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

[AnemoneBrown]

• 
  
  
  
  Jacqueline Francis
  @FrancisonFoxIL

JUSTICE FOR YINGYING: “The time has come. Justice must be done. Sentence Brendt Christensen to death.” Federal prosecutor’s last words to the jury.
@foxillinois
@wics_abc20

 

[kittythehare]

eades
Sketch by Joe McGuire-- Zhang family watches closing arguments. First time we've seen YZ's mom in the courtroom
@WCIA3

 

[dm92]

I just don't know about the Prosecution's closing statement. To me, the most important issue has been his refusal to give the family peace. I would've liked to hear:

"The defense has given you 50 mitigating factors, I will give you 50 reasons to put him to death: "THIS REMORSELESS MURDERER STIL REFUSES TO GIVE YINGYING'S FAMILY THE LOCATION OF HER REMAINS" "THIS REMORSELESS MURDERER STILL REFUSES TO GIVE YINGYING'S FAMILY THE LOCATION OF HER REMAINS" "THIS REMORSELESS MURDERER REFUSES TO GIVE YINGYING'S FAMILY THE LOCATION OF HER REMAINS"

And I would've repeated that 50 times and sat down.

Again, couldn't take notes because my damn pen died, but Nelson mentioned she still has not been found and may never be found, and he made a big deal about tape 29 and BC mentioning that he would never tell where she was and that she was gone forever.

Putting it the way you put it, having him say it the way you say it, would get dangerously close to the imbroglio about the plea deal negotiations. Because the sides could not agree to a stipulation about the facts of that event, both sides were not allowed to bring it up. Saying he "refuses to give Yingying's family the location of her remains" would get directly into that, and the Judge would probably instruct the jury to ignore it......

 

[dm92]

eades
Sketch by Joe McGuire-- Zhang family watches closing arguments. First time we've seen YZ's mom in the courtroom
@WCIA3

That had to be so hard for her mom. Every time i see her, I just feel so awful...........

 

[kittythehare]

eades contd
AUSA Nelson holds up the duffel bag the FBI bought (identical to the one BC did), saying the jury can determine whether or not a human being can fit inside one
@

"He's not just a cold-blooded killer," Pollock says, "In fact, I don't think he is one at all." Later, when describing YZ's kidnapping/death, she looks directly at the Zhang family and sincerely says "I'm sorry."

Then Asst. Federal Defender Elisabeth Pollock delivers her closing argument. She has a powerpoint presentation explaining jury instructions and their mitigating factors
@WCIA

No amount of Drano could erase what they say happened [in the bathroom]" she says. AUSA Miller would later dispute this claim in the government's rebuttal
@WCI

Toward the end, Pollock tears up, walks over and puts her hands on Brendt's shoulders. She argues that what he did for three months in 2017 isn't a full enough picture of who he is to warrant a sentence of death
@WCIA3

AUSA Miller gives a lengthy, pointed (albeit repetetive and rambling) rebuttal, concluding it with "The lre is only one sentence that will do justice in this case."
@WCIA

he jury is now deliberating. In order for a sentence of death to be imposed, it must be unanimous, the jury following the instructions to determine the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating ones. If just one juror holds out, it's automatic life in prison

Because of that, federal prosecutors argued that the jury should work toward a goal of reaching agreement, while the defense said they should all think as individuals


Court is in recess now. Closing arguments just finished for the sentencing phase of the Brendt Christensen trial. The courtroom was full, and an overflow room was opened up to accommodate the crowd.

Mitigating factors include no criminal record, BC’s mother’s history of depression and alcoholism, BC’s capability to love and care, the breakdown of BC’s marriage, how well BC behaved in jail, etc.
@WCIA3


2



Aaron Eades Retweeted



Courtney Bunting

@cbuntingWCIA3
·
16m

The jury is given a list of mitigating and aggravating factors they need to go over in order to make a decision for the death penalty. Aggravating factors include the vulnerability of the victim, lack of remorse, and victim impact.

 

[dm92]

Is there a river in Champaign?

There are plenty of small/medium sized rivers within easy driving distance. Many of these have long stretches that don't pass through towns but border completely on farmland. IF he were to chop her up and toss remains in one or a few of these, some remains would drift a bit and be scattered, then settle to the bottom and would decompose in situ and be covered with silt. IF some remains did happen to wash up on a bank, they might decompose in place and never be noticed -especially if washed up on a bank covered with trees and located on farmland.

IF he did this and he told them the truth about exactly *where* he dumped her, they *might* be able to find some pieces, but it is also possible they might never find anything.

 

[dm92]

No amount of Drano could erase what they say happened [in the bathroom]" she says. AUSA Miller would later dispute this claim in the government's rebuttal

BS. Most blood can be washed down the drain, and if he didn't run the water long enough, then the drano he used would eventually deal with what was left. Moreover, porcelain and tile surfaces can be cleaned much more stringently with more powerful cleaners, and you can leave nothing behind. Much easier to get rid of blood off of these surfaces and destroy all leftover DNA than it is on fabrics and porous surfaces where material can soak in, and where you might easily miss where it has wicked to -especially underneath the fabric.

 

[kittythehare]

Courtney

rosecution refers to recording of BC to Terra Bullis, where he said: “It was unbelievable, like, supernatural almost, how she wouldn’t die.” Prosecution says,”This is the definition of depraved.”

Courtney Bunting

@cbuntingWCIA3
·
7m

Prosecution says,”The defendant found that the downside of getting away with murder is no one knows about it,” implying that’s why BC told Terra Bullis what he did. “You can’t be infamous if no one knows what you did.”
@WCIA
https://twitter.com/cbuntingWCIA3


Prosecution shows duffel bag to jury, saying,”You can decide if that bag would be large enough to transport and dispose of a human body.”

·
10m

The prosecution details DNA evidence found in BC’s apartment, saying,”We know the defendant had a plan, and his plans involved his idols,” eluding to Ted Bundy and American Psycho.
@WCIA3

Prosecution recounts evidence of BC attending the vigil for Zhang and how he said to Bullis, “I wanted to see how many people were here because they’re all here for me.”


Prosecution: “Lack of remorse has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The prosecution goes on to discuss Zhang’s personality, showing photos of her smiling and saying she had a “sunny disposition.”

Prosecution: “She (Zhang) didn’t want that man (prosecution points to BC) to be the last thing she saw on this earth.”

 

[kittythehare]

There are plenty of small/medium sized rivers within easy driving distance. Many of these have long stretches that don't pass through towns but border completely on farmland. IF he were to chop her up and toss remains in one or a few of these, some remains would drift a bit and be scattered, then settle to the bottom and would decompose in situ and be covered with silt. IF some remains did happen to wash up on a bank, they might decompose in place and never be noticed -especially if washed up on a bank covered with trees and located on farmland.

IF he did this and he told them the truth about exactly *where* he dumped her, they *might* be able to find some pieces, but it is also possible they might never find anything.

I was referring to the bag, not the body, or should I say alleged bag and alleged body?
If he was such a happy snipper shouldn't have taken him 10 minutes to shred a bag..
Was that river dredged or not?
Edit to add It is also possible they never even looked.
They put sfa resources into this case and it's been like this from the very beginning, they found a stooge and they used her, gave her a few bob and sent her on her merry way after she 'performed' for them.

 

[altojack]

I didn't think this case would get to me so much. God only knows how her parents are feeling. All I can think of is that this close, loving family have been decimated and won't heal 100%.

Having said that, I've had enough for now, just feel flat, down, and teary. Not even a bone to take home and bury, even a bone they could take flowers to and lay on the ground in honour. They are going home empty handed.

 

[dm92]

I'm assuming they will have the viewing room in Urbana open for the sentence, and that they will give 30 min notice before announcing it, as they did before for the guilt phase. Probably no way I could get there that rapidly, but if I hear the announcement and can, I will try to go.

 

[kittythehare]

I didn't think this case would get to me so much. God only knows how her parents are feeling. All I can think of is that this close, loving family have been decimated and won't heal 100%.

Having said that, I've had enough for now, just feel flat, down, and teary. Not even a bone to take home and bury, even a bone they could take flowers to and lay on the ground in honour. They are going home empty handed.

That's it in a nutshell.
NOT EVEN A SINGLE BONE.

 

[dm92]

I didn't think this case would get to me so much. God only knows how her parents are feeling. All I can think of is that this close, loving family have been decimated and won't heal 100%.

Having said that, I've had enough for now, just feel flat, down, and teary. Not even a bone to take home and bury, even a bone they could take flowers to and lay on the ground in honour. They are going home empty handed.

It is awful, no matter how you look at it. Even if he gets death, as I think he deserves. Nobody wins. It will be a victory, but it will feel hollow. Empty.

 

[kittythehare]

Courtney
Prosecution references past statements by Zhang’s father: “To tell you the truth, I do not know how to live the rest of my life.”

Prosecution: “Sometimes innocent children grow up to be cruel adults.”

Prosecution ends by defending the UI Counseling Center, saying,”They had to rely on what he (BC) said, and they didn’t know that what they were talking to was a very good liar.”
@

@

 

[Webthrush]

my gut hunch is a jury decision for DP within 48 hrs. but of course one person can obstruct all that so who knows… I truly never expected we’d get to the end of trial without learning (one way or another) what happened to YY’s remains. Again, can’t imagine that BC’s narcissism will let him go to his death without disclosing how he managed to stymie all involved (he must be so @#&*%ing proud of himself).

 

[kittythehare]

BEN
After prosecution's 58 minute closing statement, Assistant Federal Defender Elisabeth Pollock spoke for 64 minutes. Then Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller gave a 58 minute rebuttal. (1/1

At 1:31 p.m., the jury was dismissed to deliberate. "I expect it will take some time," Judge Shadid said. (

Public will be given a 30 minute warning that a decision has been reached before it is announced. (3/

We're finally here," Pollock said to begin her closing. "I'm not going to deny the fact that Brendt Christensen killed Yingying Zhang." She said it was admitted the first day of trial with Christensen's permission. (

"I'm not going to make excuses or explain why" he committed his crime, she said. "Brendt did that, on his own. It's inexcusable." (5

If you have a soul, it pained you as much as it pained me," she said about Ms. Zhang's family's testimony. "I'm sorry," she said to the family. (6

But she said the full picture of Christensen's life would show that he doesn't deserve the death penalty, as he was a bright and polite young man who nonetheless failed to control his inner demons in 2016 and 2017. (7

She said he had no criminal record, followed the rules and was a loving, caring and gentle child. (8

She also said his family had a history of alcohol and drug abuse and mental health issues, and that Christensen suffered from migraines, depression, anxiety and alcohol and drug abuse (9/(!!!!!!)

She talked about how he went to the UI Counseling Center, but argued they "had some communication issues" and didn't provide adequate care. (10/15

She said he then met his ex-girlfriend, who introduced him to BDSM, and that led him to link sex and violence. (11/15 (they agreed yesterday to leave TB out of this)

"He's leaving in a coffin no matter what you do," she said. "This is going to be the last time he's going to wear clothes not given to him by a prison." (12/

She argued "Brendt is not the worst of the worst," as he tried to seek help. (13/15)

And she emphasized that each juror must make a decision about Christensen's sentence. (14/15

"We have stood by Brendt for almost two years," she said, holding back tears as she walked to the defense table and literally stood by Christensen. "He is not just the worst thing he ever did." (15/

(trigger warning)

 

[kittythehare]

my gut hunch is a jury decision for DP within 48 hrs. but of course one person can obstruct all that so who knows… I truly never expected we’d get to the end of trial without learning (one way or another) what happened to YY’s remains. Again, can’t imagine that BC’s narcissism will let him go to his death without disclosing how he managed to stymie all involved (he must be so @#&*%ing proud of himself).

I tried to warn you, I did.
It was easy to stymie them... they took the TB tapes and they ran with them and immediately stopped thorough searching.
They are disgusting, as much as he is.
They never even tried.

I think it could take them the full 48 hrs to agree mitigating and exacerbating factors here.. I'd say Wednesday next
Today they will be paper shuffling
They have a lot to get through, item by item...

 

[dm92]

my gut hunch is a jury decision for DP within 48 hrs. but of course one person can obstruct all that so who knows… I truly never expected we’d get to the end of trial without learning (one way or another) what happened to YY’s remains. Again, can’t imagine that BC’s narcissism will let him go to his death without disclosing how he managed to stymie all involved (he must be so @#&*%ing proud of himself).

There is one thing we can hope for: He may have concluded that revealing what he did wouldn't help him avoid the death penalty, but whether he gets life in prison OR death, agreeing to cooperate with investigators and tell them everything he did regarding her remains might be able to get him some concessions on amenities in prison. Then we could hope that *maybe* with the information he divulges, they just might be able to recover something for her family. So tell them what he did, and get a few small concessions -then, if they recover something, he gets some more perks regarding his conditions in prison.

 

[dm92]

LOL.... Yeah, right.....

She said he then met his ex-girlfriend, who introduced him to BDSM, and that led him to link sex and violence. (11/15 (they agreed yesterday to leave TB out of this)

Yeah, right. BC never linked sex and violence before. Sure. I'm sure it went down in his head just like this....

"WOW!!! Terra opened up a whole new world for me!!! I can't believe it!!! Violence can be part of sex!!!!!! Wow! Think of all the avenues to explore!!!!! Why, I think I'll start off by kidnapping raping and killing some random small woman I can pull off the street! Thanks Bunny! The sky is the limit!!!!!!!!!!!"

You have *got* to be kidding me.........

 

[Webthrush]

I tried to warn you, I did.
It was easy to stymie them... they took the TB tapes and they ran with them and immediately stopped thorough searching.
They are disgusting, as much as he is.
They never even tried.
<snip>....

well, we just disagree Kitty; I think they probably did search adequately early on, but quickly figured out there was nothing to find (neither of us know for sure what they did since they never publicly disclosed all their efforts); but I did think BC, attempting to save his own butt, would eventually come clean with all the info. (His whole 'game plan' and the Defense's remains a bit of a mystery to me.)