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

[kittythehare]

#Christensen’s lawyer told jurors that his client’s life was unraveling in the months before killing #YingyingZhang. As a #UofI doctoral candidate in physics, Christensen had been getting straight As, but, by fall 2016, he was getting straight Fs.

 

[Hatfield]

Do you remember, back around the beginning of our work on Websleuths- do you remember we did searches for missing women in every area he had lived?

I know we suspected he may have committed more murders but I dont remember that we knew the tape recording has him admitting to 13 murders. Unless he was exagerrating I think its worth LE to re-look at other cases.

 

[Webthrush]

Just curious, does BC have any family attending trial?
…and unless I missed it, I’m still unclear if it’s been told HOW (and how quickly) he disabled YY once she was in vehicle, and how did he transport her into apt. — was she conscious? in a bag?
…as far as wooded areas, they’re a dime a dozen — and frequented by hunters, hikers, joggers, birdwatchers, recreationalists — generally a poor place to try to hide a body, unless you dig a deep enough grave for scavenging animals not to find it.

 

[kittythehare]

I know we suspected he may have committed more murders but I dont remember that we knew the tape recording has him admitting to 13 murders. Unless he was exagerrating, I think its worth LE to re-look at other cases.

No, we just believed he had done it before, that she was not his first.
If they're gonna be arguing that he was drunk on the tape and he didn't really kill anybody else, which seems to be their theme right now, they can thrash the entire tape and say it was merely drunken bragging.
I'm unclear why he persists in pleading not guilty?
Not guilty to what exactly?
He did it.
Proves lies to FBI.
The rest?
It's likely the truth except why exactly is he placing so much value on the occult location of her remains? He was almost boasting about it, not about killing her but of his cleverness in hiding her.
As @DM said, he slept beside that murder weapon for 3 full weeks and hadn't even cleaned it correctly... if that is all accurate and he did not destroy her remains it suggests they are retrievable, at a stretch(!)

 

[JaneEyre]

Prosecution: had her phone disabled within 20 minutes

Bound and raped her in the bedroom leaving bloodstains on bed, wall and floor. Put her in the tub and hit her in the head with the baseball bat until her head broke open, then Stabbed her in the neck until her head was severed.

Also: FBI investigates possibilty of other victims, found no evidence of such

This is so very hard to hear. I wish her parents didn’t have to hear it as well.

 

[Hatfield]

This is incredible to me.

Didnt he plead Not Guilty?

Cant the Prosecution rest their case now after this Defense statement?

If I was prosecution I would look to rest my case and send it to Jury for punishment phase where I would then present all the gory detail evidence.

"Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3h3 hours ago

Defense: "Brendt Christensen killed Yingying Zhang" "

Ben Zigterman (@bzigterman) | Twitter

 

[Chambana]

No, we just believed he had done it before, that she was not his first.
If they're gonna be arguing that he was drunk on the tape and he didn't really kill anybody else, which seems to be their theme right now, they can thrash the entire tape and say it was merely drunken bragging.
I'm unclear why he persists in pleading not guilty?
Not guilty to what exactly?
He did it.
Proves lies to FBI.
The rest?
It's likely the truth except why exactly is he placing so much value on the occult location of her remains? He was almost boasting about it, not about killing her but of his cleverness in hiding her.
As @DM said, he slept beside that murder weapon for 3 full weeks and hadn't even cleaned it correctly... if that is all accurate and he did not destroy her remains it suggests they are retrievable, at a stretch(!)

I honestly believe in weird delusion, he thought he was going to get away with this. Remember the FBI still had an all points bulletin for his car, the entire time he was under surveillance. This clown unbeknownst to him was talking to a wire tapped woman and fell right into the trap. I think he didn’t feel a need to clean his weapon because he was probably laughing about how “stupid” law enforcement, only to find out they were one step ahead.


Your so smart Brendt. Your so smart. Your really “good” at this. NOT!

We the people of the jury find the defendant Brendt A Christensen guilty to kidnapping/murder/rape. We think the appropriate sentence is death your honor.

 

[quiec]

No, we just believed he had done it before, that she was not his first.
If they're gonna be arguing that he was drunk on the tape and he didn't really kill anybody else, which seems to be their theme right now, they can thrash the entire tape and say it was merely drunken bragging.
I'm unclear why he persists in pleading not guilty?
Not guilty to what exactly?
He did it.
Proves lies to FBI.
The rest?
It's likely the truth except why exactly is he placing so much value on the occult location of her remains? He was almost boasting about it, not about killing her but of his cleverness in hiding her.
As @DM said, he slept beside that murder weapon for 3 full weeks and hadn't even cleaned it correctly... if that is all accurate and he did not destroy her remains it suggests they are retrievable, at a stretch(!)

Part of me has the notion that, given he has admitted to killing her, perhaps the reason he refuses to give up the location of the remains is that he has indeed done this before and the location is common to previous victims, and would eliminate his “sudden life unraveling” defense (I would say sudden mental health snap defense had that not be withdrawn, which I also still don’t understand).

But the other part of me says there is probably no way he killed anyone else because of how sloppy he was. He was more likely just being grandiose in the claims of being a serial killer because he wished he was, but was a “failure” in that along with pretty much everything else he attempted in his psychopathic life. Despicable.

 

[kittythehare]

With Yingying Zhang’s father sitting just a few feet away on a courtroom bench, prosecutor Eugene Miller also revealed for the first time that Brendt Christensen was captured on an FBI wiretap bragging that Zhang had been his 13th victim. But the prosecutor didn’t say if authorities believed him.

“While Yingying was on campus pursuing her dreams, he was on campus pursuing something dark - something evil,” Miller said, standing at a podium in front of jurors.

Later, the tall, muscled Christensen bound the 5-foot-4 Zhang and got her into his apartment, where, Miller said, he raped Zhang in his bedroom and began stabbing her, blood splattering around the room. Zhang fought back as Christensen began trying to choke Zhang, Miller told jurors, citing a statement Christensen allegedly made to others
then dragged Zhang into the bathroom where he picked up a baseball bat and struck Zhang in the head as hard as he could, “splitting her head open,” Miller said. Christensen cut off her head and disposed of the found, which has never been, the prosecutor told jurors.

Defense in trial of Chinese scholar's death: He did it

 

[kittythehare]

Part of me has the notion that, given he has admitted to killing her, perhaps the reason he refuses to give up the location of the remains is that he has indeed done this before and the location is common to previous victims, and would eliminate his “sudden life unraveling” defense (I would say sudden mental health snap defense had that not be withdrawn, which I also still don’t understand).

But the other part of me says there is probably no way he killed anyone else because of how sloppy he was. He was more likely just being grandiose in the claims of being a serial killer because he wished he was, but was a “failure” in that along with pretty much everything else he attempted in his psychopathic life. Despicable.

Good point re location of remains being possibly a shared location with possible prior victims.
He had not actually been a failure up until late '16, he was academically very bright and had achieved a lot... could have done better... but so far, no evidence of failure prior to this..

 

[quiec]

Good point re location of remains being possibly a shared location with possible prior victims.
He had not actually been a failure up until late '16, he was academically very bright and had achieved a lot... could have done better... but so far, no evidence of failure prior to this..

Yes, I meant the more recent perceived failure after he fell off his degree track for whatever reason, marriage collapsed, etc. You’re right though that he was seemingly doing well before that, at least on the surface. Just wish he would say what happened after all the horror we have heard.

 

[kittythehare]

this is from the ap report above
Zhang’s body was never found and one challenge for prosecutors is to prove to jurors she is dead. That could include evidence of her blood in Christensen’s apartment and a cadaver-sniffing dog that indicated a dead body had been there.
I don't understand why they need to prove she is dead if his defense are saying he killed her?

 

[Hatfield]

Part of me has the notion that, given he has admitted to killing her, perhaps the reason he refuses to give up the location of the remains is that he has indeed done this before and the location is common to previous victims, and would eliminate his “sudden life unraveling” defense (I would say sudden mental health snap defense had that not be withdrawn, which I also still don’t understand).

But the other part of me says there is probably no way he killed anyone else because of how sloppy he was. He was more likely just being grandiose in the claims of being a serial killer because he wished he was, but was a “failure” in that along with pretty much everything else he attempted in his psychopathic life. Despicable.

Great points.

I never considered that he may be using the same dumping location for other victims and maybe that is why he would never be able to give up location of victim because he doesnt want to admit to other killings. That building nearby is still my primary place I think he took her too.

That is what has me thinking maybe this was his first murder too. The incredible sloppiness of his crime seems so amaturistic.

 

[Hatfield]

....snipped by me for focus.....

I don't understand why they need to prove she is dead if his defense are saying he killed her?

I dont understand that either.

Do we have any lawyers or anyone with legal experience who could answer why Prosecution cannot just rest their case now?

I know during the penalty phase it would be important to list all the gory details but during this Guilty/Not-Guilty phase I think the Prosecution should rest their case.

 

[kittythehare]

Defense, Prosecutors say Christensen killed missing U of I scholar

 

[kittythehare]

I dont understand that either.

Do we have any lawyers or anyone with legal experience who could answer why Prosecution cannot just rest their case now?

I know during the penalty phase it would be important to list all the gory details but during this Guilty/Not-Guilty phase I think the Prosecution should rest their case.

They still need to torture TB.. they did not cross-examine any of today's 3 witnesses, so far... could all have been done and dusted 2 yrs ago and appalled that it was not. Reckon the forensic evidence must be really really strong here. Though it felt like getting shot when I learned the details , I had a feeling it would be very streamlined and resting upon points of law rather than details.
I wonder whether he will take the stand formally to receive the Bundy Crown that he seems to crave so much?

 

[JaneEyre]

They still need to torture TB.. they did not cross-examine any of today's 3 witnesses, so far... could all have been done and dusted 2 yrs ago and appalled that it was not. Reckon the forensic evidence must be really really strong here. Though it felt like getting shot when I learned the details , I had a feeling it would be very streamlined and resting upon points of law rather than details.
I wonder whether he will take the stand formally to receive the Bundy Crown that he seems to crave so much?

Yes, what IS the point of dragging her through this, of insisting on her psych records, when they admit he did it? I don’t understand. Seems like pure evil. I wish @gitana1 was around to explain just what is going on here, why this is even continuing.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

Kitty tons of wooded areas, and and fairly large state parks. Kickapoo comes to mind.

To kitty’s post above it is 1:17PM here.

2 years ago when this was all breaking news, and searches were going on, I seem to recall some WS-ers mentioning the name Kickapoo -- it's one of those names that stands out!

Thanks to all who are sending the updates to the rest of us who are non-Tweet-ers! Much appreciated!

 

[JaneEyre]

2 years ago when this was all breaking news, and searches were going on, I seem to recall some WS-ers mentioning the name Kickapoo -- it's one of those names that stands out!

Thanks to all who are sending the updates to the rest of us who are non-Tweet-ers! Much appreciated!

Kickapoo just stands out because of the name. There’s not any more reason to suspect it as a dumpsite than any other.

 

[kittythehare]

Yes, what IS the point of dragging her through this, of insisting on her psych records, when they admit he did it? I don’t understand. Seems like pure evil. I wish @gitana1 was around to explain just what is going on here, why this is even continuing.

Agree.
It's almost insulting that it took them 2 yrs to come up with a sob-story that any clown could have invented on the spot, poor dude, down on his luck, his woman all gone had no choice but to carry out this heinous crime...