The wife and the mother of Neil Heywood, the British businessman whose mysterious death in China set off the downfall of a senior Communist Party official last year, have pressed for compensation over what the Chinese authorities had determined was a murder, according to people with knowledge of the case.

Ms. Gu was given a suspended life sentence, which generally equates to life in prison. The trial of Mr. Bo on charges of bribetaking, corruption and abuse of power is expected to start soon.

Ann Heywood said the Chinese authorities had ignored repeated entreaties from the family for compensation. “I hope and trust that the leaders of this great nation, which Neil loved and respected, will now show decisiveness and compassion, so as to mitigate the consequences of a terrible crime and to enable my family finally to achieve some kind of closure to our ongoing nightmare,” she said.