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

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I noticed the other tweeter - Jacqueline is no longer tweeting either. Probably just waiting for trial.

Thanks for posted those tweets kittythehare! Much appreciated, since I'm following some other trials on here today. :)
 
Niner said:
I noticed the other tweeter - Jacqueline is no longer tweeting either. Probably just waiting for trial.

Thanks for posted those tweets kittythehare! Much appreciated, since I'm following some other trials on here today. :)
Click to expand...
She's notorious, she likes to be the first tweet out, then she suddenly drops it, omits important and significant information. I only post her 'work' as an absolute last resort.
Better wait the few minutes for a more thorough report from a better journalist.
 
Mitigating Factors: Brendt Christensen's lawyers to present approx. 50 mitigating factors, or reasons why their client should not be sentenced to death, to jury during penalty phase of trial. #JusticeforYingying @foxillinois

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Q: WHAT IS THE PRIMARY QUESTION JURORS MUST ANSWER?

A: They must assess whether aggravating factors presented by prosecutors in how Christensen killed Zhang and the impact her death has had on others "sufficiently outweigh the mitigating factors," the penalty-phase form says. If jurors decide the aggravating factors are greater, they should vote for execution. If they decide enough mitigating factors tip the scale the other way, they should opt for the life sentence.
Jury To Consider Death Penalty In Chinese Scholar Killing
 
The parties just went through the preliminary jury instructions that will be read this afternoon. There were plenty of disagreements and issues to be determined later, but still on track to start at 1:30 p.m. (1/11
The defense wants to argue that if just one juror isn't for death, then Christensen will get life. Said many courts allow this, and that if they can't, jurors could unnecessarily change mind bc they're worried about having a hung jury.
Judge Shadid said for the preliminary instruction, he'll tell them to try to reach unanimous decsion either way. Will decide later about final jury instructions (3/
They went over the defense's list of 54 mitigating factors, or reasons Christensen shouldn't receive death penalty, which range from his alcoholic
mother to no criminal history to allegedly not receiving proper care at the UI Counseling Center. (4/11)
Judge Shadid generally allowed these, even ones about Christensen's prior mental health issues, despite the defense dropping their mental-health defense. Said he was being very lax.
However, Shadid warned the defense to be careful about connecting a previous diagnosis with Christensen's mental health on June 9, 2017, when he kidnapped and killed Ms. Zhang. (6/1
Defense said they also have texts showing Christensen was suffering from the same symptoms he had previoulsy sought help for leading up to June 9 (7/11)
Judge Shadid modified some language about the UI Counseling Center's treatment of Christensen, eg, from "failed" to "did not" develop a treatment and safety plan. (8/
They're still trying to figure out how evidence of the plea negotiations will get in, as defense has no one to testify that's not a lawyer and it's unclear if they agree on a stipulation of the facts. (9/1
Shadid allowed a few that were more arguments than mitigating factors, eg, "All lives are valuable, including Brendt Christensen's life," and, "Executing Brendt will not undo the harm and suffering he has caused Ms. Zhang’s family and loved ones." (10/11)
en Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 11m11 minutes ago
Jury returns at 1:30 for opening statements. Here's our live report: https://www.news-gazette.com/news/live-christensen-sentencing-phase-day/article_da3b9620-a197-11e9-8c82-27cd62fda652.html … (11/11)
 
Rather than arguing guilt or innocence, prosecutors will present evidence to convince jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that there were aggravating factors involved in Zhang’s murder – such as a death occurring during another crime, one or more prior violent firearm convictions or a great risk of death to an additional person

.https://news.wttw.com/2019/07/05/brendt-christensen-trial-life-or-death-sentence

In this case, prosecutors will likely try to prove Zhang was killed during the commission of another crime (kidnapping) and in a “heinous, cruel or depraved manner” – another aggravating factor – in that her death involved “torture or serious physical abuse.”

“What will be interesting here is, in the absence of a body, how do you prove (he tortured Zhang) beyond a reasonable doubt?” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington D.C. nonprofit that analyzes capital punishment issues.


If jurors are convinced one or more of those aggravating factors existed, they may then consider the death penalty.
 
LIVE: Christensen sentencing phase, Day 1

Judge Shadid said for the preliminary instruction, he’ll tell them to try to reach unanimous decsion either way. He will decide later about final jury instructions.

They went over the defense’s list of 54 mitigating factors, or reasons Christensen shouldn’t receive death penalty, which range from his alcoholic mother to no criminal history to allegedly not receiving proper care at the UI Counseling Center.

Shadid generally allowed these, even ones about Christensen’s prior mental health issues, despite the defense dropping their mental-health defense. He said he was being very lax.

However, Shadid warned the defense to be careful about connecting a previous diagnosis with Christensen’s mental health on June 9, 2017, when he kidnapped and killed Ms. Zhang.

Defense said they also have texts showing Christensen was suffering from the same symptoms he had previously sought help for leading up to June 9.

(this is ridiculous, he already signed away his rights to a mental health defense and now itis not only presented as mitigation , but also permitted)
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Nelson on Monday said that to this point, the only thing jurors know about Yingying Zhang is how she died. He used his opening statements to help better describe who she was as a person. (Matt Masterson)

Zhang was the first in her family to go to college. She sang in a band and hoped to become a professor to inspire others the way her teachers had inspired her. “Life is too short to be ordinary,” she wrote in her journal in 2017, one of her final entries before her death.

By killing Zhang and disposing of her body, Nelson said Brendt Christensen not only deprived her family of her presence, "he made sure that wound would never heal."

After the prosecution's opening, Christensen's attorney Julie Brain outlined the downward spiral her client had in the months and years leading up to Zhang's murder

Once a talented student, Christensen's life began spiraling out of control as he became consumed by drinking and murderous thoughts, Brain said

Brain said Christensen faced a four year battle with his inner demons that "little by little he lost." He will never see the light of day again, Brain noted, and should be punished for killing Zhang. But he does not deserve to be executed.
 


  1. Said, "she was a devoted and loving daughter" and "she was the hope of her family." (3/22)

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  2. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
    "She had no way of knowing how short her life would be," he said. Describing her life as extraordinary, he said, "Yingying was far more than just an international scholar." (2/22)

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  3. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
    DOJ attorney James Nelson gave the opening statement for the prosecution. He started with the last line from Ms. Zhang's journal: "Life is too short to be ordinary." (1/22)
 
  1. Calling for the death penalty, Nelson said it was "not an ordinary crime. It was cold, calculated, cruel and months in the making." (7/22)

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  2. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
    And he said she had a beautiful voice and loved to sing, "but on June 9, 2017, that beatiful voice fell silent." (6/22)

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  3. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
    Said she was also spoke with her boyfriend everyday and was always giving her friends reasons to smile. (5/22)

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  4. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
    Nelson said her father still has difficulty looking at photos of her, and once she was an adult, was like a sister with her mother, talking all the time. (4/2
 
  1. or the defense, court-appointed attorney Julie Brain gave the opening, saying Christensen "will die in prison, alone, with strangers." (11/22)

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  2. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 4m4 minutes ago
    Said this crime "deserves an extraordinary penalty" and asked the jury to sentence Christensen to death. (10/22)

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  3. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 4m4 minutes ago
    That he obstructed the investigation by cleaning the crime scene and hiding her body. "There will be no proper burial in China. There will be no closure. You will see the anguish." (9/22)

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  4. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 4m4 minutes ago
    Went through the government's eight aggravating factors, including that he planned it, it was cruel, that she spoke poor English and was likely to trust a police officer, that she was small and the ideal size of a victim. (8/22)
 
"The only question that remains is when his death occurs -- at the end of his natural life or at a date the government chooses," she said. (12/22

  1. His grades plummeted, but he got into a technical college, and eventually into UW-Madison, then UIUC for his PhD (16/22)

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  2. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 5m5 minutes ago
    When he was tested, no drugs were found, and when he came to, he said he was disturbed by what happened, she said. (15/22)

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  3. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 5m5 minutes ago
    When he was 15, she said he was home sick when her father found him running on the porch barefoot in January, then down the driveway into the side of a van. (14/22)

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  4. Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 5m5 minutes ago
    She described Christensen as someone who struggled his whole life with mental health issues -- night terrors, walking in his sleep, debilitating migraines. (13/2
 
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