We were the same age. Like every other institution in this country, the evolution of the death penalty in the U.S. is intertwined with slavery and codified with racism. Steve Beckett, Zhangs family lawyer said, It is evident that any attempt to recover Yingyings remains would be complicated and expensive, would require government oversight and the cooperation of the landfill owners, and would have no certainty of success(Federal investigators) described for us that at this stage, with decomposition and then compaction, the size of the remains could be smaller than a cellphone.. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It was invaluable. We share the same feelings. Cameras show her getting into a black car and authorities identified Brendt Christensen as the suspect. How Christensen may cause harm, or be harmed, within prison walls did not appear to be of concern. One of her favorite songs was The Rose, a hit in 1980 for American singer Bette Midler, reported The Chicago Tribune. Forever.. I replay this clip and reckon that Im again at fault for over-intellectualizing. She played in a band and had ambitions of becoming a professor in China. According to the affidavit, authorities allege that he admitted to driving around the UI campus when he observed an Asian female with a backpack standing at a corner appearing distressed. Ive spoken with many friends and colleagues in physics about this case. The family also said they are working with the University of Illinois to create a gravesite in her memory. Without a body, prosecutors based their case on DNA evidence found at Christensen's apartment, and the defendant's own boasting of having killed Zhang in a conversation with his girlfriend. Of course Yingying's Charley Project casefile has the basics. Im not trying to find excuses for what Christensen did, but to view it as an isolated incident, an example of the dangerous few, would be to miss the underlying context and eschew collective responsibility. That alleged admission built on previous statements that Christensen made to the FBI in which he allegedly confessed that Zhang had been in his car, although he claimed she left it voluntarily, the affidavit says. I feel sorry that Ive brought knowledge of this gruesome crime to people dear to me, but Ive always felt responsible for Yingyings death, that Im complicit by my profession. To date, no search has been undertaken. Police noticed that the Saturn in video footage had a sunroof and cracked front passenger hubcap, as did Christensens car, alleged the affidavit. Yingyings father, Ronggao ZhangIf, upon hearing this, later said, If what that man said is true, it further confirms that he is a heartless and evil person We now understand that finding (Yingying) may be impossible. After this news came to light, a memorial service was held for those grieving the death of Yingying Zhang at a church outside Champaign in August 2019. The only emotion I sensed during those hours of paralysis was an eerie calmness akin to closure, like I had spent my entire life treading the edge of a cliff and finally had to surrender to the air. The Terrifying Right to Remain Silent60 Days after Yingying Zhang's Disappearance. I could not move, could barely see or speak, but I was lucid. Facebook reminds me that I have a memory from four years ago. After nine days of trial and less than two hours of deliberations, the jury found Christensen guilty. As per Zhangs family lawyers statements, the contents of the dumpster were taken to Danville, where it was compacted twice. Brendt was also ordered to pay a hefty fine of $250,000 for each conviction. The defense attorneys opening statement shocked everyone in the courtroom. Born 12/21/1990, she grew up in the Jianyang District, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China. She called Christensen a demon. When the police searched his car, nothing stood out of the ordinary at first glance. 216-228)Shanghai JiaoTong University Press (in . Christensen allegedly claimed that he believed he made a wrong turn because the female became panicked. He initially claimed that he then let the female out of the vehicle in a residential area a few blocks away from where he picked her up. In the previous study, we revealed that SMA/CORM2, through releasing CO induced macrophage reprogramming toward M2 polarization fulfills the anti-inflammatory effect and promotes liver regeneration (Song et al., 2021).However, besides the macrophage-mediated inflammatory process, other inflammation . She was the first in her family to graduate from college in 2013 and to go on to finish a master's degree in 2016 in the field of agricultural sciences at . I pursued physics, the same discipline as her killer. Im puzzled over this question to the judge, why the distinction was necessary. However, even with massive searches and attractive cash rewards announced, the few leads the police got led to nothing. She played guitar and sang in a band called Cute Horse in China. U. of I. Japan Web Proxy Server*****Jiang Yuzhou was silent for a moment before saying: "You are still young, I can understand that you don't want to be bound by marriage early, but I think we are very suitable, if you want, we can not talk about marriage and talk about a relationship like other couples, you don't have to Just find someone to deal with."In his opinion, Gu Nai suddenly had a boyfriend . She gets off the bus. Body found later in a water tank at the top of the hotel, the coroner stated that she died by drowning. Court records that had been sealed during the trial of Brendt Christensen, who was convicted in her death, were just turned over to the I-Team. It just adds to the tragedy, Miller said, because Zhangs family doesnt have her body back. Cops are also more likely to commit domestic abuse than the general population. After this, he allegedly disposed her personal items, around the Champaign-Urbana area. Brendt Christensen, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in Yingying Zhangs murder, said he put her body in three separate trash bags and threw them in a dumpster. It took more than two years for Christensen to be convicted. . Yingying Zhang was born in 1990 in China and by the time she was 27, she had graduated with a Master Degree and had traveled to the United States to conduct research on photosynthesis at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Feature Image Credit: ABC 20/20). To be a Chinese student or scholar in the U.S. is to chart a lonely existence. She was observed speaking with the driver through the passenger window for about one minute, before entering the car. April 02, 2022. Paradoxically, it also offers a primal sense of security. Its a potent concept, appealing to our instincts. I also recommend this Washington Post article, which links to a partial transcript of the trial. During a follow-up investigation, authorities determined that the contents of Christensens dumpster were picked up on July 12, 2017, compacted at least twice, and taken to a private landfill near Danville, Illinois, the statement said. Verified email at umn.edu. Publications 10. h-index 3. Wenbing Luo, Jian Wang, Yingying Zhang: Software Quality Evaluation Model based on Multiple Linear Regression and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method. Beckett said, so far, no search has begun at the landfill for Zhang's body. (. One student who had Christensen as a TA wrote on Reddit, I had him 3 years ago for physics 212 TA. A grief stricken Lifeng Ye, second from right, the mother of slain University of Illinois scholar Yingying Zhang, is supported by a friend Lin Guiping and Yingying's brother Zhengyang Zhang, right . I eventually regained some mobility and dialed a friend. When the police began looking into black Saturn Astras around the area where Zhang was last spotted, they came across one Brendt Christensen, who owned the same kind of car. After his conviction and trial, the fate of Yingying Zhangs body came to light. To do this, representative systems must be strategically selected to stimulate students' motivation. "If you have any humanity left in your soul, please end our torment. Ms Zhang's parents and . The affidavit filed after Christensens June 2017 arrest provides chilling details; it says that authorities examined Christensens phone and alleges that he accessed a website entitled Abduction 101 and sub-threads that were called things like perfect abduction fantasy and planning a kidnapping. He had also worked as a Physics class teaching assistant. However, theres no doubt, sadly, that Zhang is dead. She said she was running behind, but would arrive about 2:10 p.m. At 1:35 p.m., she was observed on video boarding a public bus. Im one year older than Yingying. The case is being featured on 20/20 on November 15, 2019. The Chinese government closely followed Brendt Christensens trial, and the prosecution was determined to seek the death penalty. 43 Issue (2): 234-246. doi: 10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003620. Yet historically, the Middle Kingdom was not any more punitive than its Western counterparts, and recent surveys show a two-thirds support rate for the death penalty in China, roughly the same as those from the U.S. over the same time period. Attorney Steve Beckett, who represents Zhangs family, said last week that defense lawyers provided the information about Zhangs remains as part of an immunity agreement in November 2018, telling prosecutors that Zhangs body was likely in a landfill in Vermilion County in Illinois. Send it to The Daily Beasthere. Now, among the familiar sight and through the familiar sound, I also see Yingying. She was last seen on surveillance video at her . I download it and press play. Shraman Mitra. Tragically, and horrifically, her family has not been given that closure. When we turn away from the face of the condemned, were in fact refusing to look at ourselves, to confront our culpability in systems of oppression, to recognize the glimmer of humanity in the darkest corner. I am passionate . Prosecutors indicated in court filings that Christensen may have destroyed the remains. Murderer Brendt Allen Christensen. Five years ago in April 2017, Yingying Zhang arrived at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an international student and a visiting scholar to pursue her doctorate. Yingying Zhangs remains were never found. 1 hospitalized after fire in West Town, CFD says, Jupiter and Venus appear to 'kiss' in the sky, Belvidere Jeep assembly plant shut down indefinitely. Tropical Geography 2023, Vol. The menacing images appear to come alive, two monsters manifesting the paucity of our moral imagination. Weeks before, a 26-year-old visiting scholar from China went missing on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Was her body ever found? The surveillance video was provided by University of Illinois police. Y Zhang, X Qian, Z Peng, N Yang. Christensen is still in a downstate jail, awaiting assignment to a federal penitentiary where he will spend the rest of his life. I was furious at my mother, who appeared oblivious to the cruelty and repeatedly defended the inhumane practice. According to his lawyers, Christensen placed her butchered body in three separate garbage bags, which he tossed in a dumpster outside his Champaign apartment before disposing of her personal items among trash receptacles around the Champaign-Urbana area. Reports also claim that Brendt claimed to be a serial killer, but that claim has never been substantiated and is believed to be false. Her name was Yingying Zhang. Title. . It's June 12, 2019, two years and three days after Yingying went missing, the first day of the jury trial in the United States v. Brendt Christensen. The Wisconsin native had just graduated from UIUC with a masters degree in physics, after deciding that a Ph.D. was not for him. Very new to the country, Zhang still hadnt settled down properly when a devastating state of affairs snuffed out her wonderful life. "We hope it will be a solemn place of reflection to all who visit, a place to remember the joy Yingying brought to her family and to everyone she met during her life," her father said. Her phone was disabled moments later. Yingying Zhang, Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Chicago, IL, 60640, (872) 274-4302, As a first generation immigrant, I recognize the unique experience individuals face in life. Yingyings family sued the social workers at UIUC for negligence. 15. Prosecutors and Zhang's family had pushed for the death penalty , but a jury decision . He seemed like a normal physics grad student. She called the FBI after seeing Christensen's picture on television when he was arrested in June 2017. Earlier this week, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created an endowment, called Yingyings Fund, that is aimed at helping international students during times of hardship, when they need it most, according to the funds donation page. New information is expected to be provided on the search for her body in a . In that split second of irrational fear, I took solace in the fact that he is behind bars. I pretended that our discussion was an academic exercise because I could not bear the thought that in the fragile mind of my mother, who had raised me as a young widow, Yingying was me and I was her. According to this unsealed motion, he was placed on suicide watch and isolated from the general population for several months. I was terrified that he might see me from the other side of the screen, that he would find out I had visited his profile and make me his next target. The FBI approached Bullis, who was very confident about Brendts innocence. posted in All, Life Thoughts on 03/22/2021 by yingying 0 Comments. When the police questioned Brendt, he denied being involved in Zhangs disappearance. He told authorities that he was at home around the time in question. Her remains have never been found. However, Brendt never returned for a second counseling session like he was asked to. Brendt also had a masters in Physics but dropped out from his Ph.D. program and instead claimed that he was searching for employment. According to ABC News, Law enforcement believes the bags were then taken to a landfill in Danville, Illinois. But it was too late to recover her body. He also claimed he choked Zhang for 10 minutes as she fought for her life. Yingying Zhang was known as a compassionate, talented, joyous, and intelligent woman. However, a few precise details matched Brendts Saturn Astra to the one seen on CCTV. To date, Yingying Zhang's remains have never been found. She is gone. She loved to sing and was part of a band called Cute Horse. She arrived in the U.S. that April as a visiting scholar, her first time living abroad, and had planned to enroll in the Ph.D. program at UIUC that fall. Yingying Zhang, 26, a visiting scholar doing research at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, went missing on June 9, 2017 in Champaign, and her body was never found . Friday the I-Team reported information that government and defense attorneys both wanted kept quiet during the trial. As the FBI listened on, Brendt revealed a terrifying truth to his girlfriend. The judge has denied bail for Christensen. Powered by. She knows how hard it is to raise a child. Zhang went missing on June 9, 2017, as she was headed to sign a lease for an off-campus apartment in Urbana. A federal jury convicted Christensen in June. Less than 10 percent of murders and 20 percent of rapes are committed by strangers. Reactions: ShHolmz, altojack, MajorHoople and 8 others. In 2013, Zhang graduated from Sun Yat-sen University at . I was too heavy! I joke with my friends. Christensen was found guilty on June 24, 2019, of kidnapping resulting in death and two counts of lying to investigators. Citations 15. Zhang's body has not been found. (AP/AAP) Zhang's mother, Lifeng Ye, cried . Berkeley host: Professor Dan Portnoy Research Summary. I saw the film for the first time in the fall of 2020, after a summer of protests for Black lives was met with raging police brutality. For the closing statement at the penalty phase of the trial, Christensens defense presented a 72-page powerpoint on why his life should be spared. Brendt Christensen, a former graduate student, has been charged with kidnapping and killing her. Yingying Zhang was a Chinese national enrolled at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign as a visiting student. Photos of Yingying Zhang on a tree on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana, Ill. Photo: Stephen Haas/The News-Gazette via AP, This is the last entry in Yingyings journal. Highly Influential Citations 1. She was 26. By the penalty phase, Christensen had already been found guilty. A journalism student at Northwestern University at the time of Yingyings disappearance, Shi had assisted in the search efforts and witnessed the familys pain from the very beginning. That summer was a particularly low point in my strained relationship with my mother, and I had turned to social media for validation of my moral superiority. Referenced Authors. Yingyings body has never been found. In England and colonial America, as legal historian Stuart Banner writes, the death penalty circa 1700 was the equivalent of prison todaythe standard punishment for a wide range of serious crimes including arson, theft, and counterfeiting. The 26-year-old visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, disappeared June 9, 2017. 116313 (2021) [j53] view. However, on June 29, 2017, Christensen was captured on audio recording while under law enforcement surveillance explaining how he kidnapped Zhang. The spectacle at the scaffold routinely attracted larger crowds than any other public event. He seemingly boasted about choking, sexually assaulting, and beating Zhang to death with a baseball bat. I go back to the video and let the clock rewind. Video showed her at an Urbana, Illinois, bus stop getting into a black Saturn vehicle, and, after that, she vanished without a trace. All rights reserved, WATCH: Procession Escorts Body of Fallen Chicago Officer From Hospital, Storm System Could Bring Rain, Snow, and Gusty Winds to Chicago Area Friday, Chicago Police Officer Shot and Killed on Southwest Side, Secret Service, Police Seen Investigating Business in Suburban Lisle. Publications. Christensen, 30, was sentenced to life without parole. That recording provided them with the key piece of evidence outlined in the affidavit. Got a tip? On June 15, 2017, Christensen was interviewed at the FBIs Champaign office. The image was used in the missing person bulletin by the police and the FBI. Because a unanimous verdict was not reached, Christensen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For Christensen to be a Chinese national enrolled at yingying zhang body found 2021 FBIs Champaign office after deciding that a Ph.D. was reached... 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