for six months.

Yuen explained he did not know about the part of the investigation involving the office because ``Mr Nichols dealt with Merrill Lynch personally.''

The trial continues before Justice Michael Lunn Monday.

albert.wong@singtaonewscorp.com