UPDATED: 2:10 p.m.

Xiangnan Li, a former Chinese exchange student attending the University of Iowa, pled guilty in the death of Tong Shao, a former international student at Iowa State University, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday.

Li appeared for court in the city of Wenzhou, and bowed to Shao’s parents, saying he was sorry for killing Shao in September 2014.

Iowa City Police investigators Andy Rich and Dave Gonzalez are in China for the trial, the Register reported.

More information about the case, including a timeline and charges Li is facing, is below.

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ORIGINAL STORY:

The main suspect in the murder of ISU student Tong Shao faced trial in China on Wednesday.

Xiangnan Li, a Chinese exchange student at the University of Iowa and the boyfriend of Shao, stood trial at the Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, CNN reported.

Li turned himself over to authorities in China in May 2015 and was arrested on June 19, 2015, on charges of intentional homicide. 

Li was named as the main person of interest in Shao’s murder by Iowa investigators. However, by the time her body had been discovered, Li had returned to China.

Shao’s parents, Shao Chunsheng and his wife Yang Xue, are seeking the death penalty, CNN reported.

The verdict for intentional homicide can range from anywhere from 10 years imprisonment to capital punishment, according to Chinese law. CNN reported the trial was expected to take less than a day.

Shao Chunsheng and Yang Xue met with Li’s parents Tuesday, who begged for his forgiveness and offered to pay a compensation for Shao’s death, CNN reported.

Shao, a 20-year-old international student from China, was found dead in September 2014 by the Iowa City Police Department. Her body was discovered in the trunk of her Toyota Camry, which was parked at Dolphin Lake Point Enclave in Iowa City, where Li lived at the time.

Tong had been reported missing by friends on Sept. 18.

In the following days, details emerged about the Shao’s last days; Shao’s friends said she had traveled to Iowa City for the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7 to visit Li.

A text message from Li’s phone was later sent to Shao’s friends in Ames on Sept. 8 that said Shao was texting from Li’s phone because her phone was dead. The message said she was taking a bus to Minnesota to visit friends while Li flew back to China for an emergency and that Shao would keep Li’s phone with her.

However, an affidavit revealed Li had Shao’s phone while on layover in Chicago. The document also stated, “detectives have been unable to find any record of Shao taking a bus to Minnesota.”

The affidavit also revealed an account from Karen Yang, a friend of Li’s who called her on Sept. 3, 2014, about an incident between he and Shao that he was upset about. Li had overheard Shao complaining about him to another man over the phone, according to the affidavit.

Li had called Shao, who must have answered the phone accidentally but did not realize it and the line was open for about 30 minutes. During this time, “Li listened in to the coversation Shao was having with another male. During this overheard conversation, Li heard Shao complaining about Li and saying things about him that were not nice,” according to the affidavit.

Li flew out of Cedar Rapids airport Set. 8, according to the affidavit, and arrived in China on Sept. 10.

However, due to the lack of extradition treaty between China and the United States, U.S. authorities were unable to bring Li back to face charges.

Makayla Tendall and Danielle Ferguson contributed to this article.