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

[Hatfield]

I'm thinkin about whether he has killed before and I still say no. We have now heard of 3 failed attempts, the graveyard strangling, the abduction attempt a few hours before YY and now this memorizing a woman's address and following her home but not doing anything. I don't think he would have had failed attempts if he had already killed 12 people. MOO

Good points. We can almost add in a 4th person he was thinking of killing. Remember during the Vigil he tried to get the GF to follow a person home.

Could those 4 failed attempts maybe hint the other way that he was always on the lookout for more people he can kill to add to any he has killed before?

 

[Ghoulina25]

I had to step away from this case for a bit. After hearing all of the horrible details, I got extremely creeped out that my husband went to the gym with BC and talked to him on many occasions. I get a really sick feeling inside every time I think about it. All the times I had talked of going along with the husband...to be in his very presence and within reach...I just can't. So grateful there are so many here for YY.

 

[Hatfield]

Why I'm okay with this... I have a feeling that being doubted is going to tick him off if he actually *did* have previous victims. He might be more willing to brag about his acts in prison if no one believes him now.

I totally agree he is the type that will get angry if he doesnt get the credit for any of his killings.

He has told us about his aspirations to become a well known killer. Even going so far as hinting that he topped other killers victim count. Even if that was a lie it shows us he wants to become famous for this.

Similar to BTK when BTK got mad he was not getting recognition and so BTK sent letters and called news media directly to claim he was the killer. That is what helped get BTK caught too.

I like the idea of trying to play with his ego and to try to pizz him off to get him to admit to anything else he did.

Maybe LE can use some sort of trick to play against his ego to get him to admit what he did with the remains.

Like instead of offering him a Life sentence they should offer him that they will guarantee to print his "Manifesto" in the local paper once he tells what happened to the body. Play against his ego. Then once they get the information then say "Whooops. Sorry, we lied. We will go ahead and print your Manifesto but it is going to be printed on used Toilet Paper and you are the only one getting a copy"

 

[Pilo]

I totally agree he is the type that will get angry if he doesnt get the credit for any of his killings.

He has told us about his aspirations to become a well known killer. Even going so far as hinting that he topped other killers victim count. Even if that was a lie it shows us he wants to become famous for this.

Similar to BTK when BTK got mad he was not getting recognition and so BTK sent letters and called news media directly to claim he was the killer. That is what helped get BTK caught too.

I like the idea of trying to play with his ego and to try to pizz him off to get him to admit to anything else he did.

Maybe LE can use some sort of trick to play against his ego to get him to admit what he did with the remains.

Like instead of offering him a Life sentence they should offer him that they will guarantee to print his "Manifesto" in the local paper once he tells what happened to the body. Play against his ego. Then once they get the information then say "Whooops. Sorry, we lied. We will go ahead and print your Manifesto but it is going to be printed on used Toilet Paper and you are the only one getting a copy"

better yet the original

 

[tresir2012]

Wow is right.

The GF is a true hero in this case and she had nerves of steel to agree to record him.

Its awful to think what could have happened if he found those emails or if he spotted the hidden wire she was using to record him.

I get the feeling he knew or at least suspected, because why would he check her phone. And why would he type those four sentences, show her and then delete them. Was he planning to kill her or what do posters think? I think she had nerves of steel and don't understand how the FBI can risk someone's life like this.

 

[tresir2012]

30 tweets from ben
here's some

1. At the end, she said he clapped in a "way not like anything I had seen." Long staccato claps instead of normal quick claps. There was a standing ovation at the end. She said Christensen didn't stand. (17/32)
   
   1 reply0 retweets0 likes
   
2. 
   Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
   During the concert, he continued drinking, she said. "It was incredibly disrespectful for the missing person and all the people there." She also said she was afraid of getting caught. (16/32)
   
   1 reply0 retweets0 likes
   
3. 
   Ben Zigterman‏ @bzigterman 3m3 minutes ago
   He then opened the Notes app and wrote four lines and deleted them. According to Bullis, who choked up as she read these, Christensen wrote "It was me. She was #13. She is gone. Forever." (15/32)

Did he want to get caught? His behaviour was bizarre and explains why FBI arrested him so quickly IMO.

 

[tresir2012]

better yet the original

 

[kittythehare]

I get the feeling he knew or at least suspected, because why would he check her phone. And why would he type those four sentences, show her and then delete them. Was he planning to kill her or what do posters think? I think she had nerves of steel and don't understand how the FBI can risk someone's life like this.

YES.
I bbelieve he would have tried to kill her that night. I believe she thought as much and that was why she texted her housemates.
I elieve the FBI also believed this and that's why they pulled him so quick.
I didn't always agree with their decision to do that because I thought she was alive and hidden somewhere by him, as his real life slave.
She was extraordinarily courageous.
The taking of her phone could have been a suspicion or part of his control mechanism, maybe he did it regularly.
She did suspect and took steps to delete those emails.

I honestly do not know how she stayed sane and survived through these past 2 years,
I'm anxious to get more information on how she held up today, how the jury regarded her and whether he tried making eye-contact with her at any time?

Edit- reason I think he needed to get rid of her is that by telling her/confiding in her shifted the power dynamic in the dom/sub relationship.
Though it gave him a reason tho threaten her which may have been gratifying to him, he also knew she had power over his life now because such information is power. I believe his psyche could not have withstood this pressure for long. He would have made it look like an accident because he was now accomplished in getting her in physically compromising positions. He could quite easily have succeeded. By calling 911, explaining a sex-game had gone wrong, pushing off a cliff and saying she tripped, any number of ways..
he needed her to shut up permanently

 

[Hatfield]

YES.
I bbelieve he would have tried to kill her that night. I believe she thought as much and that was why she texted her housemates.
I elieve the FBI also believed this and that's why they pulled him so quick.
I didn't always agree with their decision to do that because I thought she was alive and hidden somewhere by him, as his real life slave.
She was extraordinarily courageous.
The taking of her phone could have been a suspicion or part of his control mechanism, maybe he did it regularly.
She did suspect and took steps to delete those emails.

I totally agree he would have killed her in short time after that Vigil.

Once they had those discussions at the Vigil and after she even talked about in order to be safe from him she would be loyal and never tell on him, that would have put him over the edge to realize he could not risk anyone knowing what he has done. He would have realized it was a terrible mistake to tell anyone.

It was so bizarre him telling her. I think he was expecting her to be happy about what he did and to show excitement herself for what he had done and when she did not share the same enthusiasm then he realized it was a mistake in telling her. He even asked her if they wanted to follow a random girl home and she declined. He had to have realized it was a bad mistake in telling her and that leads to what he would do next about that.

 

[Webthrush]

cannot read this cos Europe
https://www.tribpub.com/gdpr/chicagotribune.com/

I couldn't open that link either but this may be the same Tribune story:
Brendt Christensen, accused killer of Chinese scholar at U. of I., laughed as he described how he ‘chopped her head off': testimony

...it's just another recap of details we already have from other sources. [I'm still not finding BC's gruesome audiotape confessions very credible and won't be surprised if the Defense finishes with some surprises of their own by end of trial (next week?) -- he's still certainly guilty, but I can almost see the Defense's possible squiggly path to evading the death penalty].

 

[kittythehare]

I couldn't open that link either but this may be the same Tribune story:
Brendt Christensen, accused killer of Chinese scholar at U. of I., laughed as he described how he ‘chopped her head off': testimony

...it's just another recap of details we already have from other sources. [I'm still not finding BC's gruesome audiotape confessions very credible and won't be surprised if the Defense finishes with some surprises of their own by end of trial (next week?) -- he's still certainly guilty, but I can almost see the Defense's possible squiggly path to evading the death penalty].

Thanks for that @Webthrush.
I don't even have a hint of a 'feel' for what they might come up with tactically.
A lot depends on how much credibility they imagine she has gained with jury after tody.
Prosecution objected several times to their line of questioning and actually requestioned her as a result of their tactics.
If she managed to cast considerable doubt on his alleged state of drunkenness, they may need to re-consider their tactics ... I cannot find info to put this question to rest.
Was she successful or not?
all the interest in this case at outset, now only 3 are tweeting during intervals..
It's the most frustrating thing.

 

[kittythehare]

Federal prosecutors have finished calling witnesses against Brendt Christensen and will formally rest their case tomorrow morning

 

[kittythehare]

Brendt Christensen Trial: Ex-girlfriend testifies about wire recording made at vigil for Yingying Zhang

 

[Gardenista]

Federal prosecutors have finished calling witnesses against Brendt Christensen and will formally rest their case tomorrow morning

So his ex-wife will not testify

 

[kittythehare]

So his ex-wife will not testify

she is testifying for his defense (sadly)

 

[Stratescoop]

I get the feeling he knew or at least suspected, because why would he check her phone. And why would he type those four sentences, show her and then delete them. Was he planning to kill her or what do posters think? I think she had nerves of steel and don't understand how the FBI can risk someone's life like this.

TB is one very brave HERO! The FBI had eyes on BC 24/7 and likely had other covert means (that are not known to the general public) of listening to his open air or in house(s) conversations. They had likely a half dozen agents watching him at all times. They were 90% sure he killed YY after the 55min interview.

This is not the FBIs first rodeo. They wanted him to lead them to her remains and get an incriminating recording from him. They had a visible tail on him, that even his dumb *advertiser censored* noticed. That was not a mistake. That was on purpose. Part safety, part to feed his paranoia and hoping he did something stupid. He did.

But, TB is still one brave woman and deserves our compassion and thanks.

 

[kittythehare]

Done for the day. Closing arguments expected Monday morning. Prosecution expected to rest their case tomorrow morning, followed by defense's case, including testimony from Christensen's wife. (1/9)

She said the FBI didn't tell her specific questions to ask Christensen, including one about whether Ms. Zhang had broken English (3/9)




Defense attorney Robert Tucker tried to argue Bullis provoked Christensen with 3am June 9 text about having casual sex with someone. (

She said she simply wanted to let him know, as per her polyamorous ethics. Christensen responded with, "no worries" and what was described as a "kissy face emoji with a heart."

Just heard phone call from Christensen to his wife from jail on July 4, five days after he was arrested, asking her to delete his reddit account. (6
According to Agent Huckstadt, she apparently deleted a comment on a post about Ms. Zhang that said "Man that's very Ted Bundy-esque...scary.

And listened to another call July 2 of Christensen asking his wife about Bullis, asking her to tell Bullis to not say anything except to his lawyers. Said she wouldn't answer his calls, and his wife's texts.
Please text or call her to not say anything to anyone but our lawyers," he tells her, believing Bullis is still on his side. "Reiterate what happened." And "I'm innocent." (9/9)

 

[kittythehare]

he was actually commenting on the thread about her missing status.
Dracula and Frankenstein combo...

 

[Webthrush]

<snip>....
all the interest in this case at outset, now only 3 are tweeting during intervals..
It's the most frustrating thing.

On Twitter (actually Hootsuite) I follow the subject “Yingying Zhang” (in addition to a few individual reporters) and that brings in a whole LOT more tweets… the downside is it brings in a LOT of redundancy, different people tweeting the same links or info.

 

[kittythehare]

1. Prosecution: “You saw how much [water]?” TB: Yes, I was drinking it too. @WCIA3
   
   0 replies1 retweet0 likes
   
2. 
   Courtney Bunting‏ @cbuntingWCIA3 6m6 minutes ago
   TB when asked about prior text: I was checking to see if he (BC) was alright. Prosecution: It had nothing to do with the fact that he was walking around (at the vigil) drinking a bottle of rum? TB: It was mixed with “copious” amounts of water
   
   
   Prosecution: “Did you do anything to encourage BC to stop drinking?” TB: “No.” Pros.: “Why did you drink [at the vigil]?” TB: “I was afraid it would look suspicious if I didn’t.”

1. 
   TB is questioned about how many times while drunk that BC has mentioned hurting a women. She says never.

1. 
   TB is asked if BC ever expressed a fantasy with choking someone, hitting someone with a baseball bat, or cutting someone’s head off. She says no.

1. 
   Prosecution: “Was there anything BC said about Yingying that indicated that it was consensual?” Defense objects to question. Judge overrules objection. TB: “No, sir.”

1.