Suspect in kidnap and killing of Zhang Yingying may blame his mother’s pregnancy diet, court filings reveal
Brendt Christensen’s lawyers say the nutrition he received in the womb is relevant to their client’s complex case, as they seek to delay trial and oust judge
Lawyers for a former physics student accused of kidnapping and murdering Zhang Yingying, a 26-year-old University of Illinois scholar from China, may use details of his mother’s pregnancy diet to help argue their client’s case, newly filed public records reveal.
They also say they want the judge overseeing the death-penalty case to recuse himself, though they don’t spell out why.
In documents filed Wednesday in federal court in central Illinois, Brendt Christensen’s lawyers argue the case is so complex that they’ll need until June 2019 to prepare for trial, including to potentially research their 28-year-old client’s genealogy and prenatal care. Prosecutors want a trial much sooner, in October.
Both sides agreed a scheduled February 24 trial date had to be struck after prosecutors announced in January they’ll seek the death penalty, citing allegations Christensen tortured Zhang before killing her. Capital punishment is available in federal cases – but rarely sought. The state of Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011.
The defence must go through voluminous evidence, with less manpower than federal prosecutors have available. That includes thousands of written documents, 14 discs of wiretapped calls, a DNA report and hundreds of hours of phone calls recorded from Christensen’s jail. There also is data from seven computer hard drives and four cellphones, according to the defence.