Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #11 *GUILTY*

[kittythehare]

I'm home after a trip away to see a sick friend. Wow there been loads going on here, well done to you volunteers. Sorry for the underuse of thanks button but I needed a rapid catch-up.

Kitty has come up with some brilliant starters for those able to take part in the future plans all being well. Well done kitty, you are a great people person, a superb motivator.

See you all later, the need for a nap is tremendous.

Welcome back. Missed you..
No real developments I'm afraid and no real enthusiasm here for a search.
It's a pity.

 

[Webthrush]

This verdict did not happen in a vacuum. I don’t see it as a failure on the part of the prosecution. First, we had no body, but they convicted him anyway. Second, the death penalty here in the US is going the way of the rest of the civilized world- out the door. While it’s still legal in some states and federally, and there are still many people who believe in it theoretically, juries are rejecting it more and more often anyway - even in Texas.
Why Jurors Are Rejecting the Death Penalty
And even if he had gotten the DP, odds are that it would not have resulted in his execution.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...tences-are-overturned-heres-why-that-matters/

I agree, and think this was probably a simple instance where a couple of jurors had some alcoholism or mental illness somewhere among their family or friends and thought ‘there but for the grace of God goes my son, grandson, nephew…’ whatever.

sidenotes: BC can’t make money from movie or book rights to this case, but can the Defense lawyers? just curious.

…and, my recollection of an important N. Carolina case is that once a defendant dies, attorney-client privilege no longer holds… IF BC dies in prison, the Defense can tell whatever it knows of the crime without breaching legal ethics (I think???).

 

[kittythehare]

I might be wrong, but I believe that Melville testified that they treated the knife found in the utility room with luminol and it gave no reaction.

The putz may well have thought to get rid of the knife he used on her -and was just an idiot when it came to the baseball bat.......

Also -remember that just like tile and porcelain surfaces, metal surfaces will be much, much easier to clean completely than fabric and porous surfaces will.

Forensic pathologist testified they just tested some of the knives, not all.

 

[kittythehare]

The court had criticized defense counsel prior to trial for delays in obtaining the assistance of a mental health expert, and, ultimately, Christensen’s lawyers chose to abandon a mental health penalty-phase defense to avoid exposing him to a mental health evaluation by prosecution experts. As a result, the court barred Christensen from arguing how possible mental illness may have affected his conduct at the time of the crime. Nonetheless, Christensen’s attorneys presented 49 mitigating factors during the penalty phase of trial to persuade the jury to vote for life. They described his mother’s alcohol abuse and depression during his childhood, his prior history of mental illness, and the fact that he told counselors that he was having homicidal thoughts before he killed Zhang.

A commentary by Rob Warden of Injustice Watch criticized the decision to try the case federally, which he argued was only done in order to seek the death penalty in the abolitionist state of Illinois. “The outcome shows how ill-advised it was for federal prosecutors to usurp state jurisdiction in a case where there was no compelling federal interest,” he wrote. He noted that there is one federal death-row prisoner from Illinois, Ronald Mikos, who was sentenced to death in 2005, “but in his case, at least, there was a clear federal interest.” Imposing a life sentence, rather than death, on Christensen, “will save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, that it would have cost as appeals of a death sentence in his case meandered through the courts for years.”
High-Profile Federal Death-Penalty… | Death Penalty Information Center


Quite.

 

[dm92]

And if “muscle memory” is a thing for jurors as the first article suggests, we must remember that this case was tried in a state that abolished the death penalty, and so surely that had an effect. But from my research, it seems that even had this case been tried in Texas, there’s still a high likelihood the outcome would have been the same.

It is easy for us here, behind our keyboards, to bemoan this outcome and blame the prosecution and the jury as somehow weak, but we are dealing in the theoretical to a degree when we see ourselves as jurors who would have automatically imposed the DP. As I mentioned before in this thread, lots of people believe they would act a certain way on a jury but quite possibly would do the opposite that we believe we would once we are in the actual situation.

A *

Did you not read it?
They didn't agree on future dangerousness.
That was all.
They could not see how he could be dangerous if in prison.
Gazette yesterday.

I’ve used up my five free ones on the News-gazette site, so I CAN’T get through to it. Does it have quotes from interviews of jurors?

Yes, they didn’t agree on future dangerousness. That gave the 2 the cover to show him the mercy they wanted to show. They would never have to worry that the mercy shown for drugs and alcohol would come back to haunt them by getting someone else killed.. As BOTH of those extra mitigators were listed, it must be that both played a role in this in the mind of some jurors. There were other alcohol/drug mitigators listed in the original 49. Why do two jurors go to the trouble to list an *additional* one if it isn’t important?

By not unanimously agreeing to the “future dangerousness” aggravator, that means NONE of the 12 could weigh it against the mitigating factors at the end. 10 still wanted death even without future dangerousness. The other 2 decided the mitigating factors outweighed everything else (murder, premeditation, torture/severe physical abuse, victim impact........... and the ongoing cruelty of not revealing what he did with her body [obstruction]).

EDIT: included Jane’s quite accidentally. I’ll post about that later.....

 

[dm92]

Did you not read it?
They didn't agree on future dangerousness.
That was all.
They could not see how he could be dangerous if in prison.
Gazette yesterday.

Oops. I just saw in that post I didn’t say the weren’t unanimous on future dsngerousness! IDK why I left that out! Must have been late, or at the end of a long workday. No wonder you didn’t get what I was saying......

I think I was meaning to say that ALL 12 agreed on ALL the other aggravators, so that the 2 who spared him though the mitigators outweighed things like torture and the ongoing cruelty he is displaying to his victim and her family. Anyway, the other post I just made should make clear what I’m saying...

 

[trunkizback]

Another question for the legal minds on here. Remember early on the Bruno law firm bailed because BC didn't have enough money. Is the defense team he used from the public defenders office.? If so...about what are they paid?

 

[dm92]

I agree, and think this was probably a simple instance where a couple of jurors had some alcoholism or mental illness somewhere among their family or friends and thought ‘there but for the grace of God goes my son, grandson, nephew…’ whatever.

Bingo. Add to this the fact that he wouldn’t be a danger to anyone while in prison, and they can spare him without worry that he will hurt someone else.

Pathetic, in light of what happened to her, and in light of the continued insult to and suffering of her family.

…and, my recollection of an important N. Carolina case is that once a defendant dies, attorney-client privilege no longer holds… IF BC dies in prison, the Defense can tell whatever it knows of the crime without breaching legal ethics (I think???).

Assuming they know all the details. He may have told them everything, or he may have simply told them “based on what I did, idk if there is anything to recover or not, or where any remains would be now.”

It may be that they advised him to tell them as little detail as possible so as to avoid creating potential conflicts.

 

[AnemoneBrown]

Want to take another look at how hard detectives went at BC during his questioning? Dangerous Criminals on YT is now featuring this convicted murderer.

*** He looked and sounded guilty as hell from the get go. I also take back some of my comments regarding the interview. The detectives did a fine job ***

 

[kittythehare]

Want to take another look at how hard detectives went at BC during his questioning? Dangerous Criminals on YT is now featuring this convicted murderer.

*** He looked and sounded guilty as hell from the get go. I also take back some of my comments regarding the interview. The detectives did a fine job ***

'We're going to find her, Brendt and you're going to lead us to her'

Plan B?

 

[dm92]

they now have more things available at the exhibits website.

Including the video of YY singing, videos of her friends testifying, the phone call between BC and MZ. I didn't look, but I assume they have YY's mother's vid as well. That will be difficult to watch -especially knowing what the result is now.......

Exhibits | Central District of Illinois | United States District Court

MZ-BC phonecall is Govt122 in the video/audio column.

 

[kittythehare]

https://www.ilcd.uscourts.gov/sites/ilcd/files/Exh. 65-1.mp3
Interesting...

 

[dm92]

https://www.ilcd.uscourts.gov/sites/ilcd/files/Exh. 65-1.mp3
Interesting...

What is that one? I’m not in a place where I could easily listen to this, and won’t be for a while....

 

[kittythehare]

What is that one? I’m not in a place where I could easily listen to this, and won’t be for a while....

It's the one where Michelle uses derogatory language against TB.

 

[dm92]

It's the one where Michelle uses derogatory language against TB.

Oh, yes. I was confused by the file name. It is listed as govt122 in the list on the website, but the actual name of the mp3 is different....

Thanks for clearing that up for me....

 

[AnemoneBrown]

https://www.ilcd.uscourts.gov/sites/ilcd/files/Exh. 65-1.mp3
Interesting...

Indeed. I really wish we could listen to the whole convo to get a better sense of the intimacy/complicity between those two. The snippet alone will: (1) provide further confirmation that MZ is anything but an innocent bystander to those already see her as a possible conspirator or accessory after the fact or enabler; (2) and for those who believe she is an innocent, brainwashed woman, under BC's evil spell, will keep believing just that.

 

[AnemoneBrown]

Yingying's family to meet with authorities | WICS

URBANA, Ill. (WICS/WCCU) — Still desperate to find their daughter’s remains, the family of missing University of Illinois visiting scholar Yingying Zhang will meet with local authorities before returning home to China.

Steve Beckett, an Urbana-based attorney assisting the Zhang family, said they’ll meet with federal prosecutors as well as officials with Champaign County Crime Stoppers.

According to Beckett, the family plans to ask if there’s any information that officials can share regarding the location of Yingying’s remains now that the trial is over.

This will also give the Zhang family a chance to ask any other questions they may have before returning home to China.

Yingying’s convicted kidnapper and killer Brendt Christensen was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the death penalty.

After the sentence was imposed, Yingying’s family made a desperate plea for Christensen to reveal what he did with the victim's remains.

“Now that the trial is over and the jury has made its decision, we ask the defendant to unconditionally tell us what he knows about Yingying’s location,” Yingying’s father said with the help of a translator at Thursday’s press conference.

Life in Prison:

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide where Christensen will serve his life sentence.

Judge James Shadid didn’t give any recommendations of where the defendant should be housed, ignoring the defense’s request to be assigned to the high-security federal prison in Tucson, Ariz.

In addition to a life sentence, Shadid fined Christensen $750,300 for his crimes.

Yingying's family to meet with authorities

No meeting with U of I Police or Champaign police?

 

[AnemoneBrown]

Film on YYZ forthcoming: "FINDING YINYING" (Kartemquin Films)
Finding Yingying

APRIL 5, 2019

Finding Yingying wins the 2019 American Documentary Film Fund
Filmakers:
Jiayan “Jenny” Shi is a Chicago-based documentary filmmaker and video journalist. She shoots, edits and produces stories about immigration, race and crime in Chicago for multiple local outlets. She is also working on several projects as a researcher, digital content editor and translator including the ITVS-funded web series “Pulling The Thread”, PBS co-produced digital campaign “Veterans Coming Home” and the 2019 Sundance award-winning documentary “American Factory”. Before Shi came to the U.S., she worked with China Central Television (CCTV) and Shanghai Media Group (SMG), helping produce investigative TV programs and a political TV documentary. Jenny is a graduate of Kartemquin’s Diverse Voices In Docs program, a TFI Network alum and the winner of the Paley DocPitch Competition 2018. Jenny’s work has won a Chicago College Emmy and earned a nomination for a Student Academy Award.

Brent E. Huffman
Executive Producer / Producer

Brent E. Huffman is an award-winning director, writer and cinematographer of documentaries and television programs. His work ranges from documentaries aired on The Discovery Channel, The National Geographic Channel, NBC, CNN, PBS and Al Jazeera, to Sundance Film Festival premieres, to ethnographic films made for the China Exploration and Research Society. He has directed, produced, shot and edited short documentaries for online outlets like The New York Times, TIME, Salon, Huffington Post and PBS Arts. Most recently, Huffman completed the documentary Saving Mes Aynak about the fight to save Mes Aynak, a 5,000-year-old Buddhist site in Afghanistan, threatened by a Chinese copper mine. "Saving Mes Aynak" has won over thirty major awards, been translated in over twenty languages and has been broadcast on television in over fifty countries. The film premiered on Netflix in January 2017.

Diane Moy Quon
Producer

Academy Award nominated producer, Diane Quon, worked as a marketing executive for 17 years at NBC and at Paramount Pictures before moving back to her hometown of Chicago. Diane is producing multiple Kartemquin Films documentaries including: the Oscar and Emmy nominated, and Peabody and Sundance award-winning film, Minding the Gap directed by Bing Liu; Left-Handed Pianist along with Chicago Tribune arts critic Howard Reich, and co-directed by Leslie Simmer and Gordon Quinn; The Dilemma of Desire with Peabody Award-winning director Maria Finitzo; and Finding Yingying with director Jiayan “Jenny” Shi. She is also producing the feature documentary Down a Dark Stairwell directed by Ursula Liang. Diane is a 2017/2018 Film Independent Fellow, 2019 Sundance Creative Producer Fellow and 2019 IFP Cannes Producer Fellow. She is also developing a fiction film based on a New York Times best-selling book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

John Farbrother
Editor

John Farbrother is an award-winning editor whose work has aired on Discovery, History Channel, National Geographic, and CNBC. John’s first feature documentary, Siskel/Jacobs’ Louder Than a Bomb, won the Humanitas Prize for Documentary was one of Roger Ebert’s top 10 docs of 2011. His most recent work includes No Small Matter, a film about about the power and potential impact of early childhood education, and the 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. Among his other editing credits are numerous documentary shorts and short films, including Steve James’ The Value of Work, part of the 2014 Cynopsis Social Good Award-winning web series, We The Economy.

Shilin Sun
Co-producer / DP

Shilin Sun has been directing and producing music videos, short films and commercials at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where he acquired four years of filmmaking experience and attained his BS in Physics. To deepen his artistic and technical expertise, he joined the Film Production MFA program at ArtCenter College of Design in 2018. Having grown up immersed in both traditional and modern Chinese culture, Shilin is particularly interested in the social forces that have accompanied the drastic cultural, societal, and economic changes around the developing countries.

Gordon Quinn
Executive Producer

Gordon is the Artistic and co-founder of Kartemquin Films, where over the past 50 years he has helped hundreds of documentary filmmakers advance their projects forward and been a leading champion of the rights of all documentary filmmakers. He is the 2015 recipient of the International Documentary Association Career Achievement Award and was a key leader in creating the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. His credits as director and producer include films as diverse and essential as Inquiring Nuns (1966), Golub (1988), and A Good Man (2011), and as executive producer include Academy-Award nominated Hoop Dreams (1994), and the Emmy Award-winning The Interrupters (2011), The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013), The Homestretch (2014), and Life Itself (2014), and the acclaimed limited series The New Americans (2003) and Hard Earned (2015).

 

[dm92]

Yingying's family to meet with authorities | WICS

URBANA, Ill. (WICS/WCCU) — Still desperate to find their daughter’s remains, the family of missing University of Illinois visiting scholar Yingying Zhang will meet with local authorities before returning home to China.

Steve Beckett, an Urbana-based attorney assisting the Zhang family, said they’ll meet with federal prosecutors as well as officials with Champaign County Crime Stoppers.

According to Beckett, the family plans to ask if there’s any information that officials can share regarding the location of Yingying’s remains now that the trial is over.

This will also give the Zhang family a chance to ask any other questions they may have before returning home to China.

Yingying’s convicted kidnapper and killer Brendt Christensen was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the death penalty.

After the sentence was imposed, Yingying’s family made a desperate plea for Christensen to reveal what he did with the victim's remains.

“Now that the trial is over and the jury has made its decision, we ask the defendant to unconditionally tell us what he knows about Yingying’s location,” Yingying’s father said with the help of a translator at Thursday’s press conference.

Life in Prison:

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide where Christensen will serve his life sentence.

Judge James Shadid didn’t give any recommendations of where the defendant should be housed, ignoring the defense’s request to be assigned to the high-security federal prison in Tucson, Ariz.

In addition to a life sentence, Shadid fined Christensen $750,300 for his crimes.

Yingying's family to meet with authorities

No meeting with U of I Police or Champaign police?

1) CPD had very little involvement with this. UIPD, ISP and the FBI handled it.

2) I would assume that investigators with the relevant agencies would likely be involved with these meetings. Prosecutors, though, would have all the information regarding searches for her over the past two years. Plus, they would be the ones interacting with BC's lawyers regarding attempts to get information out of the remorseless monster as his undeservingly fortunate @as rots in prison.

As they are meeting with Crime Stoppers, I would assume that they will talk about publicizing the search and the reward for info leading to her recovery, but I dont know if they would raise the reward (it was still 50K and still on the table, iirc). I'm not sure that would help. BC probably acted alone, and if he did have help, I doubt that a person helping him would risk coming forward to try and claim it.

 

[kittythehare]

Indeed. I really wish we could listen to the whole convo to get a better sense of the intimacy/complicity between those two. The snippet alone will: (1) provide further confirmation that MZ is anything but an innocent bystander to those already see her as a possible conspirator or accessory after the fact or enabler; (2) and for those who believe she is an innocent, brainwashed woman, under BC's evil spell, will keep believing just that.

It matters nothing what anybody believes, none of it will lead to a search for YingYing.
Michelle won't talk.
He won't talk and as nobody is talking, nobody is acting.
It's a shame, the whole thing , isn't it?
We came here to find YY.
Two years later can we even say for certain that she's really dead?
I don't honestly think we can though we can certainly assume it with a degree of confidence.
It is not a certain thing.