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USA-Murdered Chinese Scholar/Parents
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Prison van carrying defendant Brendt Christensen arriving
2. Christensen's lawyers
FILE: Urbana, Illinois, USA - June 9, 2017
3. Security camera footage showing Zhang getting into black sedan
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Family of murdered Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying walking out of courthouse
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Ronggao, Zhang Yingying's father:
"Bring her home. We will never give up the hope. Thanks for the media."
6. Zhang Yingying's mother and family
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Ye Lifeng, Zhang Yingying's mother:
"I am very touched today. Thanks very much to the jury. I really miss my daughter. I want to take my daughter home. I want to take my daughter home."
FILE:
8. Photo of Zhang Yingying
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hou Xiaolin, Zhang Yingying's boyfriend (starting with shot 8):
"We want him to confess what he has done as soon as possible and the most important thing is to tell us where Yingying is."
10. Sign reading (English) "Federal Building, U.S. court house"
11. Prison van entering
The mother of murdered Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying said Monday that her family will never give up the hope of finding and bringing her home after a federal jury in the United States ruled Brendt Christensen guilty of kidnapping and killing Zhang.
A 12-member jury at a federal court of Peoria in the state of Illinois unanimously ruled that Christensen, a former doctoral student of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), was guilty of all three counts of charge against him, namely kidnapping resulting in the death of the visiting Chinese scholar at UIUC in 2017, and two counts of making false statements to the FBI.
It took less than two hours for the jury to make the decision after the prosecutor and the defense finished their closing statements on Monday morning. In closing statements, Christensen's attorneys again made clear their client was responsible for the kidnapping and death of 26-year-old Zhang, whose body is yet to be recovered.
At a following press conference outside the courtroom, Zhang Ronggao, father of Zhang Yingying, said he was satisfied with the verdict and expressed thanks to the jury for the decision. Zhang's mother broke into tears standing beside Zhang's father.
"I am very touched today. Thanks very much to the jury. I really miss my daughter. I want to take my daughter home. I want to take my daughter home," said Ye Lifeng, Zhang Yingying's mother.
"We want him to confess what he has done as soon as possible and the most important thing is to tell us where Yingying is," said Hou Xiaolin, Zhang Yingying's boyfriend.
The sentencing phase will begin in two weeks. The same jury will decide whether Christensen will spend the rest of his life behind bars or get sentenced to death.
Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting Chinese scholar, went missing on June 9, 2017, after getting into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks from where she got off a bus on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease.
Christensen was arrested on June 30, 2017, after being caught on tape pointing out people he described as "ideal victims" during a vigil in Zhang's honor. But he pleaded not guilty.
USA-Murdered Chinese Scholar/Parents
Dateline : June 24, 2019/File
Location : Peoria,United States
Duration : 1'40
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Prison van carrying defendant Brendt Christensen arriving
2. Christensen's lawyers
FILE: Urbana, Illinois, USA - June 9, 2017
3. Security camera footage showing Zhang getting into black sedan
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Family of murdered Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying walking out of courthouse
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Ronggao, Zhang Yingying's father:
"Bring her home. We will never give up the hope. Thanks for the media."
6. Zhang Yingying's mother and family
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Ye Lifeng, Zhang Yingying's mother:
"I am very touched today. Thanks very much to the jury. I really miss my daughter. I want to take my daughter home. I want to take my daughter home."
FILE:
8. Photo of Zhang Yingying
Peoria, Illinois, USA - June 24, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hou Xiaolin, Zhang Yingying's boyfriend (starting with shot 8):
"We want him to confess what he has done as soon as possible and the most important thing is to tell us where Yingying is."
10. Sign reading (English) "Federal Building, U.S. court house"
11. Prison van entering
The mother of murdered Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying said Monday that her family will never give up the hope of finding and bringing her home after a federal jury in the United States ruled Brendt Christensen guilty of kidnapping and killing Zhang.
A 12-member jury at a federal court of Peoria in the state of Illinois unanimously ruled that Christensen, a former doctoral student of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), was guilty of all three counts of charge against him, namely kidnapping resulting in the death of the visiting Chinese scholar at UIUC in 2017, and two counts of making false statements to the FBI.
It took less than two hours for the jury to make the decision after the prosecutor and the defense finished their closing statements on Monday morning. In closing statements, Christensen's attorneys again made clear their client was responsible for the kidnapping and death of 26-year-old Zhang, whose body is yet to be recovered.
At a following press conference outside the courtroom, Zhang Ronggao, father of Zhang Yingying, said he was satisfied with the verdict and expressed thanks to the jury for the decision. Zhang's mother broke into tears standing beside Zhang's father.
"I am very touched today. Thanks very much to the jury. I really miss my daughter. I want to take my daughter home. I want to take my daughter home," said Ye Lifeng, Zhang Yingying's mother.
"We want him to confess what he has done as soon as possible and the most important thing is to tell us where Yingying is," said Hou Xiaolin, Zhang Yingying's boyfriend.
The sentencing phase will begin in two weeks. The same jury will decide whether Christensen will spend the rest of his life behind bars or get sentenced to death.
Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting Chinese scholar, went missing on June 9, 2017, after getting into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks from where she got off a bus on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease.
Christensen was arrested on June 30, 2017, after being caught on tape pointing out people he described as "ideal victims" during a vigil in Zhang's honor. But he pleaded not guilty.
ID : 8114221
Published : 2019-06-25 11:45
Last Modified : 2019-06-25 17:51:00
Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
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