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

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BEN
Christensen's mother, Ellen Williams, testified. Said, "it would be horrible" if her son got the death penalty. "It would be devastating." (1/8

About his crime: "It's horrible. It's sad. I feel bad." And says she thinks about Ms. Zhang's family "at least five times a day and how horrible this must be for them." (2/8) (5??)

But she says she still loves Christensen. "My love for all my kids and Brendt…it's certainly unconditional." (3/8

aid that after her son had his incident when 19 years old when he fell at work site, Christensen told her he googled his symptoms and thought he may have schizophrenia. Prosecution objected. (

Defense moved on. His mom said she took him to a doctor, who told him he was having PTSD (5/8)

Defense also played a compilation of family videos of Christensen at his first birthday, opening Christmas gifts and playing the piano. (6/8)(collapse into hysteria, me)

hristensen appeared to be crying at different points during his mother's testimony, grabbing tissues in front of him (7

Next, his sister is set to testify (8/8)
 
here , his mom nicely unknowingly thwrts his suicidal schizophrenia which is fall induced but prior to fall by admitting he had a fever when he did that running jump and into the side of a car without damaging either the car or himself

“I always just thought he was delirious from that fever, only to find out later that he may have been trying to hurt himself.” - Christensen’s mom





Jacqueline Francis
@FrancisonFoxIL
·
13m

Mom described incident when Christensen was 15 & taken to hospital after running into a car. Paramedics thought he was on drugs, but wasn’t.
 
altojack said:
Im lost for words Mrs BC , isn't saying enough. He, BC killed a girl, her parents life is over. They need more words from you than what you are giving them.
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her only job on that stand today was to discuss his mental illness, that is what she was primed for, she's only interested in saving his life.
 
kittythehare said:
her only job on that stand today was to discuss his mental illness, that is what she was primed for, she's only interested in saving his life.
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Whilst I appreciate any parent standing by their child, don't get me wrong, but his family have had no connecyion for years, there is no deep love there.
 
altojack said:
Whilst I appreciate any parent standing by their child, don't get me wrong, but his family have had no connecyion for years, there is no deep love there.
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Tat's true. his sister is testifying on the same day his defense lodge a motion of his psychiatrist's testimony unsealed to note that he states he is estranged from both brother and sister ... it's almost comedic but it's not funny at all.
 
motion to quash subpnoea
Motion to Quash – #465 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com
The latest subpoena served upon the University, attached as Exhibit A, requires it to produce the following: Any and all documents, reports, communications, memoranda, correspondence or other records, in whatever form maintained, by an office or department, referencing in any way Brendt Christensen and/or the kidnapping and murder of Yingying Zhang on June 9, 2017, including, but not limited to: records of any investigation, after-action review, disciplinary proceedings, conference, report, policy and procedure review or amendment, offers to indemnify, contact with insurance providers or contact with any threat assessment organization. Records previously provided need not be re-produced. The University was given until Monday, July 15 at 9:00 a.m. to produce the documents.

The most obvious shortcoming of the present subpoena is its scope, seeking a review of the written communications and work product of thousands of University employees. Such broad requests have been quashed by the courts as improper fishing expeditions. See, e.g., Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States, 341 U.S. 214, 221 (1951) (broad subpoena request is an invalid fishing expedition); United States v. MacKey, 647 F.2d 898, 901 (9th Cir. 1981) (“[A] Rule 17(c) subpoena is not intended to serve as a discovery tool, or to allow a blind fishing expedition seeking unknown evidence ….”)(citation omitted); United States v. Jackson, 155 F.R.D. 664, 668 (D. Kan. 1994) (court quashed general subpoena requests based upon speculation of records existence). A subpoena, as the one here, which uses terms such as “any and all documents” or “including, but not limited to” is indicative of a fishing expedition. United States v. Mariano, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31333, *5 (D. R.I. March 7, 2013).

The most recent subpoena served upon the University is, on its face, unreasonable and oppressive. To comply with the subpoena would require the University to search the databases and email accounts of thousands of University employees to determine whether the defendant or Ms. Zhang was named in documents or communications and further review those documents and communications to determine whether they might contain privileged material. Moreover, this impractical and overwhelming task would have to be done in 72 hours over a weekend. When there has been an ample time for discovery and pretrial investigation, a subpoena with a limited time for response is unreasonable and oppressive. See United States v. Jasper, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3547 at *8 (S.D.N.Y. March 13, 2003)

etc.
 
kittythehare said:
motion to quash subpnoea
Motion to Quash – #465 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com
The latest subpoena served upon the University, attached as Exhibit A, requires it to produce the following: Any and all documents, reports, communications, memoranda, correspondence or other records, in whatever form maintained, by an office or department, referencing in any way Brendt Christensen and/or the kidnapping and murder of Yingying Zhang on June 9, 2017, including, but not limited to: records of any investigation, after-action review, disciplinary proceedings, conference, report, policy and procedure review or amendment, offers to indemnify, contact with insurance providers or contact with any threat assessment organization. Records previously provided need not be re-produced. The University was given until Monday, July 15 at 9:00 a.m. to produce the documents.

The most obvious shortcoming of the present subpoena is its scope, seeking a review of the written communications and work product of thousands of University employees. Such broad requests have been quashed by the courts as improper fishing expeditions. See, e.g., Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States, 341 U.S. 214, 221 (1951) (broad subpoena request is an invalid fishing expedition); United States v. MacKey, 647 F.2d 898, 901 (9th Cir. 1981) (“[A] Rule 17(c) subpoena is not intended to serve as a discovery tool, or to allow a blind fishing expedition seeking unknown evidence ….”)(citation omitted); United States v. Jackson, 155 F.R.D. 664, 668 (D. Kan. 1994) (court quashed general subpoena requests based upon speculation of records existence). A subpoena, as the one here, which uses terms such as “any and all documents” or “including, but not limited to” is indicative of a fishing expedition. United States v. Mariano, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31333, *5 (D. R.I. March 7, 2013).

The most recent subpoena served upon the University is, on its face, unreasonable and oppressive. To comply with the subpoena would require the University to search the databases and email accounts of thousands of University employees to determine whether the defendant or Ms. Zhang was named in documents or communications and further review those documents and communications to determine whether they might contain privileged material. Moreover, this impractical and overwhelming task would have to be done in 72 hours over a weekend. When there has been an ample time for discovery and pretrial investigation, a subpoena with a limited time for response is unreasonable and oppressive. See United States v. Jasper, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3547 at *8 (S.D.N.Y. March 13, 2003)

etc.
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Ummm, excuse me, while I go let my head explode! 8-[
 
What's all this malarkey being brought up now? Oh-Woe-is-Me-Brendt & his team need to simmer down.

Now , after the Brendt Christensen melodrama is over would be an excellent time to have a power point presentation on why all this bullcarp is even necessary.

#JusticeforYingYingZhang
 
Just In: With his life on the line, Brendt Christensen told the judge he won't be testifying. The same answer he gave during guilt phase of trial.
@foxillinois
@wics_abc20
#JusticeforYingying



(cos he's too much of a coward and a liar to take cross examination,better let all his relations and friends take the heat on his behalf, selfish pwik)
 
here's what Andrea had to say. Source- Ben
Defense called their last witness today, Christensen's sister Andrea, and Christensen declined to take the stand. They'll formally rest case tomorrow, followed by rebuttal from the prosecution. Closing arguments set for Wednesday. (1/

Andrea said growing up, she looked up to her brother and that he was a role model. He never tried to get her to leave when his friends were over. "Brendt was a very gentle person" and never raised his voice, she said. (2/7)

1Said her parents' relationship was tense bc of her mom's alcoholism. When Andrea was 8 or 9, she was gonna drink a clear liquid from her mom's coffee cup, but her mom told her not to bc it was vodka. (3/7)



Said Christensen's wife is "awesome." Described her as calm and sweet. (4/7)

fter she moved to Seattle and Christensen to Champaign, she said she stopped contacting her family besides the occasional Facebook message. Asked specifically about contact with Christensen, she said, "No, but I should have." (5/7)

Said she felt "shock, grief, empathy" when she heard about Christensen's crime. "I felt very sad that he was suffering enough" to do that. (6/

She said, "nothing changes my love for him." (7/
 
This phase is hard to get through. Rather than humanizing him it disturbs me how clueless all these people were about him. I want to learn everything about YYZ instead.


kittythehare said:
here's what Andrea had to say. Source- Ben
Defense called their last witness today, Christensen's sister Andrea, and Christensen declined to take the stand. They'll formally rest case tomorrow, followed by rebuttal from the prosecution. Closing arguments set for Wednesday. (1/

Andrea said growing up, she looked up to her brother and that he was a role model. He never tried to get her to leave when his friends were over. "Brendt was a very gentle person" and never raised his voice, she said. (2/7)

1Said her parents' relationship was tense bc of her mom's alcoholism. When Andrea was 8 or 9, she was gonna drink a clear liquid from her mom's coffee cup, but her mom told her not to bc it was vodka. (3/7)



Said Christensen's wife is "awesome." Described her as calm and sweet. (4/7)

fter she moved to Seattle and Christensen to Champaign, she said she stopped contacting her family besides the occasional Facebook message. Asked specifically about contact with Christensen, she said, "No, but I should have." (5/7)

Said she felt "shock, grief, empathy" when she heard about Christensen's crime. "I felt very sad that he was suffering enough" to do that. (6/

She said, "nothing changes my love for him." (7/
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It sure has been hard to get through this phase, it hasn't helped not getting any idea of the atmosphere in court and all the extra bits we get when viewing.

Kitty you have been doing a fantastic job, I would take my hat off to you if I had one on. I'm now reaching a stage of 'what day is it?' already on a Monday lol.

See you all tomorrow.
 
kittythehare said:
and again..
Notice (Other) – #463 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com

NOW COMES the Defendant, BRENDT A. CHRISTENSEN, by and through his attorneys, and for his Offer of Proof Regarding Medical and Mental Health Records excluded from the penalty phase of his trial, states as follows: 1. By order dated June 28, 2019, the Court excluded from Mr. Christensen’s trial medical and mental health records of Mr. Christensen and his family members, except as to “the effect relatives’ mental illness had on Defendant’s upbringing,” if Mr. Christensen’s parents or other testifying relatives have “personal knowledge of these matters.” Doc. 432 at 5. The Court’s stated reason for this ruling was that “the Court will not send numerous medical records back to the jury without explanation.” Id. 2. The defense intended to present the records through a mitigation

they're milking this to death... it's almost pure mental health mitigation now, having signed away right to present it..
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IT is annoying. They dropped the mental health defense, so anything that even remotely links his mental health in the past to the events of June 9th will be excluded. Shadid warned them back in April about this, that they couldn't bring it up.

It's not the court's fault, nor anyone else's fault, that they got spooked by the name "Park Dietz....."
 
AnemoneBrown said:
This phase is hard to get through. Rather than humanizing him it disturbs me how clueless all these people were about him. I want to learn everything about YYZ instead.
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What I get from all the mitigation presentation is that there is absolutely nothing special in his life about him, or no special act or acts of kindness, bravery, valor, compassion, or no significant good deeds, that would warrant consideration for offsetting the cruel, sadistic, vicious act that he carried out on the 9th -and that he continues to perpetuate through not telling her family what he did with the remains and where they possibly might be. He wasn't an awful human being before, but he wasn't special and especially good and kind; just average. there is nothing special about his family loving him -everybody's family loves them. there is nothing particularly shocking or awful about his problems or family problems. Lots of families have problems like this, lots of people have issues with depression, and they find a way to get through them without kidnapping and killing random Chinese women minding their own business and who have only been in the country for ~six weeks or so.

In a sane world, it wouldn't be close. Unfortunately, we don't live in a sane world. We shall see what happens.......
 
dm92 said:
That was ALL the security camera footage from various areas on campus and around town that they gathered and reviewed for possible sightings of his vehicle on June 9th. It includes footage showing his car that we know about, but it also includes footage that shows nothing. The prosecution gave them all the footage that they gathered and reviewed during the investigation, including footage that does not show BC's vehicle.

They were almost certainly looking for footage that may have shown where he took her to get her under control and in the bag before taking her to the apartment. Her last cellphone ping was from a location near the railroad tracks near downtown Champaign. I remember talking to someone who works in a warehouse near the tracks near the downtown area, and he said that a few days after the 9th, the FBI came in and requested a copy of their outdoor security camera footage from the 9th. Presumably that footage is included in all the camera recordings they have, even though it apparently showed nothing. They still collected it and reviewed it, and following discovery rules, turned it over to the defense.
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Ah thanks for that. So no camera footage from around his apartment or the garage on the corner to try to determine his movements on the 9th onwards after the kidnapping?
 
Not surprising that BC isn’t testifying (wanting to avoid cross-examination), but is it possible he could still simply submit a statement or court filing of some sort — getting his say in without x-examination, or is that not a legal option?
In any event will be very interesting to see how long the jury deliberates on this decision (I dare say the longer they take the more worrisome it becomes).
 
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