Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #10 *Still Missing*

[dm92]

What is with the double standard ? His family is saying 'I will miss my son, and I love him after he murdered yyz' , what about yyz family ? They don't miss her ?

Said it before, say it again: yes, it will be sad for his family if he is executed. But, they will have a measure of mercy and comfort that Yingying’s family may never have.

They will have his remains.

Also, there’s another thing they will have: time to say goodbye. They’ll have plenty of opportunity, years of opportunity, to be with him and communicate with him. It will be a very long goodbye. Yingying’s family never realized the goodbye at the train station was goodbye forever.....

 

[dm92]

If


III. The Defendant’s Text Message Referencing Murder During the guilt phase of the trial, the United States introduced into evidence a text message from the defendant to Terra Bullis on June 9, 2019, referencing breathing, fine dining, and murder. During cross-examination, defense counsel suggested this was a quote from the animated series, Spongebob Squarepants. During the penalty phase, defense counsel specifically pointed out during the questioning of the defendant’s sister that she watched Spongebob Squarepants with the defendant While references to breathing and fine dining indeed come from Spongebob Squarepants, the reference to murder does not. Therefore, it would be improper for the defendant to argue during closing arguments that this quote comes from Spongebob Squarepants. If the defendant is not prohibited from making such an argument, the United States should be permitted to introduce rebuttal evidence regarding the actual quotation.




Hard to believe this is how it really works.... warped

If someone had told me years ago that one day, Spongebob Squarepants would figure into a death penalty trial, I would have thought them insane......

 

[kittythehare]

Tuesday, July 16th:
*Penalty Phase of Trial continues (Day 7) (@ 9:30am @ CT) - IL - Yingying Zhang (26) (missing on June 9, 2017, Urbana; not found) - *Brendt A. Christensen (28) indicted (6/30/17) on kidnapping (Federal charge) resulting in death of Yingying & 2 counts of giving false statements to FBI. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA will seek DP.
Trial started 6/3/19 with jury selection & took until 6/11/19 to pick a jury. 12 jurors & 6 alternates. (7 men & 5 women). Trial ended 6/24/19. Jurors reached a verdict in less than 2 hours. Christensen was found GUILTY of kidnapping resulting in the death of Yingying Zhang. Also found GUILTY on two counts of making false statements to the FBI. Penalty Phase started on 7/8.
Jury Selection Days 1 to 7 (6/3/19 to 6/7/19) & Trial days 1 to 9 (6/12/19 to 6/24/19), Court info (7/2/19 to 7/5/19) & Penalty Phase Day 1 to 5 (7/8/19 to 7/12/19) reference post #1004 here:
GUILTY - IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #10 *Still Missing*
7/15/19 Penalty Phase Day 6: Defense witnesses: Jail employees: Livingston County Jail supt. Stuart Inman. Livingston County Sergeant Donald Niles. Keesha Burns, Correctional Officer at Livingston County Jail. Nicolas Melvin, Livingston County Sheriff’s Department Correctional Officer. At a break, defense strongly objected, saying his reading materials, YouTube viewing history, etc, weren't supposed to be brought up in trial, and that the question would unfairly prejudice the jury. Judge Shadid denied a motion for mistrial. Defense witnesses: Patricia Perez, who worked as a Correctional Officer at Livingston County Jail. Outside the presence of the jury, Court notes Dft's 462 Notice of Proffer of Testimony as it relates to Dr. Peggy Pearson. McKinley Mental Health Clinic Dr. Peggy Pearson (saw him on February 4, 2016). Ellen Williams (mother). Played a compilation of family videos of Christensen at his first birthday, opening Christmas gifts and playing the piano. Andrea Christensen (sister) and Christensen declined to take the stand. They'll formally rest case tomorrow, followed by rebuttal from the prosecution. Closing arguments set for Wednesday. Penalty phase continues 7/16.




Question??
Did Dr. Peggy Pearson actually testify? Or just her report was presented? I didn't understand that tweet. TIA!

If she's the shrink, no she did not... but defense still posted about what she WOULD have said had she been there.. It's in today's courtlistener motions.. or I posted it here earlier... if that's the shrink she was prescribing crazy amounts of drugs , weird posology and makin' up as she went along regarding diagnosis in my opinion.... enough for mitigation, in fact, but then she would have been testifying against herself because prosecution would have rebutted with serious experts that could not have condoned either her prescriptions or her diagnoses, plural, its a helluva mess... Prosecution took revenge a few hours ago and threatened even more if the terms of the plea negotiations were spilled....they didn't quite spill them but they spilled the unfortunate guinea pig, he died squealing apparently... etc..

 

[kittythehare]

If someone had told me years ago that one day, Spongebob Squarepants would figure into a death penalty trial, I would have thought them insane......

What do you make of the rest of that? I'm kinda horrified..
(the sister had to mention spongebobs in her character reference earlier... thats why she came...
and the jury never saw the word murder....

 

[AnemoneBrown]

Bombshell!

"In fact, the defendant refused to be examined by the United States’ psychologists."

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’S MOTION FOR AN INSTRUCTION REGARDING THE DEFENDANT’S PRESENTATION OF MENTAL HEALTH TESTIMONY IN MITIGATION NOW COMES the United States of America, by John C. Milhiser, United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, Eugene L. Miller and Bryan Freres, Assistant United States Attorneys, and James B. Nelson, Department of Justice Trial Attorney, and respectfully requests that the Court issue the following jury instruction: There is a legal procedure under the Federal Rules of Evidence and Criminal Procedure which allow a defendant to present evidence of his mental health condition as a mitigating factor in a capital case. The Rules require the defendant to give notice of the particular mental health condition that he will raise, as well as any witnesses he will call and what they will testify about regarding the mental health condition. The Rules provide that, once the defendant gives notice, the United States may have its own psychologists examine the defendant to determine whether he does, in fact, suffer from that mental health condition. The United States’ psychologists would then be permitted to testify at trial about their examination. In this case, the defendant has proposed mitigating factors related to various mental health conditions. The defendant did not give notice of his intent to do this as required by the Rules. Because the defendant did not give the required notice, the United States did not have an opportunity to have its psychologists examine the defendant. In fact, the defendant refused to be examined by the United States’ psychologists. You may consider this fact in weighing the credibility of the evidence and testimony presented by the defendant with regard to his mental condition in mitigation
Miscellaneous Relief – #468 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com

Bit late for this one, they were always gonna be doing this and they should have been pulled on it at the outset, not now, after the jury has heard everything from schizophrenia to feverishness to running off buildings into cars.

There is something vulgar and extraordinarily ugly about this entire process.

 

[AnemoneBrown]

Alternatively, the civil suit federal complaint alleges that BC "chronically" abused the prescriptions he was given. If this is true, it makes sense for the defense to leave it alone.

If she's the shrink, no she did not... but defense still posted about what she WOULD have said had she been there.. It's in today's courtlistener motions.. or I posted it here earlier... if that's the shrink she was prescribing crazy amounts of drugs , weird posology and makin' up as she went along regarding diagnosis in my opinion.... enough for mitigation, in fact, but then she would have been testifying against herself because prosecution would have rebutted with serious experts that could not have condoned either her prescriptions or her diagnoses, plural, its a helluva mess... Prosecution took revenge a few hours ago and threatened even more if the terms of the plea negotiations were spilled....they didn't quite spill them but they spilled the unfortunate guinea pig, he died squealing apparently... etc..

 

[dm92]

What do you make of the rest of that? I'm kinda horrified..
(the sister had to mention spongebobs in her character reference earlier... thats why she came...
and the jury never saw the word murder....

I look at all of that as "two can play at this game..." The defense is following ABA guidelines regarding DP cases; they call for basically pulling out all the stops and throwing everything including the kitchen sink, out there. So, the prosecution is countering by say
ing that if the defense brings certain things up, they'll do there own version of throwing everything out there

 

[Niner]

If she's the shrink, no she did not... but defense still posted about what she WOULD have said had she been there.. It's in today's courtlistener motions.. or I posted it here earlier... if that's the shrink she was prescribing crazy amounts of drugs , weird posology and makin' up as she went along regarding diagnosis in my opinion.... enough for mitigation, in fact, but then she would have been testifying against herself because prosecution would have rebutted with serious experts that could not have condoned either her prescriptions or her diagnoses, plural, its a helluva mess... Prosecution took revenge a few hours ago and threatened even more if the terms of the plea negotiations were spilled....they didn't quite spill them but they spilled the unfortunate guinea pig, he died squealing apparently... etc..

Yes it was Dr. Pearson - in courtlistener motion thing.

Thanks!

and Oops - to late to edit my post....

 

[trunkizback]

Question. I worked in Champaign with a guy named Huckstadt. Does any one remember the FBI agents full name? I think they are related. Which, if so , might give me a chance to get a bug in his ear about a further search.

 

[JaneEyre]

I don’t think that we can say with any confidence that he was dosed incorrectly by his psych - unless we have a psychiatrist tell us this. Many, many drugs will show completely different guidelines than what is generally used, depending on the disorder. A drug may have guidelines for four or five disorders, yet actually commonly be used to treat a few more where the guidelines are not listed. I know this from personal experience, although not for Zoloft.

Below - BBM

Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

The recommended dosage of sertraline depends on the disorder being treated. The initial recommended dosage for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder is 50 mg daily. This may be increased at intervals of at least one week to the maximum recommended dosage of 200 mg daily. For the treatment of panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, the initial dose is 25 mg once daily. This dosage is increased to 50 mg daily after one week. If there is no therapeutic response, the dosage may be increased to the maximum of 200 mg daily at intervals of at least one week. These dosages may need to be reduced in elderly patients (over age 65) or in people with liver disease.

Read more: Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

 

[kittythehare]

I don’t think that we can say with any confidence that he was dosed incorrectly by his psych - unless we have a psychiatrist tell us this. Many, many drugs will show completely different guidelines than what is generally used, depending on the disorder. A drug may have guidelines for four or five disorders, yet actually commonly be used to treat a few more where the guidelines are not listed. I know this from personal experience, although not for Zoloft.

Below - BBM

Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

The recommended dosage of sertraline depends on the disorder being treated. The initial recommended dosage for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder is 50 mg daily. This may be increased at intervals of at least one week to the maximum recommended dosage of 200 mg daily. For the treatment of panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, the initial dose is 25 mg once daily. This dosage is increased to 50 mg daily after one week. If there is no therapeutic response, the dosage may be increased to the maximum of 200 mg daily at intervals of at least one week. These dosages may need to be reduced in elderly patients (over age 65) or in people with liver disease.

Read more: Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

more like
Zoloft (Sertraline Hcl): Side Effects, Interactions, Warning, Dosage & Uses

He reported new symptoms which are consistent with

I don’t think that we can say with any confidence that he was dosed incorrectly by his psych - unless we have a psychiatrist tell us this. Many, many drugs will show completely different guidelines than what is generally used, depending on the disorder. A drug may have guidelines for four or five disorders, yet actually commonly be used to treat a few more where the guidelines are not listed. I know this from personal experience, although not for Zoloft.

Below - BBM

Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

The recommended dosage of sertraline depends on the disorder being treated. The initial recommended dosage for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder is 50 mg daily. This may be increased at intervals of at least one week to the maximum recommended dosage of 200 mg daily. For the treatment of panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, the initial dose is 25 mg once daily. This dosage is increased to 50 mg daily after one week. If there is no therapeutic response, the dosage may be increased to the maximum of 200 mg daily at intervals of at least one week. These dosages may need to be reduced in elderly patients (over age 65) or in people with liver disease.

Read more: Sertraline - dose, children, effects, therapy, drug, people, used, brain

more like producing side effects and being medicated for them as opposed to changing the prescription.

that he had made mistakes in his work. He also told her that he and his wife were now discussing divorce after five years of marriage. She noted that he was under significant stress. She instructed Brendt to increase his sertraline dose from 75mg per day to 100mg per day and to come back to see her in six to eight weeks. O. Brendt came back to see her for the fifth time on June 7, 2016. On that occasion he reported that his mood had improved and his anxiety had also improved but he had begun to have problems sleeping. He stated that he was waking up in the middle of the night and having difficulty falling back asleep. He reported that his marriage situation had improved. He had decided to accept a master’s degree instead of continuing to pursue a Ph.D. and he appeared relieved. She prescribed him trazodone 50mg to take in addition to the sertraline. Trazodone is an antidepressant medication that is frequently used as a sleep aid. P. When she next saw Brendt, on July 21, 2016, he was still having problems sleeping. He reported early insomnia every other night and waking up Notice (Other) – #470 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com

Trazodone and Zoloft Drug Interactions - Drugs.com
sing traZODone together with sertraline can increase the risk of a rare but serious condition called the serotonin syndrome, which may include symptoms such as confusion, hallucination
sertraline oral and trazodone oral Drug Interactions - RxList
she then went on to prescribe ambien , far as I remember for sleep disturbance. He did not initially present with insomnia
As you say, it does need a pharmaceutical opinion.

Perhaps psychotherapy would have been a better option, a drugless option following a deep exploration of possible issues while undrugged?

 

[kittythehare]

Miscellaneous Relief – #469 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com

On February 15th, 2019, the government filed a motion to exclude evidence of plea negotiations from both phases of Mr. Christensen’s trial. (R. 251.) Mr. Christensen responded, explaining that he wished to present evidence at both the guilt and penalty phases that, in December of 2017, less than six months after his arrest, he was willing to enter a plea of guilty, cooperate fully with law enforcement investigators in their attempts to locate Ms. Zhang’s remains and accept a sentence of life without possibility of release. (R. 278.) Mr. Christensen explained that, as at least two district courts have found, only a defendant’s offer to plead guilty is admissible; the government’s response to that offer is irrelevant. Id. at 8. The government filed a Reply on March 26, 2019, and Mr. Christensen filed a Surreply on April 5, 2019. (R. 296.)

The parties thereafter attempted to reach a stipulation on the matter to be read to the jury instead of presenting live testimony, but no agreement could be reached. The defense proposal was a single paragraph. The government’s proposal spans several pages and contains unconstitutional, irrelevant and prejudicial material that should not be placed before Mr. Christensen’s jury.

Specifically, page one of the government’s proposal discusses the wishes of the victim’s family and states that the family is agreeable to a plea agreement providing for a life sentence only if the agreement is contingent upon finding Ms. Zhang’s remains. This language makes clear that, if no remains are in fact recovered, the family desires that Mr. Christensen receive a death sentence. As the jury is well aware, no remains have been recovered. This language in the stipulation therefore constitutes victim impact evidence that offers an opinion regarding the appropriate sentence, in violation of Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991), and Bosse v. Oklahoma, 137 S. Ct. 1 (2016) (per curiam)

Even if the government’s response were relevant, only the fact that Mr. Christensen declined to enter a plea agreement that was completely contingent upon events over which he had no control would be proper, and the jury should not be presented with his counsel’s beliefs. Furthermore, the use of the informal, indeed flippant, phrase “your client’s last and best offer” from an email unfairly suggests that Mr. Christensen was callously bargaining with the government and is beneath the dignity of this proceeding

 

[Niner]

Question. I worked in Champaign with a guy named Huckstadt. Does any one remember the FBI agents full name? I think they are related. Which, if so , might give me a chance to get a bug in his ear about a further search.

FBI Agent Andrew Huckstadt.

 

[dm92]

Question. I worked in Champaign with a guy named Huckstadt. Does any one remember the FBI agents full name? I think they are related. Which, if so , might give me a chance to get a bug in his ear about a further search.

The agent’s first name is Andrew.

 

[kittythehare]

media got the guinea pig story!

LIVE: Christensen sentencing phase, Day 7

In court Tuesday, Shadid said prosecutors didn’t need to bring up the guinea pig, as Christensen’s affinity for his cat would not be a key issue during the closing. Pollock also noted it’s uncorroborated.

 

[kittythehare]

Ben's tweets are all contained in article above
This concludes all the evidence from the sentencing phase," Judge Shadid said after prosecution made a brief rebuttal. (
Shadid said prosecutors didn't need to bring up the guinea pig, as Christensen's affinity for his cat would not be a key issue during the closing. Pollock also noted the claim he killed a guinea pig is uncorroborated.
Pollock also said the defense wouldn't attack Christensen's ex girlfriend's credibility, so Christensen listing her as a reference was moot. (3/8)
In their rebuttal, over defense's objection, prosecution got in another chance to play the jail call of Christensen's now ex wife mocking his ex-girlfriend... (4/8)
...under the premise that she claimed in her testimony that Christensen didn't laugh on the tape when it appears he did (5/8)
Prosecution also played a jail call of his father saying that once Christensen is exonerated, he'd "love to contact her dad" and everyone else who assumed Christensen's guilt and point out that they "should be ashamed" (6/8)
he jury won't hear anything about the plea negotiations with Christensen, as the two sides couldn't agree to a stipulation about how the negotiations went down. (7/8)
Closing arguments will be made tomorrow at 9am, then the jury will deliberate (8/8)
1

 

[kittythehare]

he judge had a question about that last one, so cue the quote of the day from Asst. Federal Defender Elisabeth Pollock: "I can categorically represent I'm not mentioning SpongeBob in my closing," she says of her imminent closing argument. Can't make this stuff up
@WCIA3



2





Aaron Eades
@WCIA3Eades
·
52m

Sentencing phase, day 7: Before the jury's broughy in, attorneys bicker (heatedly) about motions and jury instructions. Discussing BC's mental health, medications, counseling, his pet cat, jail calls, and the aforementioned SpongeBob SquarePants reference.
@WCIA3

Brief government rebuttal over the context of a couple jail calls, then both sides rest. Closing arguments will happen tomorrow morning at 9 AM.

 

[kittythehare]

I'm about to fall into a heap of hysteria in a mo...

 

[altojack]

This just gets worse, it's quite likely me but today's thoughts from me? Hmm, you sure? OK, all I'm getting is that whatever is said or done HAS to make BC look and sound like a good guy. We can't say things that will put him in a bad light.


Where's the door to let me outta here. I've got fuzzy brain, and don't know where it came from. Any ideas?

 

[kittythehare]

Stipulation – #471 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com
will not copy/paste for me.. it's re book..
there was no book and there was no proof of book presented in evidence

(this is odd cos there were photos of books listed in evidence on visit to jail by fbi)