Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #2 *Arrest*

[mrsobrien]

I guess I'm just having trouble thinking he would have ever admitted it to anyone who wasn't like-minded. Even during a confrontation I believe he would have denied it to the end. It really doesn't matter how LE heard him, thankfully they did. Too bad he didn't slip where she is.

Maybe he thought the person *was* like minded. Maybe he thought that this person would be thrilled by it, impressed, or whatever.

 

[liltexans]

Man held in Chinese scholar's kidnapping was grad student

"There are many ways in which we find out there are problems with students," Cooper said. "We get reports they're not teaching well. We get reports from faculty that they're not doing well in classes, they're not showing up for classes. None of those flags were raised."

Former classmate Souvik Dutta said he was "dumbfounded" by the news, recalling Christensen as a nice guy and "very calm."

Public records show Christensen lived previously in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and his LinkedIn profile states he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013 with bachelor's degrees in physics and math. Relatives couldn't be reached for comment or declined to speak to The Associated Press on Saturday.

 

[LadyL]

not sure how you see any of that ... rolled down window, slumped down perp, sunglasses? I see the possibility of sunglasses only ...

I believe YZ may have been injured in the passenger seat, possibly knocked unconscious. Shortly after leaving the curb he rolled down the driver side window (possibly hot from the adrenaline rush.) You can see him slumped down behind the steering wheel; his eyes are concealed by shades. It could be YZ never regained consciousness or died from her injuries. JMO.

 

[liltexans]

Maybe he thought the person *was* like minded. Maybe he thought that this person would be thrilled by it, impressed, or whatever.

That's an interesting theory. It reminds me of how Jared Fogle was brought down. Of course, in Fogle's case, it took a couple of years to collect enough evidence to charge him.

 

[Ursamajr]

Is it legal to bug a person's home in Illinois? I asked this earlier because I can't imagine an average person wearing a wire (not LE) trying to get information out of a potential murderer. This would be particularly difficult if you were living with the person. I would not be able to sleep at night with a kidnapper/murderer potentially in my home... regardless of how well I knew him. Is a secretly taped confession admissible in court?

It would be admissible in New York. Here, it seems like they had either the permission from the roommate or maybe it's possible the roommate was wearing a wire. Maybe they will confirm how at some point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[liltexans]

NOW: 'We all share in their heartache'

5:30 p.m. Saturday

Anna Tsai, a UI assistant student affairs staff member who served as a translator for Yingying Zhang’s family, met with them Friday night when Brendt Christensen’s arrest was announced.

"It was a very difficult time,” she said.

“At this point, all I can say is that the family is very devastated and very sad, and just needs to find a way to sort through this,” she said Saturday. “Obviously at this point, they’re still looking for the police to find Yingying.”

 

[Elainera]

The person he talked to must be very brave. I would run run run if someone told me they kidnapped someone. Literally, I'd be out the door in seconds. I'd be freaked out.

 

[mrsobrien]

Was yesterday (6/30) the day he was arrested? It was his birthday.

 

[Tinypeeps]

Hmm. Maybe while she was focused on map on phone he grabbed her phone and quickly struck her. But his recounting of her panicking when he made the wrong turn just had the ring of truth for me - which would mean he didnt subdue her immediately, plus the cameras suggest he left fairly immediately after she got in the car - he had to drive for a while at least? Which would limit his ability to do much. He *had* to get the phone away from her asap, after which, seeing she was in danger i would wonder if she tried to hit or scratch him or ? Which makes me again wonder if he was seen with any scratches or bruises in the following days.

 

[flourish]

Was yesterday (6/30) the day he was arrested? It was his birthday.

I can't think of a better gift than him in jail. Happy Birthday loser!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J120AZ using Tapatalk

 

[liltexans]

Police rely on a variety of tools to investigate crimes, including the ability to tap into a suspect's telephone conversations. While such wiretaps can produce very good evidence against potential criminals, it is also a major invasion of privacy and police must follow strict procedures when performing a wiretap.

The police must first obtain a wiretap order before eavesdropping on your phone conversations. This is similar to a warrant. The police must prove to a judge that they have probable cause to believe that tapping your phone lines will help them to solve a serious crime, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, or terrorism. However, because wiretapping is so intrusive, the police are held to a higher standard when seeking wiretap orders than when they are seeking warrants.


Wiretapping orders are often restricted in order to minimize any invasion of privacy. In particular, wiretapping orders usually expire after a certain period of time, so the police cannot keep listening forever. Police are also required to limit wiretapping only to phone conversations that are likely to yield evidence against the suspect.

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-rights/do-the-police-have-the-right-to-tap-my-telephone.html

 

[Webthrush]

Hmm. Maybe while she was focused on map on phone he grabbed her phone and quickly struck her. But his recounting of her panicking when he made the wrong turn just had the ring of truth for me - which would mean he didnt subdue her immediately, plus the cameras suggest he left fairly immediately after she got in the car - he had to drive for a while at least? Which would limit his ability to do much. He *had* to get the phone away from her asap, after which, seeing she was in danger i would wonder if she tried to hit or scratch him or ? Which makes me again wonder if he was seen with any scratches or bruises in the following days.

The FBI June 27th statement includes: “We will not needany further information from the public regarding the Black Saturn Astra.” (emphasis added). It sounds like they have reason to believe YZ was murdered very quickly, probably in the first hour (she was likely already incapacitated by the 2:38 landlord call); otherwise how could they NOT want more info from possible witnesses of the Astra in the first say 24-48 hrs. after abduction?
I still find the 27th statement & even the “criminal complaint” vague on so many details. Without a body or a full confession (not the supposed audio they have, which can be given a lot of interpretations), the case may even be weak, though hopefully they have much more than what’s divulged.

 

[Ursamajr]

Hopefully BC has an iPhone and never bothered to go deep into the settings to turn off logging "frequent locations". It may be a clue to finding Yingying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HoldySi]

I'm just now catching up to older posts that we've moved on from but my personal belief is that he never had her in his apartment at all (just because he told authorities that doesn't mean it's true). There is evidence that something took place in the passenger seat. I think he physically incapacitated her there, then took her somewhere more secluded where unmentionable things happened.

I also believe he got caught thanks to his fellow resident. I believe he/she realized when the authorities kept coming by that something very serious was going on and cooperated to the full extent, even going so far as to lead BC to believe he/she was "into it" or curious to know more. With his ego, I think he would've been excited to know that someone close to him was intrigue or fascinated by what occurred.

 

[mrsobrien]

I'm just now catching up to older posts that we've moved on from but my personal belief is that he never had her in his apartment at all (just because he told authorities that doesn't mean it's true). There is evidence that something took place in the passenger seat. I think he physically incapacitated her there, then took her somewhere more secluded where unmentionable things happened.

I also believe he got caught thanks to his fellow resident. I believe he/she realized when the authorities kept coming by that something very serious was going on and cooperated to the full extent, even going so far as to lead BC to believe he/she was "into it" or curious to know more. With his ego, I think he would've been excited to know that someone close to him was intrigue or fascinated by what occurred.

Yesssss.....

Gross thought, but maybe the whole scene he described about taking her to the apartment was projecting fantasy. I feel like if the police thought Yingying had been there, it would be a current crime scene.

 

[Yvettea]

Just imagine living with someone who owned an Astra in Urbana in those few weeks, someone who had a connection to the campus - a white guy. And how much you would wonder are they 'the one'?

 

[shadowdancer]

I also have a problem with the idea that he took YingYing to his apartment.

How would BC manage to get YIngYing from his car to his apartment, without being seen by anyone?

He would have had to carry her through communal hallways, and a neighbour could have seen them at any time. He could have got lucky and no neighbours were around, but it was a heck of a risk to take.

I don't believe it.

 

[mrsobrien]

Hopefully BC has an iPhone and never bothered to go deep into the settings to turn off logging "frequent locations". It may be a clue to finding Yingying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He doesn't Strike me as careful with his phone. It appears that LE had no problem accessing its contents, so either he leaves it unlocked, or LE was given the password. I bet he didn't even wipe his browser history.

 

[liltexans]

'Nothing remarkable' about former doctoral student charged with kidnapping Chinese scholar at U. of I.

Christensen's academic advisor, Professor Lance Cooper, associate head of graduate programs in the Department of Physics, was part of the committee that admitted Christensen to the program in fall of 2013.

"Nobody saw this coming," Cooper said on Saturday.


“He was completely normal, there were no complaints about his teaching,” Cooper said. “He was on the excellent teaching list so he was well-reviewed by his students.”

No disciplinary issues were reported about him and he never had issues showing up for class or getting assignments in on time.

“There was nothing remarkable about him as far as I could see,” Cooper said.

Cooper said Christensen mentioned in spring 2016 that he was married and that he and his wife were going to use the next year to decide what their plans were while he completed his master’s program.

Christensen worked briefly in a condensed matter physics group, which studied materials and their exotic properties, but transitioned out of that when he dropped his Ph.D.

“He never gave any personal reasons,” Cooper said. “I just got the impression that the Ph.D. program was not what he thought it would be and that this was no longer his goal. He didn’t speak about any personal issues.”

(There is a video of the professor at the link.)

 

[davehead21]

I'm just now catching up to older posts that we've moved on from but my personal belief is that he never had her in his apartment at all (just because he told authorities that doesn't mean it's true). There is evidence that something took place in the passenger seat. I think he physically incapacitated her there, then took her somewhere more secluded where unmentionable things happened.

I also believe he got caught thanks to his fellow resident. I believe he/she realized when the authorities kept coming by that something very serious was going on and cooperated to the full extent, even going so far as to lead BC to believe he/she was "into it" or curious to know more. With his ego, I think he would've been excited to know that someone close to him was intrigue or fascinated by what occurred.

I could not agree more - doubtful Yingying was ever in his apartment. Just because he claims that, does not make it true and I don't believe it is.