Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #4 *Arrest*

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liltexans

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ATTENTION WEBSLEUTHS MEMBERS:

Recently a handful of posters has been bickering, going off topic, and in general being a major pain in our moderator’s behinds.

The next person that argues posts something totally off topic or does anything against our terms of service that poster will get a time out and I will keep giving time outs until everyone understands.

This thread is about Yingying and her tragic murder. It is not for you to bicker back and forth about things that have NOTHING to do with Yingying.


If you have a problem with a post, hit the Alert button in the lower left-hand corner and follow the directions. Even if a poster directly calls you out, you need to ignore and alert. Let us handle it.


We do not allow rumors, posts from other forums, or posts from other blogs.


We do allow things relevant to the case to be discussed. Since the Fetlife website is in the affidavit, then we can discuss what this site has to do with the case. Please do not post any pictures or links to the site.


If you see something you don’t like you must alert and then scroll past the problem post.


Finally, our moderator “liltexans” is a fantastic and dedicated moderator. When liltexan speaks, you must listen to her. Show her the respect she deserves as one of our moderators.


You don’t want me to come back to this thread again. I am old, cranky, and I am desperate for a chocolate shake; therefore, I am not in a great mood. Best to listen to liltexan and post without violating our terms of service http://www.websleuths.com/forums/misc.php?do=showrules


Thank you,

Tricia Griffith Owner/Websleuths.com











UPDATE: Police release new details about missing UI scholar


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Police spokesman Pat Wade said Yingying Zhang, 26, boarded a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Teal line bus at 1:35 p.m. Friday at the south shelter at the Orchard Downs complex in Urbana. She got off the bus at 1:52 p.m. at Springfield and Mathews avenues in Urbana and hasn't been seen since then.

Wade said the last time she was seen, Zhang was wearing a charcoal-gray hat with a white logo on the front, a white/pink flannel long-sleeve shirt, a white undershirt, jeans, white shoes and a navy-blue backpack. She has shoulder-length brown hair and wears glasses.
89416_0611_loca_yingying_zhang.jpg


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Multiple attempts to contact her at her home and on her cellphone have been unsuccessful, Wade said. Police have also talked to friends and checked local hospitals, as is routine in missing-persons cases.

The visiting scholar from China was headed to the One North apartment complex on North Lincoln Avenue in Urbana on Friday to sign a lease, Wade said.

"She texted the property manager at One North at 1:30 p.m., said she was going to be late and never showed up. That was the last anyone has heard from her," he said.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/lo...ase-new-details-about-missing-ui-scholar.html

The FBI says it has located the car that a missing Chinese scholar studying at the University of Illinois was last seen getting into earlier this month.

The FBI said in a Tuesday statement that it's received "numerous leads" regarding the black Saturn Astra and won't need any further information on the vehicle. Authorities also said they've developed "several additional leads" in the investigation.

FBI spokesman Brad Ware declined to give further details.

http://abc7chicago.com/news/fbi-locates-car-related-to-missing-chinese-scholar-case/2155842/

On Friday night, a day after hundreds marched in Urbana in support of Yingying Zhang, the FBI announced the arrest of Brendt Christensen, 28, of Champaign, on a federal criminal complaint that charges him with Zhang’s June 9 kidnapping.

Authorities said they think Zhang is no longer alive based on audio FBI agents heard of Christensen, under surveillance Thursday, describing how he kidnapped her and what the bureau described only as “other facts uncovered during the investigation of this matter.”

FBI spokesman Brad Ware said he couldn’t comment on where Zhang might be, saying: “It’s still an ongoing investigation.”

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/lo...ted-ui-scholars-disappearance-fbi-presumes-he

Previous Thread - #3
 

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Dear Websleuths Members,

In true crime, we have to deal with some very ugly topics, pictures, and situations.

We are a true crime discussion forum. It's what we do.

The police released documents saying the suspect had an account at Fetlife.

Our member mrsobrien did incredible sleuthing and came up with some posts by the suspect at Fetlife.

As sure as one can be the documents mrsobrien will post are from Brendt Christensen.

Fetlife was in the documents released by the police and will more than likely play a big role in a trial if there is one.

If you do not like it, if you find this offensive then you can choose not to participate in the discussion. You can leave the discussion
altogether if you like but please do not post any complaints or accuse Websleuths of doing horrible things.

Mrsobrien will be here shortly.

Thank you mrsobrien and all the members who sleuthed this part of the case.

Tricia


 
Personal disclaimer: I am a sex positive person with no issues with fetish communities. I also defend art and music like no other... in this context though, no beuno.

The following details are from Brendt Christensen’s Fetlife profile, username Akuma689. I believe this gives much insight into his interests and possible motive for the kidnapping and probable murder of Yingying. Of particular interest is the themed groups (abduction, ropes/chains bondage, fear, domination, BDSM, etc) he was a member of. I did not enter the vast majority of these groups. I also did not find any posts made by BC, but it's possible that the search function doesn't allow to search by user or that he was a lurker. I did see some social interaction between he and other members local to him, I've redacted that content from my screen shots for their privacy.

I viewed this site in the wee hours (PST) of July 1st, so keep that in mind when reading “24 days ago” and other time references. Given that I don't know what time zone Fetlife is in, the dates could be +/- 1 day as I was there between midnight and 1 am.

You can see the shots here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxaBCXtm5qnCNWJUbENlc1NRMDQ

I think that BC was on this site to network with folks with similar interests, though I bet he's among the very few that took his fantasy to a real life level. I have to wonder used the fantasy groups to inspire his crimes or if any of this content can provide insight into what he did to Yingying. Could he have filmed any part of the crime? Was she bound?

June 9: Yingying disappears

June 7: Date of last activity on Fetlife

Info on Fetlife:*
Akuma689, 28M Champaign, Ill
Married, dating
Is looking for a relationship, and mentor/teacher, and play partner, princess by day, s**t by night, friendship, and mistress, a sub, a slave.

24 days prior to July 1st, approximately June 7, two days before Yingying disappears. BC updates his profile and engages in social activity that I won't detail out of respect for the other parties’ privacy.

2 months prior to July 1: Active on Fetlife
****** Updates profile several times
**** Changes role to Dominant
***** Changes his role to Hedonist
****** Lists himself as married
****** Lists himself as being interested in (this list is snipped for focus)
Watching others wear shackles
Sex with strangers
Giving sensual domination
Sensory deprivation
Everything to do with sadomasochism
Rituals
Outdoor sex
Giving Objectification
Making home movies
Giving fear
Face slapping
Exhibitionism
Emotional sadism
Degradation
Defilement
Watching others wear chains
Giving belt whippings
Giving behavior modification
Receiving begging
Giving bare bottom spanking
Everything to do with: Anonymous encounters
Everything to do with Abduction play
Everything to do with Consensual nonconsent play
Giving Domination
Giving humiliation
Giving Pain
Giving sadism
Giving discipline
Giving Master/slave
Giving Mind *advertiser censored**ks
Everything to do with Predator/Prey
Giving bondage

Also two months prior to July 1st, joined groups (snipped)
5 different local BDSM groups
Domestic discipline
Fear play
Submissive/slaves
Mental BDSM, verbal humiliation, & mind f’s
Practicing polyamory
Primal, all types
Male owner, female property
Consensual nonconsent, blackmail, and slavery
Rope bondage
Predicament bondage
Behavior modification
Anonymous encounters
Abduction 101


Three months prior to July 1st
·******** Joined Fetlife
·******** Changed nickname from Buck_Dich689 to Akuma689
(Buck Dich is a song with very strong lyrics describing abuse and degradation http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rammstein/bck+dich+bend+down+english_20619555.html)

Eta: why I'm so sure it's him:
He uses the prefix Akuma in other SM handles (Steam for example), 689 refers to his month and year of birth and is also used in other SM (Okcupid). The age, sex, and specific location are correct. There were pics including him in friends' profiles, I did not screen shot those as they were not his profile.

Fetlife management has apparently confirmed his identity as well, there was a thread in Abduction 101 that bore his full real name shortly before the group disappeared from view. I didnt get to read it before it poofed. Not sure if the group has been deleted or is in some sort of invisible mode or something, I didn't officially join the group, I just lurked around. All his friends have removed references to relationships with him.


I'm a skeptic by nature, but given all this...I'm 100% confident this is BC.
 
Hello.

I will bring the picture over here. At first I thought he grabbed the water bottle but it appears to be a phone next to it that he grabbed. Am I wrong?

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With all this ugly info coming out now.. I still wonder how the SOB got so "lucky" to pull this off during bright daylight hours in a normal small city environment.. Did he really manage to bring YZ to his apartment? I can't imagine how, unless she was already unconscious.. even then, to carry her? Very risky.

Also the woman we saw is the most logical option for the informant.. I hope to the gods that that was the first thing she heard about what he did and that she wasn't an accomplice in any other way. (Please note I am NOT accusing her of anything!) Does anyone know the legality of being involved in a crime and then receiving immunity or a plea deal in exchange for wearing a wire?
 
I am sorry if this has already been discussed...but, it looks as though he is taking something out of his bookbag and they both look down at this item.
Possible cell phone pictures.... to brag? Obviously this is just speculation but it is really creepy to see that knowing what we know now!

It's interesting you say that because when I thought back to the video I remembered him reaching for what looked like his water bottle. I often have a water bottle in the same pocket of my backpack and often reach for it the same way, and I usually have more trouble shimmying my water bottle out of that pocket than he did.

You're right about the fact that they both look down at the object. In watching again I'm starting to think it was a cell phone. I wonder why they both looked at it...

Pure speculation but perhaps it was as you suggested, pictures or some kind of evidence, but I doubt he would show evidence when there were reporters and friends/family of the victim all around him.

I'm wondering if instead it was some kind of message. Sometimes in uncomfortable situations my friend will type out a text and show me their phone for me to read the message. Maybe he wrote some kind of threat to say "act natural, don't say anything etc." as it was probably obvious a news crew was right behind them.

We know two things about BC- he's ballsy and he's intelligent. IMO it could be a possibility... or, it's nothing important and we're grasping at straws.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I wouldn't be surprised if his companion at the vigil turns out to be LE, or a CI specifically recruited to make contact with him (possibly via FetLife?) and profess her interest in taking their fantasy to the next level by committing a real abduction.

It's not uncommon for serial killers to seek accomplices with whom to commit their crimes (e.g. the Freeway Killer and the Toolbox Killers). BC may have jumped too quickly at this chance to share details of his exploits and plan his next abduction with a companion representing herself as like-minded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Undercover? That's an interesting angle! If so, making that threat is a serious crime under federal law.
 
AnemoneBrown said:
That's true but you cannot forget to update something you never had in the first place. You term "update" would be appropriate if his LinkedIn said "B.A. Physics". That's something to update because it already happen, the PhD candidacy did not.This not an issue of agreeing to disagree. His LinkedIn profile misrepresents his accomplishments to his benefit.

"PhD candidate" simply means that one has passed their comprehensive/qualifying exam and is continuing toward completing their PhD. If he was in his fourth year before dropping out, he very likely had already taken the qualifying exam (typically occurs in the second year).
 
It's interesting you say that because when I thought back to the video I remembered him reaching for what looked like his water bottle. I often have a water bottle in the same pocket of my backpack and often reach for it the same way, and I usually have more trouble shimmying my water bottle out of that pocket than he did.

You're right about the fact that they both look down at the object. In watching again I'm starting to think it was a cell phone. I wonder why they both looked at it...

Pure speculation but perhaps it was as you suggested, pictures or some kind of evidence, but I doubt he would show evidence when there were reporters and friends/family of the victim all around him.

I'm wondering if instead it was some kind of message. Sometimes in uncomfortable situations my friend will type out a text and show me their phone for me to read the message. Maybe he wrote some kind of threat to say "act natural, don't say anything etc." as it was probably obvious a news crew was right behind them.

We know two things about BC- he's ballsy and he's intelligent. IMO it could be a possibility... or, it's nothing important and we're grasping at straws.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Watch this again, and watch the second portion when it goes into slow motion. You can see his fingers gripping the red water bottle and the bottle moves a bit with his fingers. IMO.

[video=twitter;881968352058650624]https://twitter.com/WCIA3Eades/status/881968352058650624[/video]
 
Watch this again, and watch the second portion when it goes into slow motion. You can see his fingers gripping the red water bottle and the bottle moves a bit with his fingers. IMO.

[video=twitter;881968352058650624]https://twitter.com/WCIA3Eades/status/881968352058650624[/video]

I see what you're seeing but I often put my cell phone and water bottle in the same pocket and those pockets tend to be tight for two objects so to get the cell phone out he'd have to touch the water bottle and reach behind it.

However, in watching the slow motion part it does seem that the water bottle isn't there any longer at the very end which would lead me to believe it WAS his water bottle that he retrieved.

If so, why'd they both look at it though? Hmm... :thinking:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
"PhD candidate" simply means that one has passed their comprehensive/qualifying exam and is continuing toward completing their PhD. If he was in his fourth year before dropping out, he very likely had already taken the qualifying exam (typically occurs in the second year).

Yes, this is correct. If he was in his 4th year, he was very likely a PhD candidate. According to this webpage from the university, that happens in the 2nd year of this program: http://physics.illinois.edu/careers-seminar/GradProgramPhysicsIllinoisBrochure.pdf

This was also just his LinkedIn page- not a resume or an official document. It took me 2 months to update my LinkedIn after I switched jobs. He doesn't even have a profile picture. I'm sure he made the page at some point and forgot about it.

ETA: I don't mean literally forgot about it, but just didn't attend to it. He has no activity suggesting he was active on there or trying to misrepresent his experience.
 
Entrapment defense? Certainly hope not.

Luckily, I don't think that defense would hold water here. As I understand it, entrapment typically involves enticing someone to commit a crime, so a confession to a CI or undercover LEO about a crime one has already committed wouldn't be covered.


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I see what you're seeing but I often put my cell phone and water bottle in the same pocket and those pockets tend to be tight for two objects so to get the cell phone out he'd have to touch the water bottle and reach behind it.

However, in watching the slow motion part it does seem that the water bottle isn't there any longer at the very end which would lead me to believe it WAS his water bottle that he retrieved.

If so, why'd they both look at it though? Hmm... :thinking:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Except he seems to be taking longer than usual to pull out a water bottle which is why I thought maybe the phone got pulled out instead. I don't know. Maybe my eyes are just tired :)
 
I think the woman at the vigil with him knew him intimately.
She was very brave to wear a wire tap especially if he had threatened her, but I guess that made her feel safer knowing police were monitoring everything. hopefully they were nearby at all times.
Her only other option would have been to run and hide.
 
Eastcoaster had an interesting idea. Perhaps he got suspicious and pulled the phone out to text her a message rather than speak it.
 
"PhD candidate" simply means that one has passed their comprehensive/qualifying exam and is continuing toward completing their PhD. If he was in his fourth year before dropping out, he very likely had already taken the qualifying exam (typically occurs in the second year).

You may be right. There were several threads discussing this topic where we went over questions surrounding when he dropped out, whether he would have needed to complete his coursework, the interview with the program advisor, his need to complete additional coursework after dropping out, etc. The conversation included science PhD's and others. In the interest of not hashing out a long discussion again, I'll refer you to those if you are still interested.
 
I see what you're seeing but I often put my cell phone and water bottle in the same pocket and those pockets tend to be tight for two objects so to get the cell phone out he'd have to touch the water bottle and reach behind it.

However, in watching the slow motion part it does seem that the water bottle isn't there any longer at the very end which would lead me to believe it WAS his water bottle that he retrieved.

If so, why'd they both look at it though? Hmm... :thinking:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My thought was since he pulled the water bottle out with one hand he was probably trying to flip up the top thingy one handed, and she looked down to see what he was doing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
I don't think this suggestion is a likely scenario, but, maybe it wasn't a coincidence that the camera was so close behind him. It's unclear what type of surveillance the FBI had him under (ie, were they watching him? Did someone have a wire? etc.), but maybe they saw him leave and go to the rally and had the camera stay near him to catch what he was saying and to keep a close eye on him.
 
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