Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #8 *Arrest*

[altojack]

BC used to walk past the big old building on way to the gym if he didn't take his car. In the early days I favoured that building or parts of it. Part was rented if I remember rightly to a company using it for storage, umm was it office stuff, I don't know.

He could have stuffed her in his big hold-all and taken her to that building. The areas out of use, could they have been scattered with debris from its days as a work place? Trash, sleeping bags, food containers, cans and bottles from ilicit parties? Come on someone step up give us some help, a clue or two about what the inside is like. How many floors, is there a basement with an old boiler he could have used? I don't think I meant boiler, I meant burner. Dammit I can't think of the word! Kitty help me here lol. Furnace, that's what I was looking for lol.

 

[kittythehare]

BC used to walk past the big old building on way to the gym if he didn't take his car. In the early days I favoured that building or parts of it. Part was rented if I remember rightly to a company using it for storage, umm was it office stuff, I don't know.

He could have stuffed her in his big hold-all and taken her to that building. The areas out of use, could they have been scattered with debris from its days as a work place? Trash, sleeping bags, food containers, cans and bottles from ilicit parties? Come on someone step up give us some help, a clue or two about what the inside is like. How many floors, is there a basement with an old boiler he could have used? I don't think I meant boiler, I meant burner. Dammit I can't think of the word! Kitty help me here lol.

You're doin' good girl! That's the building ok and he passed it every day and parts of it were unused and there were indeed reports of searches there, maybe searches with dogs..but suppose she was placed in a metal container with preservative, sealed, dogs would not have picked up a scent.
Place is massive, parts of it are used as you stated, you have a brilliant memory.
Certainly be no harm having another look around it, this time looking for a container large enough to hold an intact body... maybe 5'3' long and maybe just 18"-3' high...
I cannot remember the name of that building site.. could be a small skip with a lid... pre-planned... We had photos and maps of it... storage tanks...

 

[altojack]

Kitty, I'm sure searchers would have lifted lids to look inside boxes, trunks etc. But what if, she wasn't hidden there the day/s of the search. He would have known that building would get searched pretty damn quick. So he hid her elsewhere. In his garage perhaps or in a skip outside down the street. He knew that wasn't getting moved until next week JMO. So after old building was searched he moved her to there. Nah, that dont sound right. Too much if a girlie plan haha.

 

[kittythehare]

Kitty, I'm sure searchers would have lifted lids to look inside boxes, trunks etc. But what if, she wasn't hidden there the day/s of the search. He would have known that building would get searched pretty damn quick. So he hid her elsewhere. In his garage perhaps or in a skip outside down the street. He knew that wasn't getting moved until next week JMO. So after old building was searched he moved her to there. Nah, that dont sound right. Too much if a girlie plan haha.

At this stage of the game, any and everything is worth examining.. I mean, look at his defense team?
So, il-psycho completes his mission and he gains his treasure.
He will want to look at it, maybe show it to some equally strange people- recall he was planning to kill many people according to the alleged manifesto which nobody ever saw.
The thrill of the kill and the thrill of the prize...
If indeed his plan was to kill many women and he intended storing their bodies, would he store them in one place or several?
Did he order anything storage from ebay or amazon or did he have knowledge of a place and a container where he was almost guaranteed that nobody would ever search, yet, he would have had easy and quick
access?
Within walking distance of his apt. En-route to his gym. A place where he, if found, could say was a shortcut to gym or home. No vehicle.
He had been a student and students have parties in weird places, secret places.

Searches were conducted for a cadaver or a dismembered cadaver.
Did anybody ever search for an intact body, perhaps in a vacuum space, all he would have needed is an air pump and a scent proof box? Is it possible that he is thinking he may be acquited? Or that he will get out someday and she will be there still? Perfectly preserved.?
On the very first thread for this case, there were all sorts of maps of his path to the gym.
If we could pull those streets up on google maps and just look again?
Why was that book missing after the weekend? was he reading passages to her in an effort to terrify her, book is far more graphic than video, it's possible it got blood-spattered and had to be destroyed, yet he didn't replace it before michelle returned?
If guy planned on being a serial killer, perhaps a copy of the book would be left with each corpse?
nawww, would only pan out if he intended that his victims be found or displayed. He had time to embalm her, he had time to put her in the bag and walk as far as he wanted without fatigue to bring her to his secret store.
Hate and detest fBI cases, there are invariably no leaks ever.

If he destroyed her remains, what would be the point in a quick kill?
Only point in a quick kill is to use her body post mortem for his own benefit

Sorry for repeating myself but I feel like we're in a maze here, that the answer is easy but not obvious, he was already planning a new kill when he got arrested, planning it at a march for his victim... he walked so tall that day, almost as if it was a victory march for him, and not a memorial for the innocent young girl whose life he had extinguished. He wanted to be seen. He was proud. He knew more than everybody else that attended. That information gave him power and confidence to use it to repeat his actions.
almost entitled.
I wish I could have found what quasi mystical/spiritual kick he was into, I searched for ages for that Akumo... I couldn't find him .what does he actually believe?
What did he gain? Something, obviously 'cos he was going to do it again.
what would have been the natural progression of his behaviour?
More and more victims/trophies?

His talk about her struggles challenging him are a tad difficult to swallow quite honestly. He was twice her size and had 10 times her strength, no challenge. If she struggled it was because he allowed her to struggle because he got some kick out of her will to live, not because he was unable to disempower her fully and entirely.

 

[trunkizback]

She is still a missing person.
Anybody got any ideas at all where he might have placed her?
I went searching for ways to hide a body that would mask a cadaver smell from a dog.

I didn't find much- apparently, some types of metal containers will do it..I'm drawn, yet again to that site near his apartment that we spend months discussing from time to time...
It's big.
Would it be likely to contain old zinc or lead containers?
I cannot get past the notion that he would have kept her as a trophy.
Half tank of petrol could easily have been used during his stalking hours. Missing GPS data could be a decoy.

I think he kept her, I do.
His ego would never have allowed him to discard her so fast.. his perfect crime, in his own mind.

There were people here who knew that site well. Please come back if you're still around...?

If she was really his first killing, he would never have let her go easy... Macabre mind.... mad genius... needed money badly...photographs... video...
There is evidence out there that they have not found yet, including YY.

Instead of destroying what remained of her, suppose he decided to preserve her body?
Maybe we have been looking at it wrong?

(I once worked as a model- not Vogue- an anatomy model , in Harley St for medics doing their fellowship examinations in order to become consultant surgeons. My fellow models were all perfectly preserved cadavers. After a few days the smell of formaldehyde, I think, became bearable and we were quite a happy little collection of models. They were preserved so well that several days in the examination rooms did not alter their state of decay one iota. I was the only one that got my joints half twisted off and dislocated by over nervous student doctors)
Speculation, I know... but possibly much easier to acquire either embalming or preservation chemicals without arousing suspicion.
She could well be fully intact and fully preserved.

I worked at that old Johnson Ross plant that you're referring to kitty. I have only been by there once since I posted the drive by video. At that time there were cars in the lot by the offices up front. I have heard people say some property management firm is using it as storage but I really don't know. Trying to find out if it was officially ( and thoroughly ) searched is near impossible. No matter who I call I get blank answers and shuffled off to people who also are not keen on answering any questions. I just have to assume the FBI is smarter than my a$$ and have their ducks in a row. Because as I've said earlier, IF she ever is found to have been in that building all this time?? whew

 

[crhedBngr]

Thanks for the latest news on YYZ, All.

 

[Webthrush]

I worked at that old Johnson Ross plant that you're referring to kitty. I have only been by there once since I posted the drive by video. At that time there were cars in the lot by the offices up front. I have heard people say some property management firm is using it as storage but I really don't know. Trying to find out if it was officially ( and thoroughly ) searched is near impossible. No matter who I call I get blank answers and shuffled off to people who also are not keen on answering any questions. I just have to assume the FBI is smarter than my a$$ and have their ducks in a row. Because as I've said earlier, IF she ever is found to have been in that building all this time?? whew

I had the impression previously that it was fenced in and not readily accessible to the general public -- you would need some sort of authorization to even park there, let alone get inside any of the buildings -- is that incorrect? Do you think a member of the public could potentially enter it? (though I too assume the police searched it thoroughly)
Way back we had the name of the company that rented storage space there (someone here even tried to call them and ask questions), but I don't remember what percentage of the complex they were using.

 

[trunkizback]

I had the impression previously that it was fenced in and not readily accessible to the general public -- you would need some sort of authorization to even park there, let alone get inside any of the buildings -- is that incorrect? Do you think a member of the public could potentially enter it? (though I too assume the police searched it thoroughly)
Way back we had the name of the company that rented storage space there (someone here even tried to call them and ask questions), but I don't remember what percentage of the complex they were using.

Yes it is fenced ( 8 foot high chain link.) but when I worked there , there were a couple of places where...tho it looked as if the fence was connected it really isn't. It's been cut and can be pulled to the side and u walk right thru. Since BC walked along this fence nearly daily on his way to the gym, I've long thought he may have stumbled on these " gateways ". It is a pretty substantial sized building. Up front is a smaller type bldg that held the offices. That part I've seen being used , but I don't know if they are actually using the factory part. Plus there are smaller outbuildings in the back field. There was an old grease pit inside too. And a half basement type area that was once used as the paint area. There is 3 or four smaller structures attached to the factory itself. One held the air compressors. the others were different storage areas. I know we beat this to death at one point but once I saw how close it was to his apt. added to the fact that it sure looks unused, I thought..hmmm..would he be stupid or crafty enough to hide her there ? In plain sight. as it were? Originally when I posted a video of it and it's proximity to his apt and how it also borders on the gym that he daily went to, I called the local LE. I was given a number for the FBI field office and when I called them it was very unsatisfying, to say the least. When I asked if that had been searched I was told she didn't know but would forward my concerns on to the investigating team.

 

[kittythehare]

Yes it is fenced ( 8 foot high chain link.) but when I worked there , there were a couple of places where...tho it looked as if the fence was connected it really isn't. It's been cut and can be pulled to the side and u walk right thru. Since BC walked along this fence nearly daily on his way to the gym, I've long thought he may have stumbled on these " gateways ". It is a pretty substantial sized building. Up front is a smaller type bldg that held the offices. That part I've seen being used , but I don't know if they are actually using the factory part. Plus there are smaller outbuildings in the back field. There was an old grease pit inside too. And a half basement type area that was once used as the paint area. There is 3 or four smaller structures attached to the factory itself. One held the air compressors. the others were different storage areas. I know we beat this to death at one point but once I saw how close it was to his apt. added to the fact that it sure looks unused, I thought..hmmm..would he be stupid or crafty enough to hide her there ? In plain sight. as it were? Originally when I posted a video of it and it's proximity to his apt and how it also borders on the gym that he daily went to, I called the local LE. I was given a number for the FBI field office and when I called them it was very unsatisfying, to say the least. When I asked if that had been searched I was told she didn't know but would forward my concerns on to the investigating team.

Brilliant detail, it was yourself. I watched andrewatched those videos so much, maybe their searches were merely cursory? At that stage, they were sufficiently qualified to know they were dealing with some class of psychopath, but they never knew the depth of it or they wouldn't have sought the DP in the hopes he wouldtrade for her body. I know it's a DP Fed crime anyways, but there was talk of a plea. So it certainly formed an aspect of their request.
Now they know he will never give that information That's a step up from mere psychoses. But he will fight them with his mother's breastmilk and the rarest of presenting symptoms to the degree that no psychiatrist, no matter how eminently qualified will ever be able to make a substantive diagnosis. Extremely cunning. It appears as though this battle is now as much against the State as it is a murder investigation. Now, he really is God, in his mind and the rest of us are his mere minions.
And all that new information should be figuring in our searches for her.
She is hidden right under their/our noses and his power is that we cannot see her, though it is obvious to him.

Every murder invites us into the dark place, this is a step deeper.
We need to think like him.
It is quite possible she can still be found.
Of course it is.

Trunk, you still think that building might have her?
If they just went in with dogs and visuals, could easily have missed her. No scent. No evidence of fresh disturbance, they certainly didn't fingertip search the whole place, it's huge and media would have spotted them.
Any other buildings close to his apt and on gym route that could hold a metal container, that size, containing preserving fluid? Would fit on a shelf, disguised as a suitcase, maybe?
Other idea is that she is interred or hidden v close to a court house or a police station, within walking distance from his apartment.??

 

[trunkizback]

Brilliant detail, it was yourself. I watched andrewatched those videos so much, maybe their searches were merely cursory? At that stage, they were sufficiently qualified to know they were dealing with some class of psychopath, but they never knew the depth of it or they wouldn't have sought the DP in the hopes he wouldtrade for her body. I know it's a DP Fed crime anyways, but there was talk of a plea. So it certainly formed an aspect of their request.
Now they know he will never give that information That's a step up from mere psychoses. But he will fight them with his mother's breastmilk and the rarest of presenting symptoms to the degree that no psychiatrist, no matter how eminently qualified will ever be able to make a substantive diagnosis. Extremely cunning. It appears as though this battle is now as much against the State as it is a murder investigation. Now, he really is God, in his mind and the rest of us are his mere minions.
And all that new information should be figuring in our searches for her.
She is hidden right under their/our noses and his power is that we cannot see her, though it is obvious to him.

Every murder invites us into the dark place, this is a step deeper.
We need to think like him.
It is quite possible she can still be found.
Of course it is.

Trunk, you still think that building might have her?
If they just went in with dogs and visuals, could easily have missed her. No scent. No evidence of fresh disturbance, they certainly didn't fingertip search the whole place, it's huge and media would have spotted them.
Any other buildings close to his apt and on gym route that could hold a metal container, that size, containing preserving fluid? Would fit on a shelf, disguised as a suitcase, maybe?
Other idea is that she is interred or hidden v close to a court house or a police station, within walking distance from his apartment.??

To answer your question. Sometimes I do think she may be in there. Couple reasons. First I don't remember anything about LE searching that place. I've heard PEOPLE say it was searched but I don't remember it being in the news. Secondly , as you and someone else on here has said. How do we know it was really searched well? What if he hid her after they searched? And mostly , I have been in that building. Worked there for 2 years. It was a really strange old place. I don't know what it was originally, but it's like this huge L shaped building , very old. 60 foot ceilings. Mezzanines. And it's right in the middle of a block that has some businesses but there are houses and apts around it too. Just a weird place for a huge factory. Hallways leading to rooms for no real reason. Outbuildings. The back field was, when I was there, rented out to a school bus company. It held 20 buses with no problem. Ya know, I keep assuming the FBI surely knows something we don't ( hence the half hearted " searches ". ) But then it pops up on here and again I have to wonder. I think I'll go by there again and just talk to whoever is renting it. If nothing else I'll get a better video of the layout. For those of you that don't live in this area, it's hard to kinda see how perfect this bldg would be, due to it's closeness to his apt and gym. He almost had to have stumbled on the fact you could get in there if you wanted. Especially from the back ( gym ) side. The offices are on the other side of the factory, plus at night no one would be there anyway.

 

[kittythehare]

the plant 2015 Tom's Mailbag March 20, 2015

Google Image Result for http://static.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2015/03/20/20150320-134914-pic-397945260.jpg

 

[kittythehare]

To answer your question. Sometimes I do think she may be in there. Couple reasons. First I don't remember anything about LE searching that place. I've heard PEOPLE say it was searched but I don't remember it being in the news. Secondly , as you and someone else on here has said. How do we know it was really searched well? What if he hid her after they searched? And mostly , I have been in that building. Worked there for 2 years. It was a really strange old place. I don't know what it was originally, but it's like this huge L shaped building , very old. 60 foot ceilings. Mezzanines. And it's right in the middle of a block that has some businesses but there are houses and apts around it too. Just a weird place for a huge factory. Hallways leading to rooms for no real reason. Outbuildings. The back field was, when I was there, rented out to a school bus company. It held 20 buses with no problem. Ya know, I keep assuming the FBI surely knows something we don't ( hence the half hearted " searches ". ) But then it pops up on here and again I have to wonder. I think I'll go by there again and just talk to whoever is renting it. If nothing else I'll get a better video of the layout. For those of you that don't live in this area, it's hard to kinda see how perfect this bldg would be, due to it's closeness to his apt and gym. He almost had to have stumbled on the fact you could get in there if you wanted. Especially from the back ( gym ) side. The offices are on the other side of the factory, plus at night no one would be there anyway.

I've been searching for old maps and new maps of the building, I didn't find anything new, I found images I remember posting here before, ok.. its massive place.

I think that's a great idea Trunk.. just something new might suggest itself....Even if none of us can gain actual entry, maybe someone reading these posts might have access or reconsider searching site again...

Again, if she is contained in a preservative,if if,if...wouldn't be the same search as last time, if there was a search last time, a substantial search, at any rate.
She is quite tiny.

If we could only get some students interested to drop some flyers, maybe staff working there would take a closer look, it is likely that parts of that building are unstable and dangerous but there may well be a way to access them, if he did.
Could be that there are a few organizations still existing for former workers - these are the people that would know the secrets of that site...

I wonder frequently why he brought her back to his apartment.
Meticulously planned.
Could he not have brought her directly to the disposal/preservation site?
What was in the apartment that he could not have found elsewhere?
-the possibility of creating a snuff movie, for one. But he could have filmed his actions on a few mobile
phones too. Unless he was going for an all out high definition movie , complete with all the accouterments necessary to make it sufficiently professional-looking-to sell.
If that was how it went down, it is likely he already sold it and had buyers waiting.
He must have stunned her in some way to get her into his apartment unseen.
(apologies for awful spelling errors, new keyboard and it has it's own mind)
I think it's worth a look, I really do, as are any older buildings on that street

 

[trunkizback]

the plant 2015 Tom's Mailbag March 20, 2015

Google Image Result for http://static.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2015/03/20/20150320-134914-pic-397945260.jpg

And you'll notice those pictures are from 2015. Now imagine 4 more years of neglect. But it does give you an idea of the size and weird layout. A fewe years back there was some talk of tearing it down and building a high school, but for whatever reasons, it never happened.I found a picture of it from 1940 and it was even bigger then. I don't know how to get that to here.

 

[kittythehare]

I think I remember the JR people were architects back in the day?

 

[kittythehare]

And you'll notice those pictures are from 2015. Now imagine 4 more years of neglect. But it does give you an idea of the size and weird layout. A fewe years back there was some talk of tearing it down and building a high school, but for whatever reasons, it never happened.I found a picture of it from 1940 and it was even bigger then. I don't know how to get that to here.

Try right kliking on image, gives you option to open in new tab... then enlarge it by pressing ctrl and +++ , then copy link and paste it here?

 

[kittythehare]

Try right kliking on image, gives you option to open in new tab... then enlarge it by pressing ctrl and +++ , then copy link and paste it here?

quite possible there are intact basements within that complex..it would require a considerable number of searchers to do it right, particularly if they couldn't use dogs in a new search.
They talk of the massive resources they had at their disposal , but had they really a substantial task force? Media was all over it, they would have been spotted.
and again, they were looking for a dead body, not a preserved one with no scents...
No dog alerts after his apartment. nothing in stairs corridors, carpark or even his cars... she was well sealed before he ever brought her out of there. It is possible he lined the bag with zinc. It's possible a light coating of zinc is sufficient to mask odors and prevent leakages. I'm going off to hunt preservation materials that are easily available. He could have been stashing these materials for weeks or months, that car seemed to have a lot of 'stuff' in it as well as him and YY.
'stuff' that he had stored outside of his home but collected that morning before he started his hunting spree. Could even have been stored well out of town, half tank of petrol

 

[trunkizback]

quite possible there are intact basements within that complex..it would require a considerable number of searchers to do it right, particularly if they couldn't use dogs in a new search.
They talk of the massive resources they had at their disposal , but had they really a substantial task force? Media was all over it, they would have been spotted.
and again, they were looking for a dead body, not a preserved one with no scents...
No dog alerts after his apartment. nothing in stairs corridors, carpark or even his cars... she was well sealed before he ever brought her out of there. It is possible he lined the bag with zinc. It's possible a light coating of zinc is sufficient to mask odors and prevent leakages. I'm going off to hunt preservation materials that are easily available. He could have been stashing these materials for weeks or months, that car seemed to have a lot of 'stuff' in it as well as him and YY.
'stuff' that he had stored outside of his home but collected that morning before he started his hunting spree. Could even have been stored well out of town, half tank of petrol

this is the 1940 pic. Notice where the offices are in relation to the plant itself? the smaller dark bldg on the right is it. No way you can see anything from there. especially behind the factory.

 

[kittythehare]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.12160

Natural means of preservation
Natural means of preservation include freezing, desiccation/exsiccation either by dry cold or by dry heat, and the nature of the soil.

Artificial means of preservation
Artificial means of preservation comprise the application of simple heat or cold, powders, such as a sawdust bed mixed with zinc sulphate, evisceration combined with immersion, drying, local incision and immersion, arterial injections, cavity injections. Furthermore, simple immersion in alcohol, brine, etc., and sole arterial injection, which can be combined with cavity treatment and/or immersion, were used.

this- did we ever discuss forests? Are there any nearby forests? 'cos
he hitherto oldest known form of artificial preservation in Europe has been found in the dolmenic burial ‘La Velilla’ in Osorno (Palencia, Spain; Martin‐Gil et al. 1995). There, 5000‐year‐old human bones have been found, which were carefully covered by pulverized cinnabar (vermillion), which ensured their preservation. The authors believe that the vermillion was deliberately deposited for preservative purposes as no cinnabar mine is to be found within a range of 160 km and large amounts (hundreds of kilograms) were used, and as its composition, red mercuric sulphide, is similar to that of preparations used in technical embalming. Nevertheless, embalming remained unusual in Europe, with some reported exceptions during the time of the Roman Empire. The presence of chemical components, such as sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids, and diterpenoids, originating from coniferous and pistacia resins, myrrh, and other spices, found in a partially mummified body dating to AD 300 found in Northern Greece, confirm ancient information on preservation methods of the deceased in Greek and Roman times (Papageorgopoulou et al.
2009).


mebbe- not so complicated
Washing solution Aromatic powder
Aqua vita Radix pul rosar, Chamomile, Balsami, Methe, Anethi, Salvia, Lavendula, Rorismar, Marjoran, Thymi, Absinthi, Cyperi, Calami aromat, Gentiana, Irosflorent, Accavederata, Caryophyll, Nucis moschat, Cinamoni, Styracis calamita, Benjoini, Myrrha, Aloes, Santel
Strong vinegar, boiled with
Wormewood (Artemisia absinthium)
Aloes
Coloquintida
Common salt
Alum
Table 2. Embalming powder used by Peter Forestius.
Prepare a powder from
2½ lbs aloes
1½ lbs myrrh
7 handsfull of ordinary wermut
4 handsfull of rosemary
1½ lbs pumice
4 lbs majoran
2 lot storacis calamata (≈ 1/16 lbs, 30 g)
½ lot zeltlinalipta muscate
Richins et al. (1963) presented an improved embalming fluid, which uses potassium pyrophosphate and magnesium chloride to decrease the rigidity associated with formalin fixation (Supporting Information, Table S7). Furthermore, they substituted phenol with sodium
pentachlorophenate, which improved colour relationships and eliminated most of the unpleasant cadaver odour. Finally, sorbitol replaced glycerine as a humectant with less browning of tissues, and a wetting agent was incorporated to facilitate distribution and penetration of the fluid.

the entire article is very interesting indeed, many solutions do not require large quantities of rare substances.

I was thinking, while reading it that possibly many of the substances could also be used in cleaning. Maybe that is the reason he brought her to his apartment.
Science grad, bright ghoul , easy access to both metholology as well as substances.

other thought I had was that it is possible his preservation methodology was not a long lasting one, a cadaver search last year which showed no traces, could well be repeated again and a budget for it justified. Some substances will preserve for a year or two only, then decomposition commences and dogs could find?

So, being monomaniacal I just ran another search on the availability of pento in Illinois Bulletin - University of Illinois, Agricultural Experiment Station

It's a type of an adhesive which removes the smell of cadavers and most likely can seal a body entirely.
He didn't take her out of his torture chamber via the roof, but he got her out without leaving a scent of a route.

 

[kittythehare]

this is the 1940 pic. Notice where the offices are in relation to the plant itself? the smaller dark bldg on the right is it. No way you can see anything from there. especially behind the factory.

I do indeed.
Are there still trees there and have they grown much?

 

[dm92]

Can you give a little more on what the article says - can't access it....

Basically, it was describing why the defense was asking for October 1, and how it happened that the defense retained a psychologist who told them from the beginning that he could NOT be ready to testify at a trial with a start date of April 1st -and why they didn't notify the court and ask for an extension earlier.

If you read this filing, it basically gives all the details of what happened within the defense team- which is basically what the article is about.

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076.227.0.pdf

Also, it sounds like Shadid is much more likely to give a date closer to what the prosecution wants (May 6th), because all the mental health stuff at issue is *NOT* relevant in the guilt phase of the trial (which should itself take a month or more, especially when time for jury selection is included). Also, the prosecutors have other trials scheduled for later in the year, and pushing it further and further back will cause additional disruptions. For example, James Nelson (the DOJ capital case trial attorney working on this case) is scheduled for hearings on a capital case in Alaska in October. When discussing scheduling, Shadid said that once the trial is underway, he can always slow things down a bit if needed, but he can't speed things up -i.e., he can't rush things to get done asap so other schedules aren't disrupted.