Trial In Yingying Zhang Kidnapping Postponed Until February
Christensen lawyers Evan (left) and Tom Bruno meet the media outside Urbana Federal Court Mark Schultz/Illinois Public Media
A federal judge has delayed until February the trial of the man accused of kidnapping visiting U of I scholar Yingying Zhang.
Brendt Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang from a campus bus stop on June 9. Zhang hasn’t been found and the FBI presumes her dead.
The trial was supposed to start next month. But at a hearing Monday at the federal courthouse in Urbana, Judge Colin Bruce granted the joint motion for a continuance giving both the prosecution and defense more time to prepare their cases.
The trial is now scheduled for February 27, 2018.
Christensen is being held without bond in the Macon County Jail, about an hour away. Defense attorney Tom Bruno says this presents a hardship in trying to represent Christensen and even trying to brief him on the status of his case.
“Christensen is driving back to Decatur right now with many questions and he has nobody to ask, and that’s a practical difficulty," said Bruno.
Bruno says he does not anticipate asking to move the trial out of Urbana Federal Court. He is confident he can find an impartial jury in central Illinois.
(This report has been expanded from its original version - 8/28/17)
Links
- Family Of Yingying Zhang Appeals To President Trump
- Christensen Pleads Not Guilty To Yingying Zhang Kidnapping; Jury Trial Set For Sept. 12
- Yingying Zhang’s Family Increases Reward For Info On Her Whereabouts
- Grand Jury Indicts Christensen For Yingying Zhang Kidnapping
- Suspect In Yingying Zhang Disappearance Faces Bond Hearing Wednesday