Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #10 *Still Missing*

[liltexans]

UPDATE: Police release new details about missing UI scholar

Police spokesman Pat Wade said Yingying Zhang, 26, boarded a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Teal line bus at 1:35 p.m. Friday at the south shelter at the Orchard Downs complex in Urbana. She got off the bus at 1:52 p.m. at Springfield and Mathews avenues in Urbana and hasn't been seen since then.

Wade said the last time she was seen, Zhang was wearing a charcoal-gray hat with a white logo on the front, a white/pink flannel long-sleeve shirt, a white undershirt, jeans, white shoes and a navy-blue backpack. She has shoulder-length brown hair and wears glasses.

Multiple attempts to contact her at her home and on her cellphone have been unsuccessful, Wade said. Police have also talked to friends and checked local hospitals, as is routine in missing-persons cases.

The visiting scholar from China was headed to the One North apartment complex on North Lincoln Avenue in Urbana on Friday to sign a lease, Wade said.

"She texted the property manager at One North at 1:30 p.m., said she was going to be late and never showed up. That was the last anyone has heard from her," he said.

UPDATE: Police seek information on car tied to missing UI scholar

The FBI says it has located the car that a missing Chinese scholar studying at the University of Illinois was last seen getting into earlier this month.

The FBI said in a Tuesday statement that it's received "numerous leads" regarding the black Saturn Astra and won't need any further information on the vehicle. Authorities also said they've developed "several additional leads" in the investigation.

FBI spokesman Brad Ware declined to give further details.

FBI locates car related to missing Chinese scholar case

On Friday night, a day after hundreds marched in Urbana in support of Yingying Zhang, the FBI announced the arrest of Brendt Christensen, 28, of Champaign, on a federal criminal complaint that charges him with Zhang’s June 9 kidnapping.

Authorities said they think Zhang is no longer alive based on audio FBI agents heard of Christensen, under surveillance Thursday, describing how he kidnapped her and what the bureau described only as “other facts uncovered during the investigation of this matter.”

FBI spokesman Brad Ware said he couldn’t comment on where Zhang might be, saying: “It’s still an ongoing investigation.”

UPDATED: Former grad student arrested in UI scholar's disappearance; FBI presumes her dead

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[kittythehare]

TRANSCRIPT
Read: Full Transcript of Opening Statements in Brendt Christensen Trial

 

[dm92]

Guilty on all three charges, Per Eades....

 

[dm92]

Sentencing phase starts July 8th

Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[kittythehare]

1. 
   
   The same jury that just convicted Christensen will be brought back for sentencing beginning July 8. Christensen faces only two options: a life sentence or the death penalty.
   
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2. 
   Matt Masterson‏ @ByMattMasterson 4m4 minutes ago
   Christensen was also found GUILTY on two counts of making false statements to the FBI
   
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3. 
   Matt Masterson‏ @ByMattMasterson 5m5 minutes ago
   ///BREAKING/// Brendt Christensen has been found GUILTY of kidnapping resulting in the death of Yingying Zhang. His case will proceed to a sentencing phase where he could be sentenced to death.
   

 

[kittythehare]

Former U of I Student Found Guilty in Chinese Scholar Death

 

[dm92]

1. 
   
   Prosecutors and FBI case agents shook hands with the family after court recessed
   
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2. 
   9m9 minutes ago
   No visible reaction from Christensen as the verdict was read
   
   1 reply1 retweet1 like
   

Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman
Christensen’s father just left with the defense attorneys. No comment from them. He’s expected to testify during sentencing phase

 

[kittythehare]

link to family statement, meanwhile her mum just broke down in tears
Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[kittythehare]

Zhang’s mother is overcome with emotion while Zhang’s father is speaking.
Courtney Bunting on Twitter (photo)

 

[kittythehare]

family photo
Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[kittythehare]

Zhang's mother, Lifeng Ye, was extremely emotional while her husband read his statement, breaking down in tears and crying out (Matt)

 

[kittythehare]

statement from Zhang family lawyers
Aaron Eades on Twitter

SPECIAL THANKS GIVEN TO TERRA BULLIS AND EH>
WOW!

 

[liltexans]

What a relief that BC was found guilty. Please continue the discussion here.

 

[dm92]

What a relief that BC was found guilty. Please continue the discussion here.

Absolutely a relief -but entirely maddening that it took this long, as they have had the DNA evidence that sealed his fate since November of 2017.

I hope the jury takes this into account -as well as the fact that he still has not disclosed the location of her remains.

 

[dm92]

Zhang's mother, Lifeng Ye, was extremely emotional while her husband read his statement, breaking down in tears and crying out (Matt)

My heart breaks every time I see her mother. The woman is absolutely miserable, and has been probably every day for the past two years.....

 

[kittythehare]

1. Statement cont’d: “There is no language that can describe our pain and suffering. We hope and believe that this trial will eventually bring justice to Yingying and to us. Our wish has always been to find Yingying and bring her home. We will not give up.” @WCIA3
   
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2. 
   Courtney Bunting‏ @cbuntingWCIA3 23m23 minutes ago
   Statement cont’d: “...and Peoria Chinese Association and churches. We have missed Yingying tremendously in the past two years. As of today, we still could not imagine how we will live the rest of our lives without her...” @WCIA3
   
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3. 
   Courtney Bunting‏ @cbuntingWCIA3 24m24 minutes ago
   Statement cont’d: We thank the many people in China, America, and across the world who have reached out to us in friendship to support us. We would like to especially thank the friends who have helped us with our daily living from both Champaign...” @WCIA3
   

 

[Mert]

Praying for Yingying’s location to be revealed.
Thank you to all who kept this important thread going.

 

[kittythehare]

beeb report
US man convicted of Chinese student's murder
Christensen's former girlfriend, Terra Bullis, testified that Christensen had confessed the murder to her while they attended a vigil for the Chinese student after she was reported missing.

Ms Bullis told the court that Christensen had grabbed her phone and typed into the note function: "It was me."

He added: "She is gone. Forever."

( No bundyboy, you are gone . Forever. And nobody will find you because nobody will search.)

 

[kittythehare]

PLEASE WATCH THIS

Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[Spellbound]

Positively heartbreaking clip. Yingying's father begins to speak after verdict, but her mother cannot control her emotions any longer. The statement is distributed to reporters ...