Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #4 *Arrest*

[liltexans]

From respected physics student at U. of I. to kidnapping suspect

Growing up here in north central Wisconsin, Brendt Christensen was a smart, friendly boy — the sort of child neighbors recall years later with bland fondness. Nothing special. Nothing out of the ordinary.


"I was flabbergasted," Mike Gentry, a neighbor in Stevens Point, said in an interview. "I never knew of the kids getting in any trouble. ... I always thought the best of those people."


Christensen was brought up in a two-story frame home in a working-class neighborhood of Stevens Point, with an older brother and a younger sister. His father, Michael, who worked in construction and had a job stocking vending machines, took the boys to martial arts classes. His mother, Ellen, stayed at home to raise the children, but neighbors said they believed she also worked part-time.

Christensen attended local schools and graduated from Stevens Point Area High School in 2007. He was on the wrestling and track teams as a freshman, according to the school yearbook. The family, according to former neighbors, occasionally went to Mass and church picnics at Saint Peter Catholic Church in town.

"They had Midwest values," said Gentry, the neighbor.

Said another neighbor, Jen Zach: "We have great memories of them. Just a solid family."

But it seems the family also experienced a measure of distress. The parents divorced in 2013, according to records, with Michael Christensen moving to Michigan and Ellen Christensen near Milwaukee.

About the same time, a bank filed for foreclosure on Christensen's childhood home, but his parents sold the home for $107,500 and paid off the mortgage, according to local court records.


Christensen lived off campus with his wife, Michelle, who was valedictorian of her high school class when she graduated from Stevens Point a year before her husband. They lived in an apartment complex about 3 miles northwest of U. of I.'s sprawling campus.

Michelle Christensen's uncle, Louie Rozner, said that the Christensens seemed happy when he saw them at family gatherings and holidays. But he acknowledged he did not know them well.

"I knew he was very smart," Rozner said in an interview. "The only time we saw him was at Christmas time. It was very short. Everything seemed fine. Just a happy couple coming to visit."

A financial affidavit filed July 3 lists Christensen as unemployed, while showing his wife makes $1,800 a month. The couple pays $900 a month in rent, $100 in utilities and $150 in other costs, according to the affidavit.

Christensen's Facebook page fills in some holes in his profile. His musical interests range from Beethoven to European metal bands, including Iron Maiden and Amon Amarth. Favored TV shows include "Frasier," "King of the Hill" and anime shows like "Naruta" adapted from the Japanese manga series.

Among his preferred books: "Lord of the Rings," "Fight Club" and "American Psycho."

 

[Elainera]

We went over this (his income) yesterday. Someone posted the figures a teaching assistant (which he was) earns and it was good money.

 

[Spellbound]

I can't see what you posted (is it a video?), Roche.analisa.

This is also from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/us/chinese-scholar-disappearance-family-speaks/index.html

(CNN)Yingying Zhang is so cautious, she warned her aunt in China to "be careful" when going out and to avoid using shared ride services.

"You never know who it is," Liqin Ye recalled her niece saying

(if the big blank space still shows, I apologize. I have tried several times to remove it, but it won't let me)

 

[mrsobrien]

We went over this (his income) yesterday. Someone posted the figures a teaching assistant (which he was) earns and it was good money.

He apparently didn't include that in his financial report...wonder why...

 

[liltexans]

He apparently didn't include that in his financial report...wonder why...

He was unemployed at the time he kidnapped Yingying. My understanding from the university's statements was that he had no connection officially to the university after he received his Master's Degree in May. He wasn't currently working as a TA.

 

[Tinypeeps]

in that pic I posted I noticed BC's forearms looked big like he had been working out. Wonder if he was on steriods? He does not appear to have the big neck but his arms sure looked strong. Poor YZ didnt stand a chance against him. And I dont buy he took her to his apartment either. He found some place comfortable to him perhaps a familiar place too. I would look at all the abandoned farm houses and barns around that area. He told a half truth to the cops, that is she panicked when he took a wrong turn. That is when IMO she realized she was in trouble. Bless her heart.

I noticed that too. Those arms chilled me to the bone.

 

[mrsobrien]

He was unemployed at the time he kidnapped Yingying. My understanding from the university's statements was that he had no connection officially to the university after he received his Master's Degree in May. He wasn't currently working as a TA.

Well, that makes sense, thanks! Perhaps he earned that wage previously.

 

[Spellbound]

we Chinese has high regard for educated people. Everyone in the campus seems so nice, I bet that he showed her his student ID or faculty ID from when was TA, telling her that he is also a PhD researcher, with a master degree recently graduated from UIUC. With that assumption and under the pressure of being late for her lease signing in the apartment, she accepted his offer. Being in the campus for only a month in, she probably doesn't know her new apartment is only 1 mile away from the bus stop where she was waiting for the bus, which is only about 15 minutes walk. It is very sad this happened and she became the victim. I still have hope that she is alive being captive some where. Hope that the FBI will find her soon, and I trust the FBI is doing everything that they can within guidelines to find YZ.
Learned from this unfortunate case, I am afraid even taking ride from Uber. Public transportation is my limo.

Welcome to our group here and for your contribution, kcjpwinn. It is sad that we have to learn to be more cautious every day. Be well and be safe.

 

[Yellow]

He apparently didn't include that in his financial report...wonder why...

That would have ended in May though. TAs get paid by the school year biweekly usually. Also, TAs at the top Ivy League schools in major cities like NYC or Boston get about $25000-30000, and those are ones in the phd programs.

A TA not in the phd program at a state university in a rural location would be paid less. They would be paid more by the course rather than the stipend that phd students receive. Also that may not include health insurance. It's really not alot of money.

He does not strike me as a saver- seems to have spent movie on video games and gym so not sure if not having income in June except for spouse would have been an hindrance or not.

 

[agilbe]

With regards to Uber/Lyft, the few times my daughter has used it apparently there is an option to send all the drivers information..name, picture, type car and if I remember correctly even their license plate number to a third party. She has used that feature and I am so thankful right now.

 

[Yellow]

It's freaky that his favorite movie according to that article is American Psycho. And he knew martial arts- maybe that is how he subdued her.

 

[Yellow]

With regards to Uber/Lyft, the few times my daughter has used it apparently there is an option to send all the drivers information..name, picture, type car and if I remember correctly even their license plate number to a third party. She has used that feature and I am so thankful right now.

I think third parties can follow along on their phone. I think there is also a panic button on some apps. That's probably why you see so few incidents in fact using these services -nearly all these people are just hardworking people doing their jobs. The incidents that often arise are where the victim is drunk and someone takes advantage of that. Not really incidents of people plotting things to murder precisely because it is so traceable.

Here, if ride share was involved, he would not have been legit at that time so not traceable. Otherwise, I don't know why she would have gotten in the car.

 

[Elainera]

He was unemployed at the time he kidnapped Yingying. My understanding from the university's statements was that he had no connection officially to the university after he received his Master's Degree in May. He wasn't currently working as a TA.

Yes that's how I understood it. Possibly was a TA until April or May. It's technically correct that he listed himself as unemployed if only for the past few weeks.

 

[Deleted member 192280]

Yingying Zhang is so cautious, she warned her aunt in China to "be careful" when going out and to avoid using shared ride services.

"You never know who it is," Liqin Ye recalled her niece saying.

She was warning her aunt in China. After some time in UIUC, she told her family that the place was very safe, according to her father.

 

[LadyL]

would he have to report his wife's income too?

There is no way he was legally earning any $$$ he reported zero income whilst facing a kidnapping charge

Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

 

[Yellow]

She was warning her aunt in China. After some time in UIUC, she told her family that the place was very safe, according to her father.

College kids have a totally different relationship to ride sharing apps than older people -everyone on college campuses uses them and many of the drivers are their fellow students. So once she got to america saw how many of her friends were using these services, saw many of the drivers were students she could have had a different view of them.

I still use the old fashioned taxi unless I absolutely have to. I was visiting a major state university and there wasn't any taxis and even the hotel said to use ride share. But being in a taxi so much, taxi drivers always thank me because their business is getting decimated by the ride shares and the younger kids using them instead of using taxis.

That's not to say that is how he got her in the car. But it's the most convincing explanation for me - that he faked it.

The only other possible explanation would be she knew her or had mutual friends - but that's doubtful to me. It's a huge university, and they were not in the same field. I am not sure where her department was compared to his but he likely was not around much, and he would have matched up with her only for one month of school time in April. She's only been there 2 months, probably socialized much with people in her program or the other 5000 Chinese students at the university. She did not live near him nor go to his gym as far as I know. Meanwhile, he's been out of school since probably beginning of May so almost the entire time she's been in America except for April he wouldn't have even been apart of the university community. I don't believe she's into video games or working out obsessively. She had a boyfriend so she was not actively dating (unlike him). He wasn't a waiter or work at the library for her to encounter him.

There's no logical place where they would have even met up in a community of what 20,000 or 30,000 students (maybe more?). Can anyone think of any connection? Actually only one would possibly be the gym, but I think that would be out by now. Moreover, she likely would have used the free university gym rather than a paid gym.

 

[Russian Blue]

This does sound somewhat plausible. Don't uber drivers have some kind of badge or like, something to show they are legit?

Well for one they must have the uber vehicle sticker on the back window, same with Lyft. And I think they have an ID plaque. But since now cash is NOT involved they must use their phones for getting an order or receiving one. He may have said that his for some reason wasn't working or maybe the system was having problems.

 

[xSpydxr]

It doesn't make a difference why she got in the car. IMO the most likely scenario is that he was the cop perpetrator or that he showed his TA credentials and said he would help her. At this point, it doesn't matter. What's uncertain to the public is what happened next.

I think he calculated the kidnapping precisely and took her to some abandoned place, or was able to subdue her to take her to his apartment. Based on the lack of searches and that the FBI stated she is presumed dead, BC likely had a plan to make the body disappear or very difficult to get an ID on.

In cases like this, I don't believe any outcome will bring adequate justice. What can we do?

 

[Captkirk_4]

And, coincidentally, if you use the rotation symbol I included with the link. (It is round with a red arrow on the far right) Turn it 180 degrees and what do you see?....Oh yeah, the abandoned CEMENT factory is right across the street! Oh, the Master-of-All-He-Sees-and-Controls would surely know he would be watched if he traveled further than a mile from his home. Even imagining I am the worst sleuth in the world (some would no doubt agree:shame it kind of makes sense, huh? Keeping a low profile and not moving around, too much. Why raise more red flags than necessary?

OK, forget Kaufman Lake, forget the Cement Factory, Forget Boneyard creek, I live in Champaign an it is way, way to busy a place to image BC would go walking around with a body over his shoulder and dump her right in town. That's what junkies do, this guy thought this out. His complex Stonecreek is right across the street from THE PROJECTS! Believe me there are frequent police patrols in that area and BC would know that. If you knew how desolate the country side is just minutes away you'd know he'd never think of dumping her in town. That cement factory is fenced off and anyone seen sneaking in there by the ever-present police cruisers would get arrested for trespassing. Just 10 minutes to the west down Springfield Ave is the Sangamon River Valley with desolate township roads you can get lost in. The Wabash Valley just across the state line 40 miles to the east is even more rugged and empty if he'd risk Indiana, that part of the state has no towns of any size. We also had a very high profile crime last year where a girl overdosed up in the ghetto and the guys she was with panicked and instead of taking her to the hospital, chopped her up and dumped her in Clinton Lake. The only reason they found her was they talked and told where she was. He may have remembered the TV coverage and got that idea as well. If anyone remembers WGN's miniseries in the early 90s starring Brian Dennehey as John Wayne Gacy, the investigators knew the boy was dead during the initial search when a K9 sat down in the death pose in Gacy's Car's trunk. I wouldn't be surprised if a K9 did such here, that could be how they know. All this aside, I suspect she went in a dumpster. These trucks just roll up with their forks and hydraulically lift these heavy laden things right into a rolling compactor, if he knew the schedule to minimize the possibility of a dumpster diver making the discovery that would be the simplest way to get rid of evidence.

 

[Deleted member 192280]

I still use the old fashioned taxi

Some years ago there was a case where a bride-to-be who was unfamiliar with the roads and directions was driven by a taxi driver to some remote place and murdered.

Actually only one would possibly be the gym, but I think that would be out by now. Moreover, she likely would have used the free university gym rather than a paid gym.

BC went to the gym at 5 AM or so...

I tend to think they had never met, which could explain why they talked for as long as a minute. One minute is long enough for me to think that initially YZ hesitated to take the ride, but was convinced at the end.

IMO the most likely scenario is that he was the cop perpetrator or that he showed his TA credentials and said he would help her. At this point, it doesn't matter. What's uncertain to the public is what happened next.

I think he calculated the kidnapping precisely and took her to some abandoned place, or was able to subdue her to take her to his apartment.

Ditto. If that cop impersonator was BC (which I tend to think), which happened in the morning on the same day, then it would seem that somehow, for whatever reason, he really wanted to get a victim on that day, or ASAP. It was not an opportunistic abduction. So he must have planned well.