The defendant in The Yingying Zhang case seeks to extend the trial to 2019 and also makes this request

Overseas Network, February 9 -- A few days ago, a new development has emerged in the case of Chinese visiting scholar Zhang Yingying being kidnapped and killed in the United States. According to the court documents released on the 7th, the prosecutor and the lawyers of the suspect Brendt Christensen separately requested an adjournment of the trial, and the defendant actually requested that the trial be postponed to 2019, and also intended to ask the presiding federal judge of the case to recuse himself from the trial of the case.

Comprehensive US Chinese Network, The Associated Press and other media reported on the 8th that the prosecution and the defendant submitted an extension schedule 7 days ago. Although the two sides agreed on the postponement of the trial, there was considerable disagreement over the length of the extension. Prosecutors want to postpone the trial until October 2018, while Christensen's lawyers want to reopen the trial in June 2019. The two sides will meet with Judge Bruce on Feb. 12 to discuss the agenda that follows.

Prosecutors said on the 7th: "The US government hopes to set the trial date on October 16, which is 9 months from the time of seeking the death sentence notice, which takes into account the expectations of justice in the victim's family and the public, and also allows the defendant enough time to prepare for the trial." ”

But Christensen's lawyers argue that 9 months of preparation is not enough and they hope to extend the trial by 16 months. Christensen's attorneys said they spent enough time before trial to investigate Christensen's social history, including a complete and comprehensive account of all the defendants, interviews with people Christensen had contacted, and investigations into Generations of Christensen's family members to understand the suspect's mental state.

In addition, Christensen's lawyers intended to ask the presiding federal judge in the case to recuse himself from the case, but did not explain why the judge was asked to recuse himself in the 2-page document he submitted. It is reported that the defendant's lawyer declined to comment on the matter.

Event Review:

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on the evening of June 30, 2017, that Christensen, a 27-year-old man, was suspected of kidnapping Zhang Yingying, a Chinese female scholar at the University of Illinois in Champagne, who drove a black Saturn sedan on June 9 and drove Zhang Yingying away on the University of Champagne campus. The FBI found on the man's cell phone that he had visited a website about the kidnapping and hijacking scheme in April.

On the afternoon of July 20, Christensen was formally litigated in federal court in Urbana, Illinois, UNITED States. On August 28, the U.S. Central Illinois Federal District Court held a hearing on Yingying Zhang's abduction in the United States and approved the motion previously filed by christensen's lawyer to adjourn the trial.

On October 3, there was a new development in Zhang Yingying's case, and a us federal grand jury voted to pass the latest evidence from the prosecution and formally decided to prosecute the suspect Christensen for "kidnapping to death", the suspect suspect suspected of being tortured and ill-treated with heinous cruelty and resulting in Zhang Yingying's death, once convicted, the suspect will face the highest death penalty.

On the afternoon of October 11, Christensen, suspect in Zhang Yingying's kidnapping case, attended a second court arraignment, and Christensen refused to plead guilty to a new indictment (kidnapping to death) proposed by federal authorities.

On October 24, lawyers for Christensen, a suspect in Zhang Yingying's kidnapping and death case, filed a motion with the court to apply to the court for a delay in the trial date. On November 15, the application was rejected by U.S. Court judge Bruce of Urbana.

On January 19, 2018, the Federal Prosecutor for the Central District of Illinois filed a filing with the court announcing his intention to seek a death sentence against Christensen, the suspect who kidnapped and killed Yingying Zhang.

On January 23, Christensen's attorneys filed a motion in court to cancel all existing deadlines, final pretrial conferences, and jury trial dates. Prosecutors Miller and Fries responded on Jan. 31: "It is agreed that the court postponed the final pre-trial meeting on February 12, 2018, and the trial date on Feb. 27, 2018, to give the defendants a reasonable time to prepare." (Zhang Ni)