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

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Friday, July 12th:
*Penalty Phase of Trial continues (Day 5) (@ 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 3 (7/8/19 to 7/10/19) reference post #706 here:
GUILTY - IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #10 *Still Missing*
7/11/19 Penalty Phase Day 4: Defense witnesses: Smitha Vishveshwara (a University of Illinois faculty member in the Department of Physics). Rita Garrido Menacho (fellow grad student). David Belk (Jr. High track coach & advanced algebra teacher). UI Physics and Astronomy Professor Telemachus Mouschovias. Elaine Schulte (the manager of the large intro physics classes). UI Physics Professor, Nayda Mason (hired Christensen to work in her lab). UI Physics Professor Steven Lance Cooper (the assistant head of graduate physics programs). UW Madison physics professor, Matthew Herndon. Defense team also said they hope to finish Monday or Tuesday, with Christensen’s ex-wife, mother and sister still set to testify. Penalty phase continues to 7/12.
 
lynneboh said:
If I were a juror, and BC showed remorse and were to tell what he did with Yingying's remains, I would consider voting for LWOP.
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Knowing how badly her mother and father want to bring her remains home for burial, if BC were to tell what he did with her body, and it was clear that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for them to do so -would you still consider going for LWOP?
 
The question is which would be worse for her family - not to know what happened to her remains or to know that her remains are not recoverable?

IMHO I think the point of LWOP is a moot point. In order to show remorse one needs to have a conscience...which I believe BC lacks to the nth degree.

The defense had to put on this dog and pony show because it is what is expected of a defense team. The character witnesses presented by them have not given any redeeming reasons as to why BC's life should be spared. They know nothing of the man he has become because they are no longer a part of his life.

I believe MZ knows the most about who Brendt Christensen really is. However, I no longer trust her.
 
dm92 said:
Knowing how badly her mother and father want to bring her remains home for burial, if BC were to tell what he did with her body, and it was clear that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for them to do so -would you still consider going for LWOP?
Click to expand...

Am 100% for DP no matter what BC does at this point… I’m liberal/progressive on most issues, but decades ago did a 180 on the DP… I wish it were applied on far less violent crimes than this one, including even certain ‘white collar’ crimes… have little sympathy left for those who, for their own self-pleasure or profit, completely ruin the lives of others. BC is young; given LWOP he might get free housing, food, medical care, for another 50 yrs. at taxpayer expense (think of all the uses that money could go to) while those he affected with his actions act lawfully and struggle through life. Frankly, I think remorse is overrated, and way too late in this case in any event. It would be a travesty for him to get LWOP just for divulging YY’s whereabouts at the end of this convoluted process, and teach others like him to act the same in the future.
 
trunkizback said:
Wow. He had bad dreams as a child. He was" quiet ". Hard worker. Even a flippin excellent triple jumper??!#
Who gives a flyin flick?? Bsstard killed and mutilated an innocent small girl.
And doesn't even have the decency to let her parents have her remains.
Know what is the most disheartening, saddest part of all of this ?
Many of us have wondered and searched and quetioned...where could she be?
Right?
I'm just kinda realizing that having her remains...is the Zhangs family's best case scenario.
Omg. I mean..yeah BC is gonna be punished..one way or the other...but does that really help them heal?
Click to expand...

100%/100%. I couldn't have put it any clearer.
 
trunkizback said:
Wow. He had bad dreams as a child. He was" quiet ". Hard worker. Even a flippin excellent triple jumper??!#
Who gives a flyin flick?? Bsstard killed and mutilated an innocent small girl.
And doesn't even have the decency to let her parents have her remains.
Know what is the most disheartening, saddest part of all of this ?
Many of us have wondered and searched and quetioned...where could she be?
Right?
I'm just kinda realizing that having her remains...is the Zhangs family's best case scenario.
Omg. I mean..yeah BC is gonna be punished..one way or the other...but does that really help them heal?
Click to expand...

Reminds me of Natalee Holloway.
Nothing is going to be enough until they know where their daughter is.
But the killers will never reveal that.
 
The only benefit of showing remorse at this point, and divulging the disposal of remains, would be for peace of mind for the family.

No peace of mind for BC. LWOP for him would only be years of living with his demons, and I sort of think he would take pleasure in that. He could no longer act out his obsessions. Only replay them over and over and over in his mind for years to come.
 
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kittythehare said:
not over yet. they just filed again, 5 minnutes ago. Not open.
They also lined up 40 witnesses to attest to his loveliness.
It's absolutely brutal but there are apparently no limits to the numbers of people they can invite in a federal death penalty sentencing phase. They can have 100 testifying, if they so choose.
Most of the people who have testified already barely knew him or had not seen him for years and years...
There's gonna be at least 2-3 more days of this before jury are sent out to vote.
I cannot begin to imagine the depth of the damage this process will do to her family and close friends and her fiance.
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I think it will nauseate the jury just like it is doing to us. It will boil down to whether the jury members individually believe in the DP or not IMO.
 
dm92 said:
He doesn't want to say, because the answer won't help him. The answer will basically make it clear that she will be very difficult, perhaps impossible to find, -and given how badly the Zhangs want to find her and take her home, and how badly everyone feels about them not being able to, it will just drive more nails into his coffin.......

This is why I haven't attended any of the punishment phase. I was unable to go to the prosecution presentation because of work, and now that I do have some time, the last thing I wanted to see was BC propaganda.

I DO feel bad for BC's dad. It has to be a miserable spot to be in. He loves his son, but he is distraught over what his son has done to her family. Of course he doesn't want to see his son executed, and who would expect him to be ok with this, but there was one thing I noticed: He said that he could accept a death sentence. That's pretty telling that one's own dad can understand and accept if a jury thinks you deserve to die....
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I know I should feel bad for his relatives but I don't. I don't see that anything they say will make any difference.
 
kittythehare said:
6th witness — Nadya Mason, a UI Physics professor, describes BC as “enthusiastic” about research. She says he seemed to do okay for a while, but eventually became less reliable and she stopped seeing progress on his projects. @WCIA3



Mason says she reached out to BC about his future in the PhD program, and the two agreed it wasn’t working out and that he would pursue his masters in physics instead. @WCIA3

Defense asks if Mason and BC talked about BC’s personal life. Mason says BC told her he was depressed, gaining weight, and was seeking counseling. @

Mason says BC had a “flat effect”, meaning she never felt like she understood him fully. She says she remembers saying he seemed like he “was wearing a mask”. @WCIA3

7th witness is Steven Cooper, a UI physics professor. Cooper reads part of BC’s application for admittance into the PhD program. It reads, “I must continue my search for understanding.




During a court recess, a UI spokesperson and the defense discussed the motion by the defense asking UI to show cause for why they should NOT be held in contempt of court for not providing all documents pertaining to BC’s treatment at the UI Counseling Center.


UI spokesperson says they have already shared all documentation they have which fits the defense’s specific request. A back-and-forth goes on for some time, ending with the judge ruling that the defense’s motion for the UI to show cause is denied. @WCIA3

Another witness reads the letter of recommendation he wrote for BC. He also describes BC as someone who took a “leading role” during his undergraduate studies. @WC

After the jury leaves, the defense and prosecution argue about whether or not the person who diagnosed BC with Persistent Depressive Disorder should be allowed to testify. @

  1. court will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Christensen’s ex-wife and UI counselors are expected to testify. I will be in court tomorrow morning, so I will be updating when possible. @WCIA3

    0 replies0 retweets1 like

  2. Courtney Bunting‏ @cbuntingWCIA3 12m12 minutes ago
    The judge ultimately bars the witness, saying it would basically be the defense using a mental health defense, which they already withdrew their request to do, and limiting what the witness could talk about would be “misleading” to the jury
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Seems like defence are desperately trying to blame UI for BC's failings but the judge isn't having any of it. Good for him.
 
lynneboh said:
The question is which would be worse for her family - not to know what happened to her remains or to know that her remains are not recoverable?

IMHO I think the point of LWOP is a moot point. In order to show remorse one needs to have a conscience...which I believe BC lacks to the nth degree.

The defense had to put on this dog and pony show because it is what is expected of a defense team. The character witnesses presented by them have not given any redeeming reasons as to why BC's life should be spared. They know nothing of the man he has become because they are no longer a part of his life.

I believe MZ knows the most about who Brendt Christensen really is. However, I no longer trust her.
Click to expand...
I just had a thought. Did she help him dispose of the remains and she would be implicated if they were found? Is that why he won't tell? Is that why she stood there naked when the FBI called? Why is she still supporting him otherwise?
 
lynneboh said:
The question is which would be worse for her family - not to know what happened to her remains or to know that her remains are not recoverable?

IMHO I think the point of LWOP is a moot point. In order to show remorse one needs to have a conscience...which I believe BC lacks to the nth degree.

The defense had to put on this dog and pony show because it is what is expected of a defense team. The character witnesses presented by them have not given any redeeming reasons as to why BC's life should be spared. They know nothing of the man he has become because they are no longer a part of his life.

I believe MZ knows the most about who Brendt Christensen really is. However, I no longer trust her.
Click to expand...

It is an awful, awful spot to be in. I’m sure that, no matter what the answer is, her family *does* want to know what happened to her body -but they are in no mood to offer mercy for that information unless it leads to remains being recovered that they can take home. From their point of view, YY won’t be able to Rest In Peace until her remains are returned to her home. If BC tells them he destroyed her completely, or that her remains are scattered in such a way to make recovery likely impossible? Yes, at least they will know what happened, but they will know that he capped off his crime with a final, horrible insult; an insult to both the family, and to YY herself. He intentionally denied Yingying the ability to Rest In Peace, and denied her family the peace and comfort of giving her a burial and knowing that she is home.

I obviously don’t know them, but it is hard for me to imagine, knowing that her family wants the death penalty, that they would be ok with the jury showing him mercy as a result of him divulging how he committed this final insult to YY. The cruelty of the insult would still outweigh any “remorse” exhibited by divulging details of the insult.
 
Motion for Miscellaneous Relief – #457 in United States v. Christensen (C.D. Ill., 2:17-cr-20037) – CourtListener.com

YES

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF LEADING QUESTIONS ABSENT A SHOWING OF ACTUAL HOSTILITY 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 Department of Justice Trial Attorney James B. Nelson, and hereby moves the court to require defense counsel to make a showing that the witnesses it calls are actually hostile before resorting to leading questions. The bases for this motion follow. 1. The defendant has given notice that he will call four clinicians from the University of Illinois Counseling Center on July 12, 2019, purportedly in support of the mitigating factors alleging a substandard level of care. 2. Defense counsel stated an intent to treat these witnesses as “hostile” considering that they have not met with defense counsel for preparation purposes. The mere refusal of a witness to meet with counsel for trial preparation does rise to the level of hostility.

3. “A ‘hostile’” witness, in the jargon of evidence law, is not an adverse party but a witness who shows himself or herself so adverse to answering questions, whatever the source of the antagonism, that leading questions may be used to press the questions home.” Rodriguez v. Banco Cent. Corp., 990 F.2d 7, 12–13 (1st Cir. 1993) (citing United States v. Brown, 603 F.2d 1022, 1025–26 (1st Cir.1979)); see also Ellis v. City of Chicago, 667 F.2d 606, 613 (7th Cir. 1981) (noting that leading questions on direct examination are improper unless the witness is being evasive or antagonistic). 4. Courts have long recognized that “The vice of the leading question lies in its suggestion of an answer to a witness who, having been called by the party, is presumed to be inclined to favor the questioner. If counsel were allowed routinely to lead a witness on direct examination, the evidence elicited would all too often be that of the lawyer, not of the witness.” United States v. Bryant, 461 F.2d 912, 918 (6th Cir. 1972) (citing J. Maguire, EVIDENCE-COMMON SENSE AND COMMON LAW 43, 44 (1947)). 5. Defense counsel is calling these witnesses in an attempt to prove a contested issue. The mere fact that they are disinclined to agree with counsel’s interpretation of the events does not justify allowing counsel to testify from the podium as to the facts at issue. WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that the Court prohibit defense counsel from utilizing leading questions in their examination of the University of Illinois Counseling Center clinicians absent a showing of actual hostility
 
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