Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #3 *Arrest*

[Yellow]

Does anyone here have a Ph.D. in the sciences? The one I am working on is in social sciences, which requires all coursework completed, comprehensives taken and passed, and half your dissertation written in the form of a proposal and approved by a committee. Many years ago I pursued a Humanities doctorate, which required all coursework taken and comprehensives passed.

I am assuming the sciences follow the same pattern as the social sciences, because approval would be necessary. I don't think most people would leave a sciences doctorate undone once they got to the stage of getting their research approved?

I am going to guess that his attorney is going to try for an insanity case and argue that a mental illness emerged in the last few years if the body is found and can be tied to BC, if only to pressure the family and prosecutors with a long trial. And, as I said, I worry about him going free. The Kyron Horman case brought me to Websleuths and haunts me. As does Casey Anthony and O.J. Simpson.

Mine is in social sciences too but I think the procedure is the same. It probably varies more by university than discipline. I think what you note is pretty standard. He would have had to have some idea if only preliminary for what his dissertation would be in order to advance to candidacy as well as pass comprehensive exams. People drop out when they fail comps or if they can't get motivated to do the dissertation. It is easy to delay real life by going back to school taking classes which is what I presume he did here-

IMO, he was never really serious about being a physicist - he wanted to live life as a student working out, sleeping late, playing video games and going on fetish sites all night - you can't very well do that if you have a 9-5 job. Once the real work came of devising a research project he bailed. His psyche probably deteriorated when he realized that this life was ending and he was not going to be a student anymore.

 

[Mbmcg]

Chanute Air Force Base (may be closed by now; I am old) is about 1/2 hour away, IIRC.

 

[AffirmationChick]

Exactly. This is what's bothering me - why no searches if they think she's dead? It does not compute.

Is it possible they're searching and we don't know about it? That would seem odd because you normally solicit volunteers to help conduct searches...

But how would no one be finding this out? There is so much buzz, certainly anything that remotely looks like a search for a body would be spotted and rumored online by someone.

There is a lot that is baffling about this case, but the lack of a search for her, whether with us or not, is the most confusing of all. Which leads me back to, it must be happening, but in some way that isn't as visible as I think.

Anyone think there's any chance she's already been found and they're withholding that too? Could they legally withhold it from BC? I have to agree with his attorney that there's way more to this case that we don't know -- I just draw a very different conclusion than he wants me to about his client.


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[citigirl]

Mine is in social sciences too but I think the procedure is the same. It probably varies more by university than discipline. I think what you note is pretty standard. He would have had to have some idea if only preliminary for what his dissertation would be in order to advance to candidacy as well as pass comprehensive exams. People drop out when they fail comps or if they can't get motivated to do the dissertation. It is easy to delay real life by going back to school taking classes which is what I presume he did here-

IMO, he was never really serious about being a physicist - he wanted to live life as a student working out, sleeping late, playing video games and going on fetish sites all night - you can't very well do that if you have a 9-5 job. Once the real work came of devising a research project he bailed. His psyche probably deteriorated when he realized that this life was ending and he was not going to be a student anymore.

Great analysis. I have been thinking along these lines, too. He may have half-heartedly looked for a job, and realized real life is tough.

 

[citigirl]

But how would no one be finding this out? There is so much buzz, certainly anything that remotely looks like a search for a body would be spotted and rumored online by someone.

There is a lot that is baffling about this case, but the lack of a search for her, whether with us or not, is the most confusing of all. Which leads me back to, it must be happening, but in some way that isn't as visible as I think.

Anyone think there's any chance she's already been found and they're withholding that too? Could they legally withhold it from BC? I have to agree with his attorney that there's way more to this case that we don't know -- I just draw a very different conclusion than he wants me to about his client.


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I don't think LE owes the public any explanation, but it would bother me very much if she has been found and her father doesn't know.

 

[Spellbound]

(1) the person is willfully transported in interstate or foreign commerce, regardless of whether the person was alive when transported across a State boundary, or the offender travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any means, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in committing or in furtherance of the commission of the offense;

re: the federal charges. This is from the kidnapping statute. I am wondering if use of the internet to plan the crime or the coverup is the basis for continuing use of the federal kidnapping statute.

I am reading the Complaint again and it mentions Interstate Commerce when detailing the search of the car and the computer/cellphone. the Federsl Statute is on page 3 9see my screen shot ... mods, I hope that is OK, as I cannot copy and have to retype anything I bring from the Complaint).
Any bold is by me.

page 1: offense Description
Kidnapping, in that he unlawfully and willingly seized, confined, and inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted, carried away and otherwise held the victim, and in committing and furtherance of the commission of the offense used a means, facility, and instrumentality of interstate and foreign commerce.

Page 3 is the Federsl Statute:

Page 6: #13. based on review of the video footage of the SUBJECT VEHICLE by law enforcement, the SUBJECT VEHICLE was determined to be a Saturn Astra, a means, facility and instrumentation of Interstate Commerce, which was sold in the I tied States during 2008 and 2009. The SUBJECT VEHICLE was manufactured outside the State of Illinois, and was used in committing and in furtherance of the commission of this offense.

page 9: #20. Numerous electronic items were collected, including several computers and a cellular telephone belonging to CHRISTENSEN, all of which are means, facilities and instrumentalities of Interstate Commerce.

Page 9: #22. ....... This phone, a means, facility, and instrumentality of Interstate Commerce, was therefore used in committing and in furtherance of the commission of this offense.

ETA: link to the Complaint. http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/pdf/2017/06/30/christensen_complnt_17-mj-07132_1.pdf

 

[Elainera]

So essentially this means they aren't even looking for her at this point? I find that crazy. Even if they believe she is dead they will need to find a body to be able to charge him with Murder.

I am puzzled by this too.

Yellow what's your opinion on why there are no searches?

 

[scadder21]

If this was true Citigirl then wouldn't they have found her by now?

 

[Yellow]

I don't think LE owes the public any explanation, but it would bother me very much if she has been found and her father doesn't know.

Could it be that she was found and they are waiting on DNA match? I am not sure how long it takes to do a match but given the holiday weekend, it could take a few days. Also if feds are involved, it may be they have to do the match at FBI's labs which are not in IL, I don't think.

 

[Ambitioned]

I am puzzled by this too.

Yellow what's your opinion on why there are no searches?

Perhaps they know she's gone but there's no body to recover? This is truly a heinous case and yes, baffling.

 

[mrsobrien]

Half an hour after Yingying got into the car, her phone pinged near Illinois Terminal. There are several towers in town... I think if her phone was at his apartment then it would have pinged elsewhere? So assuming her phone was not discarded (ie thrown out the window) immediately after her entering the car... what if he made a stop on his way to his apartment. Somewhere he was unlikely to be seen, like a parking garage. And was able to subdue and camouflage her (like in a huge duffel bag, just with a blanket, etc) so he would be able to carry her into his apartment undetected. Could explain why her phone was still pinging in that area and how he got her into his apartment.

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I don't recall hearing about a ping. Do you have a link?

 

[kaen]

So essentially this means they aren't even looking for her at this point? I find that crazy. Even if they believe she is dead they will need to find a body to be able to charge him with Murder.

Either they know she is in a place where her remains are unretrievable (like an incinerator) or they have a bead on where she is and are waiting for more information. I tend to think it is the former rather than the later. Or, they would be reported to be searching.

 

[scadder21]

Someone back earlier in the tread mentioned that this story is reverberating in China also. A Chinesse Tabloid like the Enquire here has a story that the FBI isn't doing a good job searching for her because all of the crime in the US. I wonder if this at some point turns into an international incident. The parents doesn't seem to have any means but if a local political person in China decides to send investigators into the US to try to find her? What would happen then?

 

[Elainera]

Do we know if they ever recovered her phone or anything of hers?

We don't know. Nothing at all has been said about her phone (other that it pinged once at the terminal half an hour after she entered the car) nor her backpack, clothes etc.

 

[mrsobrien]

I bet they got a ton of evidence from his phone. I recall he likes to make home movies.

 

[Spellbound]

Couldn't this remain as a federal case for the kidnapping. Then it could become a state trial for murder, after that?

 

[Yellow]

I am reading the Complaint again and it mentions Interstate Commerce when detailing the search of the car and the computer/cellphone. the Federsl Statute is on page 3 9see my screen shot ... mods, I hope that is OK, as I cannot copy and have to retype anything I bring from the Complaint).
Any bold is by me.

Yeah I am not sure if all that is standard language or if it means something. Nearly everyone has a car made out of state so that's certainly not a relevant fact for jxn unless it's just standard language they use. I suspect this is probably standard language and given the closeness to Indiana it's not unreasonable to think he moved her out of state.

The thing about the phone is interesting. Could he have used the phone to call someone out of state to help him dispose of the body? It clearly says it was used to commit and further the crime. What possibly would he have done with the phone to further the crime except use it to plan to hide the body? Or use it to look at google maps to find a place to put it? Or takes pictures of her on it?

 

[Spellbound]

I bet they got a ton of evidence from his phone. I recall he likes to make home movies.

It is possible he even has pics or movie of YZ... ?

 

[scadder21]

I wonder if there was a video of a murder if a body would even be needed for a conviction? Probably not?

 

[choocha]

My strong sense is that LE's certainty of death is due to their having found blood - or possibly images/video. I just had a creepy thought: Possibly another party living there saw YZ in the apartment at least initially, and thought she was role playing abduction?

The criminal complaint states there is a confession on tape. I can imagine depending on the detail of the confession that they know whats happened to her, but obviously aren't going to publicly reveal that until they have their ducks in a row for the eventual murder indictment/grand jury.

It's also possible considering his knowledge of physics that he disposed of the body in a way that most people would not even think of and/or had access to things to help him in that part of the crime, hell even if he had a friend who owned a farm or knows of an abandoned location locally. In the event that he disposed of her in a gruesome fashion, they're not going to overtly state that until they can absolutely be sure of it, if only for the benefit of her family. I hate to even think this way, but its entirely a possibility considering that the public is currently being led to believe it's "without a trace".