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

[kittythehare]

#drunkenness theme is re-explored
BC’s ex-wife said she picked him up to give him a ride the night his ex-gf recorded him allegedly confessing to the crime. This was after the conversation where he confessed. BC’s ex-wife says he was noticeably drunk.
Tim McNicholas on Twitter

@willpublicmedia Christensen looks intently at Michelle Zortman, formerly Christensen as she's on the witness stand. It seems they were very private & easy going, not social, but enjoyed TV & video games together. She says BDSM was NOT part of their relationship. #YingyingZhang

 

[kittythehare]

Ben's Tweets
After starting dating in 2008, they got married in 2011 in Madison by a lawyer in a hotel with their parents and four friends. She said she waswearing a green sweater and jeans
She discussed their marital problems starting in 2016, when his alcohol problems started getting worse
In Dec. 16, he drunkenly told her something that disturbed her and their marriage was "never the same.
Spring 2017 drinking got worse - she suggested open marriage and eventually divorce. He agreed to open marriage, but convinced her to stay married, she said
#POPCORN
Said when told wanted a divorce, Christensen was very emotional -- uncommon for him. He was crying - the first time in their marriage
Described being leery of Christensen when she returned from Wisconsin after she returned to Champaign and FBI agents showed up. She sleeped in different room
Christensen showed her blood stain on mattress and claimed it was a nose bleed. (14/17)
She saw him carry out duffle bag June 12, but didn't see it closely.
Asked why she continues to be in contact with Christensen, despite knowing he killed Ms. Zhang, Zortman said "he was the biggest person in my life for most of a decade." It's "difficult to end ties like that. (It's not)
Defense now to play video of Christensen at counseling center (#IToldYouIWasSick)

And then Christensen's ex-wife, Michelle Zortman testified. As she walked in, Christensen looked at her, unlike when his ex-girlfriend walked in. (5(#pukingEmoticon)

 

[kittythehare]

After a Nov 2016 night of drinking when Christensen tried to open up to his then wife, she says it was never the same. It scared her. His drinking/drug use had exclated. But it remains unclear, even generally what he said to her that night. #YingyingZhang (TK, ill media)

The News-Gazette on Twitter

 

[kittythehare]

these tweets should carry the equivalent of a graphic warning in ire . Advise against reading this post actually. Just say NO>

Christensen's demeanor today with his ex-wife on the stand has been very different than it was over the last two days with ex-girlfriend Terra Bullis testifying


Christensen seemed intent on avoiding looking at Bullis at all costs. Not terribly surprising given that she wore a wire for the FBI and testified against him. Today, he's been looking right at Zortman on the stand, and even cracked a smile when she walked into the courtroom

It was difficult to see, but it looked like Christensen might've even wiped away a tear after Zortman explained why she still talks to him even after his arrest. "He was the biggest person in my life for almost a decade ... very difficult to cut ties like that," she said.

Matt Masterson inflicted these tweets upon us. I liked him.

 

[kittythehare]

next bit isn't so hot either. All so predictable. All such an insult to a dead child. #YingYingZhang

Just played part of the counseling center video, from March 2017
Christensen said he went there because he's been abusing Vicodin and alcohol for years and because his wife wanted him to go to the counseling center
Talked about his severe accident when he was in his teens. He said he had a continuous supply of Vicodin for two or three months (
But he said alcohol is the biggest problem, and his wife has told him to stop
"Whenever I drink, it's a lot," he says. Says beer easier to moderate, but prefers rum because it's cheap
Estimated he'll have 15-20 drinks, but says he's only blacked out once.
Said his wife doesn't like his drinking at all (7
He also says he's probably had depression since he was a teenager, but didn't seek help until two years prior, when he saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed anti-depressants that seemed to help
He was asked about his background, and how he transferred to UW-Madison and then got accepted to UIUC for physics, "literally the best" school for that, or at least for his particular field.
Tape stopped there and will continue after lunch (hex'd?)
This tape has been played before in parts by the prosecution, including toward the end when he talks about his interest in serial killers( sure they do, they have made this his testimony, what a cheap trick! Meanwhile there's the 12 we are all supposed to forget about, and they all arrived unbidden, not 9 weeks after this 'testimony'? Shall we all forget these possible beings when there isn't a single shred of evidence that they are a lie?- the bits in brackets are my own thoughts, not tweets, okay? Today I'm well triggered by all of this.)



The defense wasn't fond of them playing only specific parts and wanted the full context played

 

[kittythehare]

vid
Brendt Christensen Trial: Ex-wife testifies about day U of I student Yingying Zhang disappeared
This says the next few defense witnesses will include a private investigator and an FI agent (I think0
There is footage of Michelle entering court today here

 

[dm92]

Rushing to get something done at work, but one quick thought:

I think Michelle could get the location of Yingying's remains out of him........

 

[kittythehare]

Pollock re-crosses, suggests BC's drinking tolerance went down. MZ agrees she brought up ideas of openi
ng the relationship and divorce @WCIA3

0 replies0 retweets0 likes
Pollock: "You now know that Brendt did in fact cause the death of Miss Zhang." MZ: "Yes." EP: "Do you still talk to him?" MZ: "Yes." EP: "Even though you divorced him." MZ: "Yes." EP: "Why?"
MZ sa after his arrest, he called her from jail asking to delete certain Reddit posts, because he wantes his privacy(¬!)
MZ says one of the conditions of them staying together was that BC had to go to rehab. Says he told her he went once.
MZ says she sae BC leave with the green duffel bag on Monday, saying he was going to TB's house. Didn't think anything of it. Says when the FBI came to search the apartment on 6/14, she didn't feel like she had a choice (I knew she'd go for the feds again, couldn't resist)
MZ says she tasked Brendt with sharpening kitchen knives because she was no good at it and he had more free time, but he didn't actually get around to doing it @WCIA3 (now, the weapons too)
MZ says BC didn't like cleaning. She cooked, mostly. Says BC made a steak once when they lived in Stevens Point. In the courtroom, he smirks when she says this. (Most of the time he's been looking straight at her, but she seems to be avoiding eye contact with him) (Get A Room!) (#sMIRK)
n December 2016, she says he got very drunk and said something disturbing to her. She says the marriage was never the same after that. Says she met someone she worked with who propositioned her to open up her marriage. She took the idea to Brendt @WCI
She says BC thought about it, then eventually agreed. Says he isn't very emotionally expressive, though. They established open marriage rule that they would always spend more time with each other than other people
ventually she decided their marriage hit a "dead end" due to his drinking & substance abuse. He got upset then, and convinced her to stay @(just like he's doing now and she cannot even see it)
After BC started dating TB, MZ says she was aware of their sexual experimentation. She also started experimenting with her boyfriend Ryan. Decided to go away with Ryan the weekend of June 9, says she didn't really consider BC's feelings on the matter (I'm starting to wonder about all this experimenting that weekend...I mean???? She is here because an innocent beautiful Chinese girl was brutally murdered. This is a desecration)
Says BC decided he was upset about that a couple days before the trip. When she returned, she says the apartment looked and smelled norma
MZ says one of the conditions of them staying together was that BC had to go to rehab. Says he told her he went once.
Aaron Eades

 

[Gardener1850]

Prosecution rests in missing Chinese scholar slaying trial after former U. of I. student’s wife testifies

Jun 21, 2019

Federal prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of a former University of Illinois student who could get the death penalty if convicted of killing a scholar from China.

Brendt Christensen's lawyers called his ex-wife as a witness Friday. Michelle Zortman told jurors that Christensen showed her a blood stain on a mattress and claimed it was from a bloody nose.

Prosecution rests in missing Chinese scholar slaying trial after former U. of I. student’s wife testifies

 

[kittythehare]

Rushing to get something done at work, but one quick thought:

I think Michelle could get the location of Yingying's remains out of him........

Could work, ok.

 

[kittythehare]

this is good
Christensen Drove Car 200 Miles in Days Surrounding Zhang’s Disappearance
But, again nobody checked the clock, petrol could well have been taken for another reason?

 

[Webthrush]

Rushing to get something done at work, but one quick thought:

I think Michelle could get the location of Yingying's remains out of him........

I'm still banking on it coming out toward the end of the punishment phase (his last chip to play)... though I also assume there will be no remains to retrieve, once he tells what he did.
And dang, everything's moving along much faster than I ever expected! other than the multiple mistrial attempts, Defense doesn't appear to be headed where I thought they might go, and I assume if there was any chance of BC testifying we'd already know that by now??? (or could that happen, as unlikely as it seems)

 

[Hatfield]

.......at 11pm he placed a maintainance sign request outside his home door for mold treatment in the bathroom ......

I had an epiphamy yesterday about this part.

We know he doesnt like cleaning bathrooms according to yesterday's testimonies so maybe after he did his best at cleaning up the bathroom he came up with this idea to have the maintenance come in to clean the mold in the grout which would help him get the bathroom and bathtub even cleaner than he was able to do.

He probably knew they would use strong chemicals to get out any mold in cracks and crevices in the bathroom and that would only help his cleanup job of the murder scene.

A sneaky and diabolical after thought by him that probably helped remove evidence.

 

[Hatfield]

Pollock re-crosses, suggests BC's drinking tolerance went down. MZ agrees she brought up ideas of openi
ng the relationship and divorce @WCIA3

0 replies0 retweets0 likes
Pollock: "You now know that Brendt did in fact cause the death of Miss Zhang." MZ: "Yes." EP: "Do you still talk to him?" MZ: "Yes." EP: "Even though you divorced him." MZ: "Yes." EP: "Why?"
MZ sa after his arrest, he called her from jail asking to delete certain Reddit posts, because he wantes his privacy(¬!)
MZ says one of the conditions of them staying together was that BC had to go to rehab. Says he told her he went once.
MZ says she sae BC leave with the green duffel bag on Monday, saying he was going to TB's house. Didn't think anything of it. Says when the FBI came to search the apartment on 6/14, she didn't feel like she had a choice (I knew she'd go for the feds again, couldn't resist)
MZ says she tasked Brendt with sharpening kitchen knives because she was no good at it and he had more free time, but he didn't actually get around to doing it @WCIA3 (now, the weapons too)
MZ says BC didn't like cleaning. She cooked, mostly. Says BC made a steak once when they lived in Stevens Point. In the courtroom, he smirks when she says this. (Most of the time he's been looking straight at her, but she seems to be avoiding eye contact with him) (Get A Room!) (#sMIRK)
n December 2016, she says he got very drunk and said something disturbing to her. She says the marriage was never the same after that. Says she met someone she worked with who propositioned her to open up her marriage. She took the idea to Brendt @WCI
She says BC thought about it, then eventually agreed. Says he isn't very emotionally expressive, though. They established open marriage rule that they would always spend more time with each other than other people
ventually she decided their marriage hit a "dead end" due to his drinking & substance abuse. He got upset then, and convinced her to stay @(just like he's doing now and she cannot even see it)
After BC started dating TB, MZ says she was aware of their sexual experimentation. She also started experimenting with her boyfriend Ryan. Decided to go away with Ryan the weekend of June 9, says she didn't really consider BC's feelings on the matter (I'm starting to wonder about all this experimenting that weekend...I mean???? She is here because an innocent beautiful Chinese girl was brutally murdered. This is a desecration)
Says BC decided he was upset about that a couple days before the trip. When she returned, she says the apartment looked and smelled norma
MZ says one of the conditions of them staying together was that BC had to go to rehab. Says he told her he went once.
Aaron Eades

Interesting about this part

"in December 2016, she says he got very drunk and said something disturbing to her. She says the marriage was never the same after that"

So I wonder what that was all about. I have a guess.
He probably threatend to kill her.

 

[dm92]

Again, rushing to finish some work, but noticed this:

Michelle testified that the Saturn had been driven around 200 miles while she was gone

Also testified that she saw BC carry the duffle bag out with no issue, and that he could have easily carried it if it weighed 110 lb (Yingying's listed weight). I have a hard time believing BC would have kept her remains in that bag for three days, especially with Michelle back by Sunday night......

 

[kittythehare]

Interesting about this part

"in December 2016, she says he got very drunk and said something disturbing to her. She says the marriage was never the same after that"

So I wonder what that was all about. I have a guess.
He probably threatend to kill her.

or did he confess to something like he confessed to TB?

 

[Hatfield]

Asked why she continues to be in contact with Christensen, despite knowing he killed Ms. Zhang, Zortman said "he was the biggest person in my life for most of a decade." It's "difficult to end ties like that. (It's not)
Defense now to play video of Christensen at counseling center (#IToldYouIWasSick)

Uh, Sorry but NO. It is NOT difficult to end ties when you find out your partner is a murderer.

I dont care if I was married for 30 years if I found out my partner was a crazy murderer I would RUN away as fast as I could and never speak to the person ever again.

There are certain lines that if crossed, it is over, and Murder is definitely one of them.

 

[kittythehare]

Again, rushing to finish some work, but noticed this:

Michelle testified that the Saturn had been driven around 200 miles while she was gone

Also testified that she saw BC carry the duffle bag out with no issue, and that he could have easily carried it if it weighed 110 lb (Yingying's listed weight). I have a hard time believing BC would have kept her remains in that bag for three days, especially with Michelle back by Sunday night......

maybe just part, in that plastic box he purchased (I actually tried searching that by code for size, 2 yrs old item number, was unable to locate it)
Nobodymentioned checking the clock, just the petrol)

 

[dm92]

Interesting about this part

"in December 2016, she says he got very drunk and said something disturbing to her. She says the marriage was never the same after that"

So I wonder what that was all about. I have a guess.
He probably threatend to kill her.

That was where he told her he was fascinated with serial killers and indicated he wanted to be one. I can't remember the exact language. That's when she told him she wanted him to quit drinking or else.....

 

[Hazelnutty]

or did he confess to something like he confessed to TB?

Why, oh why doesnt someone ask what he said?

Gah!