The alleged kidnapper of a Chinese scholar was denied bail. New information also surfaced recently as police said the suspect talked about his ideal victim and admitted that Zhang Yingying, the missing scholar, put up a fight before he successfully kidnapped her.
Zhang has been missing for almost a month now. Police said because of the recent discoveries of different information pointing to the belief that Zhang was really kidnapped by Brendt Christensen, there is little to no chance that she is still alive.
Amid the new information uncovered by police, U.S.
Magistrate Judge Eric Long denied the bail request of Christensen and his defense team on July 5. Long claimed the grounds for denying the bail was because the suspect is a flight risk and is a potential threat to the community.
What are the new details on the case
According to prosecutor Bryan Freres, Christensen attended a community walk held for Zhang headed by her father. During the community walk, Christensen recorded details about his ideal victim. He pointed out people in the crowd who could be his potential victims.
In another audio, Christensen allegedly admitted that Zhang put up a fight before he kidnapped her. This contradicts his statement to investigators when he told them that he saw Zhang seemingly confused so he offered her a ride.
He noted during his previous statement that Zhang showed him a map on her phone but he made a wrong turn so she panicked. A few blocks from where he picked her up, he let her get out of his car.
It is unclear where these recordings were recovered. Freres did not play any recording during the latest court hearing.
Christensen also told a person about vital information related to the case but Freres did not say what kind of information was given to that individual.
The other reason why Christensen’s request for bail was not granted was because that person he told vital information to is believed to be in grave danger, Daily Illini reported.
Defense team argues client has no criminal history
According to Chicago Tribune, the defense attorney of Christensen, Evan Bruno, said that the judge denying the bail of his client was unreasonable since the suspect never had any past run-ins with the law.
Judge Long, although noting that he agrees with Bruno’s argument that Christensen has no criminal history, said that the denying of bail was due to the fact that Zhang was last seen in the suspect’s car making the evidence strong against him.
A preliminary hearing will take place this July 14.
