Basically, its a federal case because BC used a means or instrumentality of interstate commerce in commission of the offense. Cars and cellphones are instruments of interstate commerce.
Yes, that is the simple answer. It is even more than just that:
Why Brendt Christensen Can be Sentenced to Death in a State That Abolished the Death Penalty
Christensen, who allegedly committed his crimes in Champaign, faces a possible death sentence if he is convicted. That’s because he’s charged in federal court with a federal crime. And federal prosecutors can seek a death sentence on any capital charge regardless of where it is believed to have occurred, or where the defendant lives.
“Everywhere in the United States people live under two or more systems of law simultaneously,” said Robert Owen, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. “Where you live is governed by state law – local law made by the state legislature – and then it’s also governed by federal law governed by Congress. And those two spheres of legal authority coexist everywhere in the country.
“In some places the laws are harmonious, they’re the same. But the death penalty is an area where that’s not the case. So there is a federal death penalty on every inch of the United States of America.”
........
From the document "Motion (Doc. 113) to Strike Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty ..." which was denied:
U.S. v. CHRISTENSEN | Case No. 17-cr-20037-JES... | 20190219b24| Leagle.com
BACKGROUND
Defendant Brendt A. Christensen was
arrested by federal agents on June 30, 2017, pursuant to a criminal complaint which charged him with the kidnapping of Yingying Zhang, a female Chinese national, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201. Doc. 1. Christensen was later
indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the Urbana Division of the Central District of Illinois.
SeeDoc. 13 (Indictment), Doc. 26 (Superseding Indictment). The Superseding Indictment charges Christensen with kidnapping resulting in death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1) (Count 1), and making false statements to FBI agents investigating Yingying Zhang's disappearance, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) (Counts 2, 3). Doc. 26. The Superseding Indictment returned by the
grand jury also included a notice of special findings regarding the nature of the offense charged in Count 1, including that the death of the victim was intentional, that it occurred during the commission of kidnapping, that it was committed in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner, and that Defendant committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation.
Id. The special findings alleged in the Superseding Indictment made the case eligible for capital punishment.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3591
et seq. On January 19, 2018, the United States filed its Notice of Intent to Seek a Sentence of Death. Doc. 54;
see also 18 U.S.C. § 3593(a).
