kittythehare
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Courtney-Miller refers to the “highly unusual” amounts of cleanliness found in BC’s apartment following Zhang’s disappearance.
Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #9 *Arrest*
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kittythehare
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Matt-Jury Deliberations Underway in Brendt Christensen Trial
Pollock disputed aspects of that statement, which was played for jurors multiple times throughout the trial. She said Zhang’s DNA and blood were only found inside Christensen’s bedroom, not the bathroom where he claimed he had actually beaten and killed her.
“He kidnapped her. He murdered her. And he cut her up,” Miller told jurors, repeating similar remarks he made during his opening statements. “Has the government proven these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt? The unquestionable answer is yes.”
Pollock disputed aspects of that statement, which was played for jurors multiple times throughout the trial. She said Zhang’s DNA and blood were only found inside Christensen’s bedroom, not the bathroom where he claimed he had actually beaten and killed her.
“He kidnapped her. He murdered her. And he cut her up,” Miller told jurors, repeating similar remarks he made during his opening statements. “Has the government proven these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt? The unquestionable answer is yes.”
kittythehare
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The prosecution spent 68 minutes on its closing statements. The defense spent 10. (MM)
kittythehare
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kittythehare
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they have to find him guilty, shouldn't take long.
Then the penalty phase will begin at a date to be announced.
And we sit through the whole thing again.
Then the penalty phase will begin at a date to be announced.
And we sit through the whole thing again.
kittythehare
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they were awaiting printed instructions and evidence lists and bits of evedence...
Then lunch at noon...
that may all have been sorted by now so possible they have started already
kittythehare
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ben just emitting a 32 tweet post (I'll do me best)
Packed courthouse this morning. Lots of media, visitors, UI spokeswoman, Ms. Zhang's family and lawyers, clerks, etc. People standing in the back (1/32)
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller stood at the lectern facing the jury, and tied together the evidence presented over the last eight days, from the recording to Ms. Zhang's DNA at Christensen's apartment. (
"He kidnapped her, he murdered her, and he covered up his crime," Miller began, "after months of planning and premeditation.
This case has "always been about the search for Yingying," he said. "There is only one person that is responsible, and he sits right there, the defendeant Brendt Christensen," who was wearing khakis and a blue dress shirt. (4
He said Christensen's "downward spiral," as the defense put it, was "caused by the defendant's own decisions … that were the product of a 27 year old man afraid to give up his way of life," ie, finding a job (5/32
Miller said, "idle hands are the devil's workshop," and argued Christensen used his idle time to plan his murder. "He didn't know (his victim) by name. She was still in China." (6/32)
In December 2016, he drunkenly told his wife about his interest in serial killers, which spooked her, Miller said. (7/32)
And in March 2017, he told an intern at the UI counseling center that he had made murderous plans, but abandoned them, Miller said.
Miller said that when Christensen's wife left for the weekend in June 2017, Christensen had the opportunity to act on his plans. (9/32
He argued that Christensen attempted to pick up a woman that morning and picked up Ms. Zhang in the afternoon by pretending to be a police officer. (10
Miller said Christensen repeated how Christensen himself claimed he killed Ms. Zhang, and noted that Ms. Zhang's backpack, glasses, clothes and body have never been found (11/32
Miller then noted the extensive cleaning done at his apartment and twice in his Astra, which his wife said was normally never cleaned.
He argued the evidence showed Ms. Zhang's blood ran down the walls and pooled in the carpet, soaking it to the tack strip under the carpet.
Christensen also faces two counts of lying to the FBI, though Miller said Christensen's "lies are too numerous to detail." (
Miller said it was "chilling to imagine the fear (Ms. Zhang) must've felt" when she got into Christensen's car and realized he was not a cop and wouldn't be taking her to One North to look at a new apartment (1
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Miller said. "This was cold, and this was calculated." (16/32)
Said Christensen had "been planning and fantasizing about this moment for months," he said. "She was an object for him to fulfill his dark desire, which was to kill for the sake of killing." (
He said "tragically, the evidence of this (Yingying's death) is overwhelming. Yingying has never been seen.
"Although he raped her, this was not about sex... this was always about murder," Miller said.
Anticipating the defense's argument, he said, "This was not an impulsive drunken act." And said his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend were not to blame. He concluded after 68 minutes (20/32)
In her closing argument, Assistant Federal Defender Elisabeth Pollock said they weren't blaming his ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. "We never said that it's her fault.... It's Brendt's fault." (21/32
But she said, "we're trying to show you context", bc "you have to go into the next phase of trial" to decide Christensen's sentence: life in prison or death. "The government wants to take his life." (22/32)
Miller objected to Pollock bringing this up, as the jury was instructed not to consider possible punishments when deciding his guilt.
Pollock moved on, describing the wire recording of Christensen as "awful. It's horrible. It makes you hate him." But she told the jury to not let their emotions overcome facts. (24/3
She said the defense tried to show what kind of person Christensen is, struggling with alcohol and dark thoughts, but unable to get help, telling the counseling center, "I don't want to be this person."
"He struggled,…and ultimately, he didn't win," Pollock said. And "an innocent person is gone.
She said BDSM may be perfectly fine for some people, but "It was not OK for Brendt" as a "link was established for him between sex and violence."(BS)
She said the evidence is clear that Christensen killed Ms. Zhang, and "I expect that you will" find him guilty. "But we're going to move on after that
And she encouraged the jury to keep an open mind and to remember what has been proven and what has not. (
he noted that Ms. Zhang's DNA was only found in the bedroom, not the bathroom, and that jurors shouldn't make assumptions about what may have happened. (30/32)
She they shouldn't assume everything Christensen said on the recording about how he killed Ms. Zhang is true, esp. given his claim of 13 victims. (31
She wrapped up her argument in 10 minutes, and after a brief rebuttal by Miller, the jury was sent to deliberate at 11:35 a.m. (32
LIVE: The trial of Brendt Christensen, Day 9
Packed courthouse this morning. Lots of media, visitors, UI spokeswoman, Ms. Zhang's family and lawyers, clerks, etc. People standing in the back (1/32)
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller stood at the lectern facing the jury, and tied together the evidence presented over the last eight days, from the recording to Ms. Zhang's DNA at Christensen's apartment. (
"He kidnapped her, he murdered her, and he covered up his crime," Miller began, "after months of planning and premeditation.
This case has "always been about the search for Yingying," he said. "There is only one person that is responsible, and he sits right there, the defendeant Brendt Christensen," who was wearing khakis and a blue dress shirt. (4
He said Christensen's "downward spiral," as the defense put it, was "caused by the defendant's own decisions … that were the product of a 27 year old man afraid to give up his way of life," ie, finding a job (5/32
Miller said, "idle hands are the devil's workshop," and argued Christensen used his idle time to plan his murder. "He didn't know (his victim) by name. She was still in China." (6/32)
In December 2016, he drunkenly told his wife about his interest in serial killers, which spooked her, Miller said. (7/32)
And in March 2017, he told an intern at the UI counseling center that he had made murderous plans, but abandoned them, Miller said.
Miller said that when Christensen's wife left for the weekend in June 2017, Christensen had the opportunity to act on his plans. (9/32
He argued that Christensen attempted to pick up a woman that morning and picked up Ms. Zhang in the afternoon by pretending to be a police officer. (10
Miller said Christensen repeated how Christensen himself claimed he killed Ms. Zhang, and noted that Ms. Zhang's backpack, glasses, clothes and body have never been found (11/32
Miller then noted the extensive cleaning done at his apartment and twice in his Astra, which his wife said was normally never cleaned.
He argued the evidence showed Ms. Zhang's blood ran down the walls and pooled in the carpet, soaking it to the tack strip under the carpet.
Christensen also faces two counts of lying to the FBI, though Miller said Christensen's "lies are too numerous to detail." (
Miller said it was "chilling to imagine the fear (Ms. Zhang) must've felt" when she got into Christensen's car and realized he was not a cop and wouldn't be taking her to One North to look at a new apartment (1
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Miller said. "This was cold, and this was calculated." (16/32)
Said Christensen had "been planning and fantasizing about this moment for months," he said. "She was an object for him to fulfill his dark desire, which was to kill for the sake of killing." (
He said "tragically, the evidence of this (Yingying's death) is overwhelming. Yingying has never been seen.
"Although he raped her, this was not about sex... this was always about murder," Miller said.
Anticipating the defense's argument, he said, "This was not an impulsive drunken act." And said his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend were not to blame. He concluded after 68 minutes (20/32)
In her closing argument, Assistant Federal Defender Elisabeth Pollock said they weren't blaming his ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. "We never said that it's her fault.... It's Brendt's fault." (21/32
But she said, "we're trying to show you context", bc "you have to go into the next phase of trial" to decide Christensen's sentence: life in prison or death. "The government wants to take his life." (22/32)
Miller objected to Pollock bringing this up, as the jury was instructed not to consider possible punishments when deciding his guilt.
Pollock moved on, describing the wire recording of Christensen as "awful. It's horrible. It makes you hate him." But she told the jury to not let their emotions overcome facts. (24/3
She said the defense tried to show what kind of person Christensen is, struggling with alcohol and dark thoughts, but unable to get help, telling the counseling center, "I don't want to be this person."
"He struggled,…and ultimately, he didn't win," Pollock said. And "an innocent person is gone.
She said BDSM may be perfectly fine for some people, but "It was not OK for Brendt" as a "link was established for him between sex and violence."(BS)
She said the evidence is clear that Christensen killed Ms. Zhang, and "I expect that you will" find him guilty. "But we're going to move on after that
And she encouraged the jury to keep an open mind and to remember what has been proven and what has not. (
he noted that Ms. Zhang's DNA was only found in the bedroom, not the bathroom, and that jurors shouldn't make assumptions about what may have happened. (30/32)
She they shouldn't assume everything Christensen said on the recording about how he killed Ms. Zhang is true, esp. given his claim of 13 victims. (31
She wrapped up her argument in 10 minutes, and after a brief rebuttal by Miller, the jury was sent to deliberate at 11:35 a.m. (32
LIVE: The trial of Brendt Christensen, Day 9
dm92
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It was around 11:40 AM or so. I watched most of the closing statements in Urbana. I didn't look at my watch, but was roughly the time they finally went back to their room.
dm92
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The date I heard was July 8th, as Shadid expected it to be 2-3 weeks of testimony, and he didn't want the July 4th holiday interrupting proceedings. That isn't set in stone yet, but that is when I would expect it to start......
kittythehare
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No, that took 2 full years actually when it could all have been put to bed in 6 months.
dm92
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Not surprising at all:
Her DNA in his apartment shows he lied on both the 12th and 15th
His defense admitting he killed her proves she died as a result of this -although plenty of other stuff would show it as well
All they really had to consider was did he kidnap her. BC's prior communications about kidnapping, tapes of him driving around and picking her up, her not showing up to her appointment, Emily Hogan, Charles Hill, and his own statements to Bullis pretty much establish that he tricked her into the car, took her back to the apartment against her will, and held her there for his own purposes.
The biggest slap in the face is how this could have all been admitted to back in November of 2017, once the DNA testing was in. Instead, this cruel @ss has decided he would rather torture YY's family, and continue to torture her by not letting her family have her remains -something she would almost surely want- instead of showing a single fiber of decency and doing the right thing.
tresir2012
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I thought we knew about this. It's why she insisted he went to the counselling isn't it or am I mixing up two different occasions?
kittythehare
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so, shall we continue to search for her without the constant interruptions of the legal professions?
She's still a missing person, a missing dead person.
I wouldn't be surprised if a search could be organised, a real one, this time.
She's still a missing person, a missing dead person.
I wouldn't be surprised if a search could be organised, a real one, this time.
kittythehare
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tresir2012
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Please can someone confirm the verdict if known?
Ah. Thank you.
Ah. Thank you.
AnemoneBrown
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So, guilty on all counts?
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