Yingying Zhang (Simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: ??? ; pinyin: Zh? ng Yngng? ng ) is a visiting scholar in the United States of China, who has not been seen since he got into a car at a bus stop at the University of Illinois on the Urbana-Champaign campus on June 9, 2017. On 30 June 2017, the FBI arrested and accused Brendt Christensen, a resident of Champaign and a former graduate physics student at the university, with Zhang's kidnapping. Based on evidence found during the investigation, law enforcement officials say they believe Zhang is no longer alive.
Video Disappearance of Yingying Zhang
Biography
Yingying Zhang was born on December 21, 1990, in Nanping, a small town in Fujian province in southeast China. He plays in a band and ambitions to become a professor in China. Zhang was a visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Sciences before traveling to the United States. He arrived in the United States in April 2017 to conduct research on photosynthesis and plant productivity for one year at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Maps Disappearance of Yingying Zhang
Disappearance
On the afternoon of June 9, 2017, Zhang traveled by Massaign District-Champaign Urbana bus in Urbana, Illinois, to an off-campus apartment complex where he plans to sign a new leased apartment. He was late and sent a text message to the leasing agent at 1:39 pm. to let them know that he will arrive around 2:10 pm. After boarding one bus, he dropped at 13:52. and try to transfer to another. However, confused about the location of the bus stop, Zhang failed to lower the bus, and passed non-stop.
Zhang then walked to another bus stop a few blocks away at the corner of Goodwin Avenue North and West Clark Street, right in front of the PBS radio and television stations of the university, WILL.
The video surveillance camera shows that the black Saturn Astra passes by at 14.00. as she waits at the bus stop, and then turns around and stops where she waits at 2:03 pm. He talked to the driver for about a minute, and then got into the car. He has not been seen since. Zhang was last seen wearing a charcoal baseball cap, a pink-white top, a white shirt, jeans, and white tennis shoes, and he had a black backpack.
The leasing agent sends a text message to him around 2:38, but does not receive a reply. As time goes by, Zhang's friends, who are aware of his duty and expect him to return soon, are more worried. At 9:24, a professor called the police to report him missing.
Search effort
The Illinois University Police Department and the Urbana Police Department worked with FBI agents to find Zhang, offering a reward of US $ 10,000 for information leading to his location. The University's large Chinese university population helps coordinate search efforts in and around the campus. On June 17, Zhang's father and a maternal aunt, and his girlfriend arrived in Champaign for talks with authorities and assisted with the search. On June 19, the University of Illinois along with Crime County Crime Stoppers, announced a $ 40,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of individuals or individuals responsible for Zhang's kidnapping. This prize is the largest offered in the 31-year history of the organization Champaign Crime Stoppers. On July 14, the prize was raised to $ 50,000. Zhang's family says they will not leave the country until he is found. On August 19, Zhang's mother and brother also flew to the United States. Zhang's family sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to "direct all federal resources to try to find Yingying"; on August 22, 2017 the family has not received a response.
Investigation
Initial investigation
Researchers determined that there were 18 four-door Saturn Astras listed for owners in the Champaign County area. One of these vehicles was registered to Brendt Allen Christensen, a resident of Champaign. Christensen, born June 30, 1989, is a former Ph.D. a university student who graduated with a master's degree in physics in May 2017. The investigator originally contacted Christensen on June 12 and checked his car. When asked, Christensen reportedly claimed that he did not remember what he did when Zhang disappeared. He then told the researchers that he might be sleeping, or at home playing video games.
On June 14, the researchers reviewed the surveillance video footage and observed that the car's sunroof was similar to that of Christensen's car. They also noted that the car in the video had a cracked dop and, after inspecting Christensen's car, discovered that the car had a cracked dop. They concluded that the car on the tape belonged to Christensen.
On June 15 local police and FBI investigators questioned Christensen and executed a search warrant for his car. The black Satra Astra was initially drawn to a safe bay in the Champaign Police Department, and on June 18 it was transported to the Springfield Division's FBI Springfield headquarters in Springfield, Illinois. Researchers noted that the passenger door of his car "appears to have been cleared to a more diligent level than other vehicle doors", which they say "may be an indication of an attempt or attempt to hide or destroy evidence".
During the examination on June 15, Christensen admitted that he had given a ride to an Asian woman, but said that he dropped it after only a few blocks when the wrong turn caused him to panic. Along with this question, the agent at Christensen's apartment sought and obtained written permission from another resident to search and confiscate the items at the residence. The agent took over Christensen's computer and mobile, and then searched for and obtained a federal search warrant for phone forensics checks. Law enforcement agencies then put Christensen under continuous surveillance, beginning on or about 16 June.
Capture of Brendt Christensen
A written statement filed by FBI agents said that on June 29 the police obtained an audio recording where Christensen said he had taken Zhang back to his apartment and kept him there against his will.
On June 30, the FBI arrested and charged Brendt A. Christensen with Zhang's kidnapping. He has no previous criminal record and no record of disciplinary issues at the university.
Researchers claim that they believe that Zhang is no longer alive, but refuses to decipher it. The FBI report notes that in April, before the alleged kidnapping, Christensen used her cell phone to access the sexual fetish website, Fetlife, visited forums like "Kidnapping 101". Christensen was charged with kidnapping under Title 18 U.S.C. Chapter 55, Ã, § 1201 federal law (abduction). According to law, if kidnapping causes a person's death, life imprisonment or death sentence is determined.
At a court hearing on July 5, US Judge Eric I. Long refused a guarantee for Christensen after hearing the filing of prosecutors and lawyers Christensen, Evan and Tom Bruno. Long said that the missing Zhang was considering Christensen, and that Christensen was the last to see Zhang. Assistant US Attorney Bryan Freres said that there is no "combination of conditions" where Christensen is harmless to society. Freres discloses further details of an investigation not presented in a criminal complaint. He told the court that Christensen had attended a banquet held for Zhang on June 29, in which he described the "ideal characteristics of his victims", and had shown people in the crowd that suited them. In addition, Christensen was noted to have said that Zhang had fought and quarreled with him, and he also recorded threatening someone who later provided incriminating evidence to the authorities. Lawyer Christensen Evan Bruno argues that he should be released on bail due to a lack of criminal records and his relationship with the local community.
Bruno says there are still things Christensen does not talk about, and that "what matters is whether there will be evidence to support the allegations".
Invalid appearance
Several Salem, Illinois residents reported seeing an Asian woman match the description of Zhang in Salem on June 16. Zhang's family went to Salem to follow possible directions, and the FBI began to investigate these reports. On July 11, detectives from the Salem Police Department went to Champaign to meet with Zhang's family members and showed them video surveillance of women taken from several local businesses on June 16th. In addition, they are also presented with video footage showing that the woman saw in Salem on June 16 as well as in Salem on May 19, long before Zhang disappeared. The woman seen in Salem is not Zhang, according to her family.
Legal process
Initial allegation
On July 12, the federal jury officially demanded Brendt Christensen for kidnapping Yingying Zhang. The indictment alleges that Christensen was "deliberately and illegally arrested, confined, harassed, forged, abducted, kidnapped, and taken away" Zhang "and instead held him for his own purposes and purposes and used and caused the use of facilities, facilities and trade brokers between states, namely Motorola cell phones and Saturn Astra motor vehicles, in committing and continuing the offense ". If Christensen was convicted of kidnapping, he could face life imprisonment.
Initial pre-trial check
Christensen's indictment was made on July 20; he says "innocent". He spoke for the first time since his appearance and said he was taking the drug, Klonopin, "as an anti-depressant" when answering Judge Eric Long's question. In addition, no new information was revealed while searching for Zhang. After the indictment, defense lawyer Anthony Bruno said: "I think this case could last a year or more" and also says that Christensen "has demanded a jury trial". The Christensen trial date was originally set for September 12 at Urbana. At the pretrial hearing on August 28, federal district court judge Colin Bruce granted the request of Christensen's lawyers to continue, giving them more time to prepare for his defense. The US Attorney's Office joined the request. Additionally, Assistant US Attorney Bryan Freres raises the possibility that a substitute charge, with additional charges, may be filed before the case is brought to trial, and requires the case to be returned to the jury. The trial was rescheduled for February 27, 2018. On September 1, Christensen's lawyer filed a motion asking for withdrawal from the case, citing his inability to pay for the intensive defense that would be required for potential capital offenses. At a hearing on 8 September to discuss a motion to resign, Freres insisted that the defendant's indictment would be filed in October. The motion to resign was granted, and a public defender was appointed to represent Christensen in the coming trial.
Charged indictment
On October 3, a federal grand jury in Springfield, Illinois returned Christensen's new indictment to replace the original indictment of 12 July. The new charge accused Christensen of three charges. The first is to reinstate the cost of kidnapping, raised to allegations of abduction that resulted in death. He was also charged with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents; the first on June 12 when he claimed he was in his apartment sleeping and playing video games all day on June 9, and the second on June 15 when he claimed he picked up an Asian woman on June 9 and lowered it soon afterwards in a residential neighborhood. The Grand Jury also issued notice of special findings on the first count of indictments; alleges that Christensen deliberately killed Zhang, that Christensen committed a violation in a very cruel, cruel or depraved manner because it involved serious torture or physical abuse to the victim, and that Christensen committed a violation after serious planning and a serious introduction to the death of a person. Two allegations of making false statements to FBI agents each carry a five-year prison sentence. If Christensen was convicted of the kidnapping that resulted in Zhang's death, he would receive the death penalty, or live in prison.
Next pre-trial trial and movement
On October 11, Christensen appeared before US Justice Eric Long for charges against the new charges. Christensen pleaded not guilty to the three charges. Responding to the Long question, he pointed out that he took medication for depression and anxiety. Long leaving the trial date of 27 February 2018 as determined by Judge Colin Bruce has not changed. Before the indictment began, mother Zhang cried when she saw Christensen, shouting, "Give me my son back!" in Mandarin. He was assisted from the courtroom before the trial began.
On October 24, attorney Christensen filed a motion to delay the trial until October 2018, citing statistics on average time between indictment and trial for potential federal death penalty prosecution. The defense team also stated that in order to conduct a proper defense, they need to investigate the apparent sightings of Zhang and report activity on their social media accounts on the date after the June 9th loss. On Nov. 15, Judge Bruce issued an order to refuse the requested delay, leaving the commencement of the hearing established for February 27, 2018. Bruce allows the possibility of further trial delays if the Justice Department decides to seek the death penalty, and in its directive directs the government to give notice of intent to seeking death penalty by February 1, 2018.
On January 19, 2018, the government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Christensen, declaring in the archiving that the alleged infringement situation is such that, in the case of confidence, the death penalty is justified. In addition to registering the intent and legal factors, the notice alleges non-regulatory factors that were not previously affirmed, including the future dangers of the accused. Prosecutors alleged for the first time that Christensen was choking and sexually assaulting another victim in 2013 in central Illinois. They also allege that Christensen claimed additional casualties and expressed a desire to be known as a murderer. In response, on Jan. 23, 2018, attorney Christensen filed a motion requesting that any pretrial deadline be removed and a pre-trial hearing previously scheduled to be used to discuss a new schedule for the trial. On 12 February 2018, Judge Bruce issued an order to transfer the trial to April 2019, with jury selection to be held on April 3, and the start of the trial to begin on 9 April.
Controversy
Shortly before he disappeared, Zhang attempted to lower the flag and boarded the MTD bus. However, because he was on the wrong side of the road, the bus did not stop. CUMTD defended the actions of the bus driver, stating that it was against company policy to stop for pedestrians on the wrong side of the road, as it would encourage them to experience the oncoming traffic.
Investigators â € <â €
See also
- List of people who mysteriously disappear
- List of abductions
References
External links
- The FBI poster on FBI's official Twitter account (previously posted on the FBI's official website) â € <â € <
- Updates to our search for missing students, University of Illinois Police update page page
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments