Amanda Zhao's boyfriend, Li Ang, has been sentenced to life in prison for her 2002 murder in Burnaby, according to Chinese media reports.
The sentence comes 10 years after the B.C. international student's body was found stuffed in a suitcase near Stave Lake in Mission.
Police had alleged that Zhao, 21, was murdered in the Burnaby basement suite she and Li shared on Oct. 9, 2002.
Her body was found two weeks later. Li left the country for China three days after the grisly discovery.
China refused to send him back to Canada for trial because of a lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries.
China considers murders of Chinese nationals committed abroad as domestic crimes.
After years of negotiations with Canadian authorities, China agreed to prosecute Li - without the death penalty - in exchange for the RCMP's evidence against him.
Li's murder trial began in September, 2011 and only lasted two days.
Since then, calls were made by local B.C. politicians to investigate the delayed verdict.
Li comes from a well-connected Chinese military family.
Zhao was studying at Coquitlam College at the time of her murder and disappearance.
Reports out of China indicate Li will appeal the sentence.
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