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

[Niner]

Monday, June 10th:
*Trial continues-Jury Selection (Day 6) (@ 9am ET) - IL - Yingying Zhang (26) (missing on June 9, 2017, Urbana; not found) - *Brendt A. Christensen (28) indicted (6/30/17) on kidnapping (Federal charge) resulting in death of Yingying & 2 counts of giving false statements to FBI. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA will seek DP.
Trial started 6/3/19; should last about 5 weeks. Jury selection starts 6/3 & will probably take one week.
6/3/19 Day 1: Judge Shadid started the process of picking 12 jurors & 6 alternates. Jury selection: first group of 16 questioned this morning. After being questioned in open court, they were brought into the judge's chambers for individual questioning. They completed initial screening of 29 jurors today, so far 13 have been pre-approved to move on to the next round. Once they get up to 70 pre-approved jurors, they will go to the next stage, which is selecting the 12 jurors and 6 alternates from this pool of 70. Jury selection will continue on 6/4.
6/4/19 Day 2: Another 9 jurors pre-approved, bringing total to 22. Two were approved over objections. Now up to 37 pre-qualified jurors. Jury selection continues to 6/5.
6/5/19 Day 3: Judge Shadid said opening statements will likely be next Wednesday. Prosecutors said they think they can make their case in 8 days or less and hope to finish by Friday, June 21 @ 9am. Then defense would make their case, then closing statements, and then jurors would deliberate. Day ends with 8 potential jurors qualifying, bringing the total to 45. Goal is 70 by the end of Friday. Jury selection continues on 6/6.
6/6/19 Day 4: Up to 58 pre-approved jurors now. Jury selection continues on 6/7.
6/7/19 Day 5: Friday, Judge James Shadid debated whether it was feasible to proceed with a 69-person jury pool, saying it would mean having five alternates instead of six. Jury selection will resume Monday (6/10) at 9:00 a.m., pushing the final selection round to Tuesday (6/11). Opening statements are still expected to begin Wednesday (6/12) morning.

 

[dm92]

Mor3 juror pre-screening. Looks like they want to get more than 70, because 7 of the 69 currently pre-qualified have come forward with additional hardships.

Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[kittythehare]

Ben Zigterman on Twitter

 

[dm92]

BC's defense team trying to impeach TEB.......

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076.371.0.pdf

The girl may be a mess, but they have recorded conversations and text exchanges between the two regarding this matter; it's not like TEB has to testify about things BC told her that weren't recorded....

 

[kittythehare]

BC's defense team trying to impeach TEB.......

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076.371.0.pdf

The girl may be a mess, but they have recorded conversations and text exchanges between the two regarding this matter; it's not like TEB has to testify about things BC told her that weren't recorded....

Wow!
Not good and not a good message for any future Co-operators with FBI.
There is a viciousness in their pursuit of TB, exposing her name , last week... chasing her before that... enabling the manipulator. They have gone too far. They should be impeached for breaches of decency imho.
I say it again, I see no reason why she should not have been granted witness protection status. Sure, it's possible media would have pursued her anyway from her photographs, but this way she will be considered an insane target for perverts everywhere. I'm horrified.
But this also suggests the prosecution have a whole lot riding upon her account. I did not actually know she would testify, I saw it reported but not confirmed.
#Christensen'sRevenge.
He's still destroying her...
This harassment could lead to a detrimental decline in her possibly vulnerable mental health status.

Without her, there would have been no case or a very thready case.

Right now, I reckon it's all down to forensics.

 

[Webthrush]

Wow!
Not good and not a good message for any future Co-operators with FBI.
There is a viciousness in their pursuit of TB, exposing her name , last week... chasing her before that... enabling the manipulator. They have gone too far. They should be impeached for breaches of decency imho.
I say it again, I see no reason why she should not have been granted witness protection status. Sure, it's possible ******* media would have pursued her anyway from her photographs, but this way she will be considered an insane target for perverts everywhere. I'm horrified.
But this also suggests the prosecution have a whole lot riding upon her account. I did not actually know she would testify, I saw it reported but not confirmed.
#Christensen'sRevenge.
He's still destroying her...
This harassment could lead to a detrimental decline in her possibly vulnerable mental health status.

Without her, there would have been no case or a very thready case.

Right now, I reckon it's all down to forensics.

Wow, what an ugly mess! The Defense calls T.B. “an extremely important witness for the government” and I s’pose she may have verbally told prosecutors things that were important, but (as dm92 says) still I think her primary element in this case is simply the tapes where BC does the talking, totally apart from anything else TB has to say — even if the Defense attack her on the witness stand it doesn’t change BC’s own words recorded on audiotape.
I just wonder why the Defense waited this long to throw out this challenge to TB’s credibility and do they have more last-minute stunts to pull out before the trial gets underway? The aggravations never end with this case!

 

[kittythehare]

Wow, what an ugly mess! The Defense calls T.B. “an extremely important witness for the government” and I s’pose she may have verbally told prosecutors things that were important, but (as dm92 says) still I think her primary element in this case is simply the tapes where BC does the talking, totally apart from anything else TB has to say — even if the Defense attack her on the witness stand it doesn’t change BC’s own words recorded on audiotape.
I just wonder why the Defense waited this long to throw out this challenge to TB’s credibility and do they have more last-minute stunts to pull out before the trial gets underway? The aggravations never end with this case!

Awful, just awful. If she takes the stand they will devour her mercilessly, even though they are aware of all or part of her psychiatric history. So much for HIPPA!
TB is not being charged with a crime.
Yet, she introduced BC to the BDSM scene according to that filing.
So they trash the first known victim's alleged attack in graveyard, now they trash state witness's entire life.
I'm unsure what portion of the tapes they managed to get redacted... it's unclear.

There goes their 'future dangerousness' theory.
He is still hurting women.
He is still controlling all and sundry.
The system permits this.

 

[dm92]

Wow, what an ugly mess! The Defense calls T.B. “an extremely important witness for the government” and I s’pose she may have verbally told prosecutors things that were important, but (as dm92 says) still I think her primary element in this case is simply the tapes where BC does the talking, totally apart from anything else TB has to say — even if the Defense attack her on the witness stand it doesn’t change BC’s own words recorded on audiotape.
I just wonder why the Defense waited this long to throw out this challenge to TB’s credibility and do they have more last-minute stunts to pull out before the trial gets underway? The aggravations never end with this case!

According to one of the family's lawyers (Zhidong Wang), they have BC on tape describing how he killed her. I don't see how TEB's mental health issues are going to impeach what he describes on tape out of his own mouth....

 

[kittythehare]

According to one of the family's lawyers (Zhidong Wang), they have BC on tape describing how he killed her. I don't see how TEB's mental health issues are going to impeach what he describes on tape out of his own mouth....

Have you got a link for that please?
The killing methodology or the act of killing was not mentioned in recent filings, only how he bound her and the fight she allegedly put up...

 

[kittythehare]

He got pretty much everything he requested so far
#370 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com
A last-minute guilty plea with a disclosure of the location of her remains is not likely to happen now, is it?
He has 5 attorneys, no less.

 

[dm92]

Have you got a link for that please?
The killing methodology or the act of killing was not mentioned in recent filings, only how he bound her and the fight she allegedly put up...

From an interview he gave to a Chinese media outlet back in October 2018. There is a filing in this case that suggests this as well. It doesn't come out and say it directly, but the language they use suggests that they have him on tape telling TEB that he killed her.

 

[kittythehare]

From an interview he gave to a Chinese media outlet back in October 2018. There is a filing in this case that suggests this as well. It doesn't come out and say it directly, but the language they use suggests that they have him on tape telling TEB that he killed her.

This from last week suggests nothing of the sort.
I think it's not something they would keep incognito or subject to interpretation.
Do the tapes include an admission of guilt or do they not?
Christensen trial, Day 4 | Prosecutors want audio heard over headphones
While investigators never found Ms. Zhang's body, prosecutors have alleged he can be heard describing how he kidnapped her, how she "fought and resisted against him" and how he restrained her.

 

[dm92]

This from last week suggests nothing of the sort.
I think it's not something they would keep incognito or subject to interpretation.
Do the tapes include an admission of guilt or do they not?
Christensen trial, Day 4 | Prosecutors want audio heard over headphones
While investigators never found Ms. Zhang's body, prosecutors have alleged he can be heard describing how he kidnapped her, how she "fought and resisted against him" and how he restrained her.

That quote goes all the way back to the initial hearing where he made his first appearance after being arrested. This is what prosecutors stated to the judge to argue that he be held without bail until his trial. As with the initial criminal complaint, in procedural things that are open to the public, they don't come out and say everything they have and give all the details.

Remember, they only reveal in these public documents what they have to in order to advance their argument; and they often don't shout it out from the rooftops whenever they do admit something they have. They do it quietly and subtlety, buried in legal maneuvering. Here , in docket #188, pg7-8, their attempt to quash a subpoena of TEB by the defense to appear at an evidentiary hearing, they write this.....

The voluntariness of T.B.’s consent is clear throughout the agents’ reports of their conversations with her, and it is confirmed by the fact that she recorded dozens of separate conversations with the defendant after signing the consent form. T.B.’s consent is not negated just because she understandably experienced emotional difficulty while recording numerous conversations wherein the defendant, her boyfriend, admitted to kidnapping and killing Yingying Zhang in a heinous and depraved manner.1


Remember also, they state in filings responding to his attempts to throw out the DNA and blood evidence, that the location of the luminol stains match the defendant's description of events...

from docket #222, pg 24:

Moreover, in the context of the other evidence in this case, the results of these presumptive tests is highly relevant. First, where enough evidence remained for testing, the presumptive testing identifying blood was confirmed by later testing and corroborated by the results of DNA testing. Second, the identification, location, and pattern of the blood (including human hand prints) were consistent with the defendant’s own later recorded statements as to what occurred in the apartment. Third, the evidence will show the defendant took extensive steps to clean the apartment after his alleged offense, thereby preventing confirmatory testing, but leaving trace amounts that were detected by the preliminary testing.

Zhidong Wang told the Chinese press that "he knows prosecutors have a tape where he describes how he killed her." These passages from filings suggest that he is probably right.

 

[kittythehare]

I found it, @DM
https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076.188.0.pdf
They tried this before on TB-

The defendant’s allegation regarding the voluntariness of T.B.’s consent is contradicted by his own conduct in sending investigators to her house to interview a person allegedly lacking the capacity to consent. Upon information and belief, at that time, T.B. reiterated the voluntariness of her cooperation with the United States and refused to be interviewed by the defendant’s investigators. If T.B. had not voluntarily consented to cooperate with the FBI, she could have said so. She did not.

1 Notably, it is believed that the defendant continued to engage in sexual contact with T.B. during the same time period that she was recording their conversations. If, as the defendant suggests, T.B. lacked “the mental capacity to knowingly and voluntarily agree to anything,” (R.96 at 15), then she was unable to legally consent to sexual contact with the defendant. Thus, if the defendant’s allegations were true, he has admitted to repeatedly sexually assaulting T.B. Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(C); 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/11-1.20(a)(2), (b) (noting that is a Class 1 felony in Illinois to engage in sexual penetration with a person who is “unable to give knowing consent”). Of course, the United States submits that the defendant’s claim that T.B. could not consent to “anything” is without merit.

In cases such as this one, where the defendant has subpoenaed a cooperating government witness who was not otherwise scheduled to testify, the defendant must make a good faith showing that the witness will offer testimony that will support the defendant’s position. United States v. Lewis, 2008 WL 5083131, at *8 (N.D. Ill. 2008), aff’d 641 F.3d 773 (7th Cir. 2011). This is true because it is improper for a party to subpoena a witness that will testify contrary to that party’s position, simply so that the witness may be impeached. United States v. Giles, 246 F.3d 966, 974 (7th Cir. 2001) (the district court properly refused to let the defendant call a witness when he could make no good faith basis as to the witness’ expected testimony). The defendant has not, and cannot, make a good faith showing that T.B. will testify that she did not consent to recording the defendant. Upon information and belief, T.B.’s testimony will be that she knowingly and voluntarily consented to recording conversations with the defendant.

HERE IT IS


this bit----difficulty while recording numerous conversations wherein the defendant, her boyfriend, admitted to kidnapping and killing Yingying Zhang in a heinous and depraved manner.1 (Pg 7)

Dated December 16, 2018
Now they have gone and brought it up again, this time including the actual content of the texts.
#Vitriol.
So, yes, according to this, the admission is on tape that he killed her. local media could do with brushing up on court records, prior to publishing anything and open a sea of confusion and a waste of time..
The grand Jury evidence must have contained the tapes.

 

[dm92]

I found it, @DM
https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076/gov.uscourts.ilcd.70076.188.0.pdf
They tried this before on TB-

The defendant’s allegation regarding the voluntariness of T.B.’s consent is contradicted by his own conduct in sending investigators to her house to interview a person allegedly lacking the capacity to consent. Upon information and belief, at that time, T.B. reiterated the voluntariness of her cooperation with the United States and refused to be interviewed by the defendant’s investigators. If T.B. had not voluntarily consented to cooperate with the FBI, she could have said so. She did not.

1 Notably, it is believed that the defendant continued to engage in sexual contact with T.B. during the same time period that she was recording their conversations. If, as the defendant suggests, T.B. lacked “the mental capacity to knowingly and voluntarily agree to anything,” (R.96 at 15), then she was unable to legally consent to sexual contact with the defendant. Thus, if the defendant’s allegations were true, he has admitted to repeatedly sexually assaulting T.B. Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(C); 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/11-1.20(a)(2), (b) (noting that is a Class 1 felony in Illinois to engage in sexual penetration with a person who is “unable to give knowing consent”). Of course, the United States submits that the defendant’s claim that T.B. could not consent to “anything” is without merit.

In cases such as this one, where the defendant has subpoenaed a cooperating government witness who was not otherwise scheduled to testify, the defendant must make a good faith showing that the witness will offer testimony that will support the defendant’s position. United States v. Lewis, 2008 WL 5083131, at *8 (N.D. Ill. 2008), aff’d 641 F.3d 773 (7th Cir. 2011). This is true because it is improper for a party to subpoena a witness that will testify contrary to that party’s position, simply so that the witness may be impeached. United States v. Giles, 246 F.3d 966, 974 (7th Cir. 2001) (the district court properly refused to let the defendant call a witness when he could make no good faith basis as to the witness’ expected testimony). The defendant has not, and cannot, make a good faith showing that T.B. will testify that she did not consent to recording the defendant. Upon information and belief, T.B.’s testimony will be that she knowingly and voluntarily consented to recording conversations with the defendant.

HERE IT IS


this bit----difficulty while recording numerous conversations wherein the defendant, her boyfriend, admitted to kidnapping and killing Yingying Zhang in a heinous and depraved manner.1 (Pg 7)

Dated December 16, 2018
Now they have gone and brought it up again, this time including the actual content of the texts.
#Vitriol.
So, yes, according to this, the admission is on tape that he killed her. local media could do with brushing up on court records, prior to publishing anything and open a sea of confusion and a waste of time..
The grand Jury evidence must have contained the tapes.

Also see my post just before yours. They also mention his recorded statements describing what went on in the apartment in regard to the blood and DNA evidence.

 

[YESorNO]

Some pan death-penalty trial in state that ended punishment

June 10, 2019

"CHICAGO (AP) — A perplexed prospective juror at the trial of a former graduate student charged with kidnapping and killing a University of Illinois scholar from China said during jury selection last week that she didn't understand how a conviction could carry the death penalty in Illinois when the state struck capital punishment from its statutes years ago.

The judge explained that Brendt Christensen's case is a rare instance of the U.S. Department of Justice seeking the death penalty in one of the more than 20 states that doesn't have capital punishment, drawing on U.S. laws that allow executions by federal authorities for exceptional crimes....

In notifying the court last year of the decision to seek the death penalty, the Justice Department cited evidence that Christensen tortured Yingying Zhang after taking advantage of the 26-year-old woman's small size and lack of fluent English-speaking skills to lure her into his car as she headed to sign an apartment lease off campus. Her body was never found.

Her disappearance in June 2017 in Urbana and the arrest weeks later of Christensen, who studied physics, shocked Chinese students nationwide. U of I, based in Champaign, has one of the largest populations of Chinese students in the country, with over 5,000 enrolled.

Justice Department protocols call for victims' families to be consulted on whether they think the death penalty should be pursued. It's not clear if officials had such a conversation with Zhang's family.

"I cannot believe there is such an evil person among us in this world," her father, Ronggao Zhang, said of Christensen in a recent interview with ABC News. "I think he should definitely get the death penalty."...."

Some pan death-penalty trial in state that ended punishment

 

[kittythehare]

The problem now is that there is an ongoing legal debate about the admissibility of the tapes and only certain portions of the tape are being permitted to go through in evidence for presentation.
We do not know which sections are to be permanently redacted.

 

[YESorNO]

Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 7h7 hours ago
Christensen trial, jury selection day 6: Day started with 69 qualified potential jurors. 11 more potentials are being interviewed in judge's chambers now. 12 jurors and 6 alternates still scheduled to be selected tomorrow. #YingyingZhang @WCIA3


Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 5h5 hours ago
UPDATE: Jury pool of 70 is complete. 3 more jurors were qualified, and 2 previously qualified were excused. Elimination process to select 12 jurors plus 6 alternates starts at 9 tomorrow morning. #YingyingZhang @WCIA3


Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 4h4 hours ago
Here are the notes on what happened this morning. One more day of final jury selection, then it's off to trial: https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/jury-pool-assembled-for-christensen-trial/2066408916 … #YingyingZhang @WCIA3

Jury pool assembled for Christensen trial

Jun 10, 2019

"CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- This weekend, defense lawyers for Brendt Christensen filed a motion to disclose his girlfriend's mental health. ...

Prosecutors plan to use Christensen's girlfriend as a witness. They dated for two months before Zhang disappeared. The couple was involved in a dominant-submissive relationship.

Defense lawyers say the government has evidence it paid for her mental health treatment and they want those records released.

Monday, after six days in court, 70 potential jurors have been qualified to serve on the jury. Tuesday, 12 jurors and 6 alternates are set to be selected for trial.

Christensen's legal team and US Attorneys will begin eliminating potential jurors through a series of strikes. ...

....Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 am, Wednesday."

Jury pool assembled for Christensen trial

 

[kittythehare]

Some pan death-penalty trial in state that ended punishment

June 10, 2019

"CHICAGO (AP) — A perplexed prospective juror at the trial of a former graduate student charged with kidnapping and killing a University of Illinois scholar from China said during jury selection last week that she didn't understand how a conviction could carry the death penalty in Illinois when the state struck capital punishment from its statutes years ago.

The judge explained that Brendt Christensen's case is a rare instance of the U.S. Department of Justice seeking the death penalty in one of the more than 20 states that doesn't have capital punishment, drawing on U.S. laws that allow executions by federal authorities for exceptional crimes....

In notifying the court last year of the decision to seek the death penalty, the Justice Department cited evidence that Christensen tortured Yingying Zhang after taking advantage of the 26-year-old woman's small size and lack of fluent English-speaking skills to lure her into his car as she headed to sign an apartment lease off campus. Her body was never found.

Her disappearance in June 2017 in Urbana and the arrest weeks later of Christensen, who studied physics, shocked Chinese students nationwide. U of I, based in Champaign, has one of the largest populations of Chinese students in the country, with over 5,000 enrolled.

Justice Department protocols call for victims' families to be consulted on whether they think the death penalty should be pursued. It's not clear if officials had such a conversation with Zhang's family.

"I cannot believe there is such an evil person among us in this world," her father, Ronggao Zhang, said of Christensen in a recent interview with ABC News. "I think he should definitely get the death penalty."...."

Some pan death-penalty trial in state that ended punishment

Thank you. Sadly, some of us are in Europe and cannot access certain media outlets. I think there may have been a discussion between LE and her family regarding their preferences, I don't have link right now but it's been published that their preference is for DP, but in exchange for her body, they would 'settle' for life in prison. (or words to that effect. It does appear as though DP was placed on table in an effort to trade for the location of her remains. In that it failed and now the country has to pay exorbitant legal fees for this waster for up to 20 more years, appeal after appeal, if he is found guilty.)

 

[kittythehare]

Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 7h7 hours ago
Christensen trial, jury selection day 6: Day started with 69 qualified potential jurors. 11 more potentials are being interviewed in judge's chambers now. 12 jurors and 6 alternates still scheduled to be selected tomorrow. #YingyingZhang @WCIA3


Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 5h5 hours ago
UPDATE: Jury pool of 70 is complete. 3 more jurors were qualified, and 2 previously qualified were excused. Elimination process to select 12 jurors plus 6 alternates starts at 9 tomorrow morning. #YingyingZhang @WCIA3


Aaron Eades‏ @WCIA3Eades 4h4 hours ago
Here are the notes on what happened this morning. One more day of final jury selection, then it's off to trial: https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/jury-pool-assembled-for-christensen-trial/2066408916 … #YingyingZhang @WCIA3

Jury pool assembled for Christensen trial

Jun 10, 2019

"CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- This weekend, defense lawyers for Brendt Christensen filed a motion to disclose his girlfriend's mental health. ...

Prosecutors plan to use Christensen's girlfriend as a witness. They dated for two months before Zhang disappeared. The couple was involved in a dominant-submissive relationship.

Defense lawyers say the government has evidence it paid for her mental health treatment and they want those records released.

Monday, after six days in court, 70 potential jurors have been qualified to serve on the jury. Tuesday, 12 jurors and 6 alternates are set to be selected for trial.

Christensen's legal team and US Attorneys will begin eliminating potential jurors through a series of strikes. ...

....Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 am, Wednesday."

Jury pool assembled for Christensen trial

Access also denied to europeans on this website.