CCTV reveals a chilling kidnapping plot | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support
please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show
notes for this episode on your app or on our website in mid-2017 emily hogan was far from
home the british graduate student was studying abroad in the us at the university of illinois 135 miles
southwest of chicago the campus which is nearly equally distributed between neighbouring twin
cities urbana and champaign was and remains popular with international students in that year alone
almost 11 000 students from 113 countries attended uiuc over half were from china on the
morning of friday june 9 2017 emily was walking the streets of urbana-champaign alone she was on her way to a bus stop
when at around 9 30 a black four-door car pulled up alongside her behind the wheel
was a male driver wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses and a black t-shirt he wound down the driver's side window
and yelled out to emily i'm an undercover cop and said he was doing some work in the area he then
flashed what appeared to be a police badge that was hanging around his neck on a chain
emily approached the car the undercover officer requested that she get in so he could ask her some questions about
things that had been going on in the neighborhood emily paused something about this
situation didn't seem right sensing that the man wasn't really a cop emily firmly said no before backing away
surprised by her answer the men remarked well if you see anything suspicious call
the police he then drove away unsettled by the encounter emily phoned the university of illinois campus police
they scoured the area but failed to find the so-called undercover cop a bulletin was published
alerting the college community of the potential danger and emily posted about the incident on
facebook where it quickly spread among campus forums she described to the man and his ploy
but couldn't recall the make or model of his car simply referring to it as a black sedan
she warned other students don't get into the car even if they claim to be police
or have a badge [Music] [Music] [Music] friday june 9 was a warm sunny day the sprawling grounds of the university
of illinois were unusually quiet with many students off for the summer break visiting family
vacationing or completing work placements that morning ying yin zhang a 26 year old international student from china
arrived on campus and headed for the laboratory where she worked she set about cleaning some equipment
with her colleague and friend guo fung meow guovong had been a pillar of support for yin ying
who had found herself struggling while in america ying ying had been attending the uiuc
for a little over a month now her plan was to complete a year-long research appointment
focusing on photosynthesis in soybeans and corn but she found herself longing for home
she missed her family and the closeness they shared ying ying was also concerned that her
english wasn't as fluent as she'd believed it to be [Music] in an effort to distract herself
ying-ying threw herself into her work where she met and befriended a gorfon the pair helped each other come out of
their shells often sampling new cuisines and travelling together when they took a work trip to nebraska
ying ying was fascinated the state's flat sprawling fields were so different to the hilly landscapes of her
home province and the bustling city of beijing as her homesickness dissipated ying-yin
considered staying on at the uiuc to complete a doctoral program once her appointment had ended
at around noon ying yin got permission from guafong to take a longer lunch break than usual
this would give her ample time to attend an appointment as she didn't own a car and was reliant
on buses to get around ying yin could be gone for a couple of hours at 12 30 pm she bid gua fong
farewell and headed to her apartment on the south end of campus after having something to eat ying ying
made her way to a nearby bus stop [Music] not long afterwards rontra's stone's cell phone pinged
it was 1 30 pm and he had just received a text message it was from yin yin zhang who he had an
appointment with that afternoon she informed ron tras that she was running late and would now be meeting him at around
10 past two [Music] rontras was the marketing manager for one north student living apartments two miles from
the uiuc one north was an off-campus residential facility that offered university students a range
of amenities and social events its apartments were modern and nicely furnished and the complex was safe and secure with
an on-site property manager and gated grounds one north appealed to yin ying as it was
less expensive than her current residence their apartments were also larger and even had a spare bedroom
yin-ying was excited maybe she could find a roommate to help her overcome her loneliness
by early june she'd submitted an application and scheduled an appointment to view an apartment
yin ying had planned to meet rhontre stone at around lunch time on friday june 9.
when rontress received a text from yin ying informing him that she was running late
and would be there just after 2pm he replied to say it was fine he continued to wait but ying-ying was a
no-show rontras pulled out his phone opened his messages and typed hey ying ying
just checking in to see if you're on your way he never received a reply by the middle of the afternoon ying ying
had not yet returned to the lab this concerned her colleagues over the past month
she had proved herself to be a responsible employee she wasn't someone who would take half a
day off on a whim [Music] guerphon was particularly worried for her friend the pair had discussed to getting dinner
together that night ying ying would always confirm plans with her first but gua fong hadn't heard a thing
at around 4 pm guo fong and others rang ying ying's mobile phone there was no answer
[Music] guofeng was forced to grab dinner alone she rushed back to the laboratory at
around 6 15 to check if ying ying had returned there was still no sign of her guo fong then went to yin ying's
apartment but no one answered the door convinced something was wrong guofeng reported
ying ying missing to the campus police as it was a friday night they were inclined to think ying-ying might have
just gone out but the overt concern expressed by her colleagues hinted that something was
truly amiss officer ezard hoskins headed over to ying ying's apartment to check up on her
but no one came to the door although the student population had dwindled over the
break there were still plenty of young people milling about no one recalled seeing yin ying
during his search hoskins continued to call yin ying's cell phone each time it rang out
officer hoskins headed back to ying ying's apartment her worried colleagues were gathered
outside awaiting news hoskins noticed that a business card he had left at yin ying's front door
hadn't been touched housing staff unlocked the apartment and hoskins entered with a colleague
to conduct a preliminary search the apartment was lived in but nothing appeared to be out of place
an unassembled bicycle laying in the living room there were several pots and pans out in
the kitchen the covers of yin ying's bed were pulled back slightly some cash had been left on top of a
dresser the officers agreed that everything appeared to indicate that ying ying had
intended to return by midnight ying-ying was still missing as the situation had become increasingly
dire yin ying's colleagues phoned her family in china her father raced home from work and her
mother fainted upon hearing the news one of the last people yin ying spoke to from back home
was her boyfriend xiao ling the couple had been classmates at university in china
and started dating towards the end of their first year of studies they were maintaining a long-distance
relationship while ying-ying was in the u.s and hoped to get married later in the
year [Music] ying ying spoke to xiao ling on the phone the night before she vanished
she was looking forward to moving apartments and detailed her plans to sign a lease for her new place the
following day xiaoling was certain that something terrible must have happened he knew ying ying would never want to
cause undue concern to others he called her over and over but there was never any
answer [Music] officers spoke with the rentress stone the one north student living apartment's
marketing manager he hadn't heard from yin ying since she texted him to say she was running late to their
appointment phone records revealed that yin ying's cell phone was last active on the afternoon she vanished
it pinged a cell tower in downtown champaign around a four minute drive from the uiuc
the final ping was at 2 28 pm near 20 minutes after she had planned to get to one north
the champagne urbana mass transit district is a bus network that serves both cities
locally it's known as the mtd this was the system used by yin ying to navigate around
town buses within the mtd are equipped with multiple cctv cameras while examining footage taken by the
vehicles on june 9 investigators caught sight of yin ying outside her apartment building
at 1 35 p.m a buses external camera captured yin ying as she boarded internal cameras recorded
her as she walked down the aisle and found a seat she was dressed in jeans a pink and
white long sleeve shirt with a white top underneath and white shoes she was carrying a navy
blue backpack and on her head was a grey baseball cap the bus was operating on what was called
the teal line its route took passengers north east through the college campus at 1 52 pm it stopped at the
intersection of springfield and matthews avenues in urbana where yin ying disembarked
as this site was still about one and a half miles south of the one north apartments
it seemed likely that ying ying had intended to transfer to another bus four minutes later a bus known as the 22
limited travelled through the area the vehicle's external cameras filmed yin ying walking north along
springfield avenue towards another stop when ying ying noticed the bus passing her she ran after it and attempted to
flag it it was clear she wanted the board however as she was on the wrong side of the road
it continued on without stopping the bus turned left onto a street named to goodwin avenue
ying-ying chased after it but didn't make it to the next stop in time and ultimately missed it
to piece together yin ying's movements from then onwards investigators pulled footage from
security cameras in the vicinity of her last known location uiuc campus police telecommunications
officer kenny costa was scrutinizing footage taken from a parking garage camera when he noticed something standing
across the road was yin ying waiting by a bus stop she had seemingly continued along
goodwin avenue to the stop after missing the bus officer costa kept watching the video
at 2pm a black four-door hatchback could be seen driving south along goodwin avenue
on the opposite side of the road from yin ying the car then turned left onto a side
street before reappearing on goodwin avenue several minutes later this time it was on yin ying's side of
the street the vehicle approached her slowed down and pulled over ying-ying approached the
car and chatted to the driver through the passenger window after almost a minute she opened the
front passenger door and climbed inside closing the door behind her the car then pulled away from the curb
continued north along goodwin avenue and disappeared from view this sequence of events bore striking
similarities to an incident reported to police just hours before yin ying vanished
another uiuc student emily hogan had been approached by a black car in a similar manner
while walking alone to a bus stop in emily's instance the car's male driver posed as an undercover police
officer in an attempt to coax her into his vehicle the area where emily was confronted was
roughly four blocks from where yin yin zheng was taken other security cameras in the area
captured the car containing yin-ying travelling a quarter mile before it turned onto a street named
university avenue it couldn't be tracked any further it appeared as though the motorist had
been following yin ying well before approaching her as she chased after the bus the black vehicle was filmed driving
along the same road no matter how they looked at the footage investigators couldn't get a clear view
of the driver or the vehicle's license plate they tried zooming in but the images became too pixelated
however the footage was sufficient to identify the vehicle as a black satin astra this was a very
rare macond model saturn astras were first produced in 2008 but due to the global financial crisis
only a few thousand were sold the model was discontinued after just one year of production
police firmly believed that ying ying had been kidnapped as there was a chance she might have
been transported across state lines the fbi were brought in to assist the investigation
a list of all saturn astras registered in the county was quickly obtained there were approximately 26 in total
of these only 18 were four-door hatchbacks agents began visiting the individuals
that these vehicles were registered to they started with an address in champaign that was the closest
to their field office but none of the inquiries provided any leads back in china yin ying's case was making
headlines the fact that ying ying was from an ordinary family increased intrigue though the household
was full of love ying ying's family did not have much money they lived in a modest apartment with
simple furnishings yin ying's father rong gao was a truck driver her mother li fong was a homemaker who
was unable to read or write the family didn't have much to contribute to any prospective
ransom making the scenario seem unlikely the chinese parents of other students attending college in the us
were gripped by fear that their children might be randomly targeted next yin ying's distraught family couldn't
understand why she would have gotten into a stranger's vehicle her boyfriend speculated that she must
have been desperate to get to her appointment just over a week after yin ying vanished
her boyfriend father and aunt arrived in champaign to join the search her mother was too exhausted to
make the journey she hadn't slept or eaten since learning of yin ying's disappearance
the college community rallied around yin ying's loved ones providing them with housing and meals
students also set up an online fundraiser to support the family financially with an initial goal of thirty thousand
dollars in less than a week eighty thousand dollars had been donated champaign county crime stoppers worked
with the yin ying's family to provide a forty thousand dollar reward for information
leading to an arrest it was the largest of its kind ever offered by the organization
the fbi offered its own reward of ten thousand dollars volunteers assisted as yin ying's family
scoured the streets and followed up on leeds one tip said that ying ying had been
spotted in the city of salem 124 miles southwest of champaign her family made the considerable journey
only to discover the sighting was a case of mistaken identity complicating matters was yin ying's
father's inability to speak english and the difficulties of navigating a foreign country
ron gao zhang struggled to sleep at night and would often leave his bed to go stand outside his daughter's
apartment he waited there for hours hoping ying ying would come home ron gao gave his first media interview
on thursday june 22 through a translator he begged the person who had taken yin ying to return her
before addressing his daughter directly ying be strong dad is waiting for you here
i hope that being a good person you will be safe forever i will wait for you and we will
definitely find you in an effort to raise awareness ying ying's boyfriend xiao ling organised a vigil to take place on
the night of thursday june 29 participants would begin at the campuses krannert center for the
performing arts then walk to the location where ying ying was last seen after pausing at the site they would
return to the krannert center for a concert that evening megan not her real name
received a text message from her boyfriend the pair had only been dating a month
after meeting on a dating website in his message megan's boyfriend requested that she accompany him to the
walk that was being held for ying yin zhang he wrote i am going to this no matter what i'd
love it if you were there with me megan was aware of yin ying's case she asked her boyfriend why he was
interested in going and why he wanted her to go too he replied that he didn't know but he
was asking her to megan agreed when the couple met at the venue megan's boyfriend held up a collar that
she sometimes wore when they were intimate and asked her to put it on [Music] the pair often engaged in acts of bdsm
erotic consensual role-playing that includes bondage discipline dominance and submission
megan refused to wear the collar stating that it wouldn't be appropriate the occasion was too somber and she was
uneasy wearing such an item in public he accepted this and didn't press the matter
[Music] the pair joined the 350 strong crowd including yin ying's loved ones chatting
quietly as they strolled after briefly talking about their relationship megan's boyfriend brought up the nearby
fbi field office he described where it was located then named some of the media agencies
covering the walk he also made some obtuse remarks about the walk's participants
being there for him after a while he picked up one of megan's hands and traced the number 13 on her palm
she was confused the end of the walk megan went to the bathroom when she returned outside her boyfriend
was sitting on a bench waiting for her he grabbed her iphone and tapped away on it before handing it back
he had written a short message on her notes app it read it was me she was number thirteen she's
gone forever after megan had seen the message her boyfriend deleted it the pair then attended the concert
megan's boyfriend exhibited strange behavior throughout the show he consumed a large amount of alcohol
and clapped in a weirdly slow staccato fashion when the crowd gave yin ying's boyfriend
a standing ovation he remained seated at one stage he pointed out another attendee to megan
and remarked that she would make quote a good target by the time the concert concluded megan
was extremely disturbed as the pair walked off her boyfriend brought up the message he had typed
earlier on megan's phone he revealed that he was a serial killer he had started murdering when he was 19
and had killed a total of 13 women he didn't know the names of any victims aside from yin yin
zhang she was the only one who'd had a public profile and could be tied back to him
he told megan she was the first person he'd ever confided in and remarked the last person i would
consider at my level that actually did anything was ted bundy he was caught in the 80s
concealing her fear megan continued the conversation she asked if 13 was a large number of
victims her boyfriend responded incorrectly it's bigger than jeffrey dahmer bigger
than john wayne gacy i have caught the nation's attention apparently he then reassured megan that he would
never harm her she responded unless for some reason i'm a complete idiot and say something
to somebody and then i'm not safe he replied that's true investigators fronting the yin yin zhang
case remained tight-lipped refusing to divulge publicly how it was progressing [Music]
behind the scenes they had been working around the clock to find her ongoing efforts to enhance
security camera footage of the suspect's saturn astra proved fruitless uiuc campus police officer sergeant
james carter asked whether he could help carter was known for his knowledge of cars and eye for detail
over the course of five to ten minutes he continually slowed and paused the video to make sure nothing
escaped him carter then noticed something the hubcap on the car's right front wheel appeared to have a dark spot
he rewound the footage and studied every single frame he realized that the hubcap was broken
with a chunk missing from its outer rim sergeant carter also determined that the
vehicle had a sunroof of all the black satin astra hatchbacks within the county only one was noted as having a sunroof
it was the first vehicle the fbi had inspected during their initial inquiries it was registered to a 27 year old local
man named brent christensen who lived right there in champaign christensen a former masters student at
the uiuc had no criminal record he lived with his wife lisa not her real name in a two-bedroom
apartment on west springfield avenue christensen had also been a teaching assistant at the university
but was currently unemployed and looking for work when initially questioned by the fbi
brent christensen had been polite and upfront he was familiar with the yin ying jung case
and acknowledged that he drove a car matching the suspect's vehicle he maintained that he was at home all
day on friday june 9 sleeping or playing video games he allowed his apartment and car to be
searched nothing suspicious was found but the discovery that the suspect's car had a sunroof
narrowed the investigative spotlight directly on christensen his black satin astra was the only one
in the county that had such a feature officers headed straight to the parking lot at christensen's apartment building
they honed in on his car a large chunk was missing from its front passenger hubcap
it had been a week since emily hogan's unsettling encounter with the man purporting to be an undercover police
officer investigators for the yin ying jung case approached her once again seeking her assistance
they provided her with a photographic lineup that contained six different driver's license pictures
when she saw the third photograph a wave of nausea washed over emily she was sure that the man pictured was
the one who had tried to lure her into his car emily then reconsidered saying that she
was 60 sure the third image was of brent christensen investigators were granted a federal
warrant to search christensen's home and car they arrived at his apartment and knocked on the front door
it opened a fraction the officers couldn't see who was on the other side one of them called out that they were
there to search the property the door opened to wider a surprised but calm brent christensen
stood before the group dressed in his underwear it appeared as though he had just gotten out of bed
he permitted the investigators to enter his home his wife lisa was standing a few feet
behind him naked one of the agents asked her to put on a robe christensen was shown the warrant and
was asked if he was willing to talk back at the investigator's office looking nonchalant christensen turned to
lisa and asked everything i've seen in the movies tells me i shouldn't talk to the police what
do you think in an equally unconcerned tone she replied [Music] yeah i think you should go
[Music] christensen put on a black t-shirt and some pants before he was escorted to the fbi field
office once there he was asked to recap his alibi although he admitted that he couldn't
recall friday june 9 clearly he maintained that he was at home playing video games
he suspected that he had a nap for a couple of hours in the middle of the afternoon
one of the interviewing detectives abruptly asked look you know that we didn't bring you
all the way up here to talk about video games or what you had for lunch that day
why do you think that we brought you up here christensen replied because the car i own was seen picking up a girl
that's missing when asked who was driving his car on the day in question christensen said no one else had access
to it [Music] in an effort to get him talking christensen was told there was footage of him picking up yin
ying jung he remarked that he hadn't seen himself in any of the footage shown by the media
a detective retorted you've seen what we've allowed you to see christensen began breathing heavily
his eyes darted around the room there was a long pause that seemed to drag suddenly he said that he might have
gotten his days mixed up he now admitted to picking up an asian girl on what he thought was saturday
june 10. he'd been out driving around the uiuc when he saw a girl looking distressed
and pulled over to speak with her she was late for a meeting with her professor and showed christensen a map
on her phone of where she needed to go he offered her a lift and she accepted but after he'd driven a few blocks the
girl became distraught she tried to get out of the car christensen thought he must have
accidentally taken a wrong turn and inadvertently scared her he stopped and let her out
after the girl exited the car she stood on the sidewalk looking at her phone christensen then drove back home
he couldn't remember his passenger's name but provided a brief description of her
she spoke broken english had been wearing jeans and was carrying a backpack he estimated
she had only been in his car for five minutes or less but he couldn't remember where he had taken her
when asked why he had withheld this information christensen insisted that he thought he'd given the
girl a lift on the saturday not the friday that yin yin zhang was taken [Music] the topic of christensen's marriage was
then raised christensen and his wife lisa were in a mutually agreed upon open relationship which enabled them to
date other people while remaining married lisa had a boyfriend whom she knew through work
the weekend yin ying was taken lisa and her boyfriend were vacationing interstate christensen was left home
alone he admitted that he had gone out driving because he'd been stir crazy and lonely all he'd wanted was to clear his
head [Music] christensen pointed out that he still wasn't sure the girl he'd met had been
yin ying zhang he was asked if he'd picked up the girl because he wanted to sleep with her
christensen replied i mean that would have been nice but then he trailed off a more forceful approach was taken
interviewing officers demanded that christensen tell the truth where'd you take her brent we need to
find yin ying there was a pause then christensen said i think it's time that i stop answering
questions i know the typical advice is to get a lawyer before you answer anything
and i think i've tried to help enough forensic examination of christensen's cell phone
revealed that less than two months earlier he had visited a website for individuals interested in sexual
fetishes and kinks he spent time in a forum titled abduction 101 in threads labelled perfect abduction
fantasy and planning a kidnapping he chatted to a woman about how he would like to abduct her
he described how he would bind and gag her then put her in a large duffel bag in
the trunk or back seat of his car the following month christensen purchased a six-foot long
green canvas duffel bag online but soon returned it then just six days before yin ying vanished
he reordered the same bag investigators hadn't found the bag at his home the search of christensen's apartment
did uncover a pair of aviator-style sunglasses like those worn by the phony undercover
cop that approached emily hogan hours before yin ying was taken in the main bedroom two twin mattresses
had been pushed together to form a king-sized bed on one of these mattresses were three reddish-brown stains
two towards the middle and one at the end by the wall a baseball bat was also found
luminol revealed it too contained a stain christensen's satin astra was also examined
the front passenger seat and side of the car had been recently and thoroughly cleaned
investigators were certain that brent christensen was involved in yin ying's disappearance
but they didn't want to keep him in custody if released they believed he might slip
up and do something that would lead them to yin ying on friday june 16 christensen was sent
home without charge christensen was well aware that his movements were now being monitored by
the fbi he turned off the tracking function on his phone and switched to a virtual private
network to encrypt his internet connection in the meantime his marriage deteriorated further
his wife had taken to sleeping in the spare room and pushed heavy items against the door
to prevent him from entering the cold shoulder didn't impact christensen too harshly
as per the rules of his open marriage he had another intimate partner he could reach out to a
young woman he'd recently started dating named megan megan had been terrified of her
boyfriend since the night of yin yin junk's vigil christensen had insisted she accompany him to the walk
during which he confessed to being a serial killer that night he detailed in an excited and
boastful manner exactly how he had attacked yin ying he said he had taken her to his
apartment cut off her clothing and raped her on his bed before strangling her with his hands
as he was over six feet tall and had a large build it was easy for him to overpower the
much smaller yin-ying nevertheless she had fought back fiercely christensen described it as
quote unbelievable supernatural almost how she didn't give up he estimated that he had choked yin ying
for 10 minutes despite this she kept breathing he then carried her into the bathroom
and placed her in the tub before striking her with his baseball bat uncertain whether he had killed her he
grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the neck either consciously or as a reflex ying
ying tried to grab the weapon christensen then decapitated her he told megan this final act put a stop
to what he called this [ __ ] zombie [ __ ] but spoke admiringly of yin ying's fight
for survival describing her as valiant christensen then laughed about the fact that some people at yin ying's vigil
had thanked him for attending i am apparently very good at this he boasted they will never find her because i will
never tell anyone the family they won't leave until she's found they're gonna leave empty-handed
megan returned home a short time later and walked inside alone she then spoke directly into her
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suburb a prankster clashes with conspiracy theorist alex jones a forbidden love results in an
escape to the other side of the world and revenge inspires secrets and lies nothing is quite as it seems
all episodes of suicide are available to binge right now for free only on spotify
that's suicide spelled p-s-e-u-d-o-c-i-d-e two weeks before the vigil for yin yin
zhang fbi agents paid megan a visit by this stage all eyes were on brent christensen
but he had yet to be directly implicated in the crime investigators needed the help of someone
close to him to secure the smoking gun their efforts were kept under wraps not even yin ying's own family were aware
that a suspect had emerged they continued to carry out their own enquiries all the while christensen was being
questioned and his belongings searched megan was upset to learn that her boyfriend was a prime suspect in a
kidnap investigation yet she couldn't deny her own concerns although her relationship with
christensen seemed promising to begin with in late may he'd sent her a series of
text messages in which he rambled about not wanting to fade away into obscurity quote
i would rather destroy humanity than let that happen i know most would disagree it was proposed that megan work with
investigators by covertly recording christensen whenever they were together she was conflicted while she loved
christensen megan ultimately agreed to participate believing that her actions could help
exonerate him she was provided with two recording devices one was hidden inside a coffee
mug the other was the size of a post-it note and could be worn underneath clothing megan
started recording christensen later that same day he initially seemed nervous about being
under investigation but then at another point he appeared amused by the situation
christensen often talked about the yin ying jung case with megan he came up with excuses regarding the
evidence against him often using megan as a scapegoat he said he had purchased the duffel bag
to transport a cat scratching post for her although she never received it he also said that
the blood in his bedroom belonged to her even though megan knew this wasn't true
on friday june 23 megan recorded a phone conversation in which christensen said he was worried
about what would happen to him if the investigation goes south he added they're desperate i will be in prison
for life the pair continued their conversation via text messages in one christensen admitted
i was the one who picked that girl up i dropped her off shortly after i didn't do anything wrong
but she is missing and i am officially the last one who saw her lisa loses a husband if this goes wrong
i will literally lose my life by the time christensen asked megan to attend yin ying's vigil with him
she was already deeply troubled by his various remarks prior to leaving home megan hid a
recording device on her body when she returned home later in the night she phoned the fbi to notify them
of christensen's chilling serial killer confession she then burst into tears the following day of friday june 30 was
brent christensen's 28th birthday fbi agents arrived at his apartment and charged him with the federal crime of
kidnapping a cadaver dog brought into the residence alerted in the bathroom where christensen had confessed to
killing yin ying there were no human remains at the address but agents seized a number of
items including a roll of duct tape none of yin ying's belongings were found an alternative light source revealed
handprints and swabbing marks on the drywall and carpet alongside and underneath christensen's bed
suggesting someone had cleaned the area a dark reddish stain was found on the underside
of the carpet as well as on its tack strip and the floor beneath samples of this staining were tested
along with swabs previously taken of christensen's mattress and baseball bat all items returned
a positive result for yin ying's dna although it couldn't be proven that it was christensen who had taken yin ying
further evidence proved he was in the area at the time security cameras from a local
supermarket caught christensen buying a bottle of rum at 7 40 a.m on friday june 9.
from there he drove around the ui uc campus [Music] in the aftermath of yin ying's
disappearance christensen used his smartphone to research the ingredients in cleaning
products news articles about the case and information on illinois's obstruction of
justice laws he also looked up information on how iphone tracking works despite not owning one yin ying
however had used an iphone [Music] months before the abduction christensen filled out an intake form for the uiuc's
counselling center he had written that alcohol and a drug addiction were ruining his life
and that he wanted to harm others when asked about his desire to hurt people christensen revealed that he'd
been spending lots of time researching serial killers particularly ted bundy he remarked i've always been interested
in the bad guys he admitted to making homicidal plans which progressed to the point of
purchasing items that could be used in a murder but said he later returned them he insisted he didn't want to actually
hurt anyone because he didn't quote want to live with the guilt [Music] he refused to attend a substance abuse
facility or a meeting at alcoholics anonymous however christensen did attend two
follow-up appointments with clinical counsellors another counselling session was planned
for april 6 2017 three days before yin-ying was taken christensen filled out an intake form for the appointment
but never met with the counsellor after that he stopped attending counselling sessions
[Music] during his time in custody christensen phoned his wife lisa their conversation was recorded
christensen wanted lisa to delete his account on the discussion website reddit as well as any of his stupid comments
in a post discussing the possibility that yin ying's kidnapper might have been posing as an undercover police
officer christensen had commented that's very ted bundy-esque scary christensen had once confided in
lisa that he was fascinated by serial killers as well as quote violence testing limits things of that nature
this troubled lisa she issued her husband with an ultimatum to stop a drinking when he failed to do so lisa announced
in march 2017 that she wanted a divorce this caused christensen to become emotional and distraught
so lisa suggested they open their relationship as a compromise lisa returned home from her week and
away with her boyfriend days after yin ying was abducted she didn't notice anything strange about
her husband's behaviour however on monday june 12 she saw him leave the apartment carrying a duffel
bag that didn't look to have much inside it she also noticed the petrol gauge in
christensen's saturn astra was at the halfway point this indicated that christensen had
driven 200 miles over the weekend [Music] lisa was surprised by this as her husband was a homebody that never really
traveled anywhere [Music] staff and students from the uiuc were shocked upon learning of brent
christensen's arrest he was remembered as a mild-mannered and normal student and teacher's assistant
if a little awkward however one young woman who lived in the same apartment building as him
told the media she had always found him creepy photographs and video footage taken at
the vigil for yin ying featured christensen with megan he was captured holding her hand
and walking alongside her with an arm around her shoulders in hindsight these innocuous images were
chilling as they implied yin ying's killer might have walked with her family that night
pretending to show his support on the morning of monday july 3 members of the media
and the uiuc community queued outside of banner's small federal courthouse to attend christensen's first hearing
only 45 people could fit inside the courtroom hundreds of others gathered outside
chanting justice for yin ying while holding banners and signs that read we are with you ying ying
when christensen appeared in court he was shackled at the ankles and said a little yin ying's father and
boyfriend watched on in silence as the judge ordered him to be held without bond
he was facing charges of kidnapping resulting in death and lying to federal agents
the prosecution was seeking the death penalty christensen pleaded not guilty ying ying's mother and brother joined
the rest of the jung family in the u.s in anticipation of the trial lee fong sobbed as her husband spoke
through an interpreter to the press this is a very painful process our dreams have been shattered
we just keep on telling ourselves this is the worst and we cannot really lose any more
he vowed that he would not leave the us until his daughter had been found and could be given a proper burial
in accordance with their beliefs and culture delays by the defense meant the trial
didn't begin until april 2019 almost two years after yin ying's disappearance in the interim
her family returned to china to conserve their money and so li fung could recover from
illness the trial was held outside of champaign-urbana after christensen's attorneys
successfully argued that extensive media coverage of the case might have prejudiced
the local jury pool the venue change would inconvenience yin ying's family who had returned to illinois
they were soon offered a place to stay locally for the trial's duration [Music] christensen's attorney shocked the court
by starting his opening address with the line brent christensen killed yin ying zhang and nothing that we say
or do during this phase of the trial will be an attempt to sidestep or deny that brent christensen is
responsible for her death the defense explained that they were only having a trial because
christensen might face the death penalty if convicted their intention was to prevent this
sentence star witness for the prosecution megan was the first witness to draw any
emotion from christensen he looked down at his hands and occasionally wiped away a tear as she
spoke when asked how it felt to be testifying against her former boyfriend megan replied terrifying
she was then asked so why are you doing it before answering because it's necessary
christensen did not take the stand the defense asserted that the government wanted to take his life
they relied on christensen's long-term alcoholism as an excuse for his actions going so far as accusing megan of plying
him with booze to get him to confess they also blamed her for introducing him to bdsm
claiming she quote injected the idea of fantasy and sex they described christensen as a happily
married successful student who was led astray by alcohol and linked sex with violence after
discovering bdsm culture after two hours of deliberation the jury found brent christensen guilty
on all three counts [Music] following christensen's conviction lawyers representing yin ying's family
issued a statement thanking investigators for their hard work on the case describing their coordinated efforts as
nothing short of remarkable they also thanked all the witnesses who had testified
in particular megan quote megan's courage is self-evident and the assistance she gave to law enforcement
was invaluable the close-knit loving jung family were able to tell the world how the loss of
yin ying had impacted them at christensen's sentencing hearing her father wept over the last photo he
had taken with his daughter it depicted ying ying flanked by both her parents outside a train station moments before
she departed for the u.s she had just celebrated her 26th birthday the party doubling as a farewell
celebration through tears her mother asked the court this wonderful daughter of mine she is
my everything how am i supposed to carry on living i really don't know how to carry on
one of the few times christensen showed emotion throughout the hearing was when his father testified that the
thought of his son being executed was unbearable this caused christensen to break down in tears
in order for christensen to receive the death penalty the jury had to reach a unanimous
decision they deliberated for almost two days ultimately 10 wanted to deliver the
death penalty while two were opposed as a result brent christensen was sentenced to life in prison
without the possibility of release he was also given five-year sentences for the two charges of lying to federal
agents and the maximum fine of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars christensen chose not to address
the court upon hearing the verdict but smiled at his mother when he heard his life would be spared
the judge told him the mercy extended to you by the jury is a testament to their
humanity not your character the jung family must live with the thought that ying-ying was ripped away from them by a
total stranger thousands of miles away fulfilling his self-absorbed and selfish fantasies
with no regard yet to this day for anyone other than himself your complete and total lack of remorse
was not lost on anyone and emphasized one more time today when given the opportunity to speak
and not subject to any cross-examination you could have said whatever you wanted
to say for as little or as long as you wished and yet today 769 days after you took yin ying's life
you could not muster a simple i'm sorry [Music] christensen's outcome caused an uproar
in china many citizens shared the desire of yin ying's family to see him receive
the death penalty however ying ying's family accepted that the life sentence was still a suitable punishment
that reflected the significance of their loss her father said we hope that every day
he spends in prison he feels the pain and suffering that we feel for the loss of yin ying
he added now that the trial is over and the jury has made its decision we ask the defendant to unconditionally
tell us what he knows about yin ying's location if you have any humanity left in your soul
please help end our torment please let us bring yin ying home the search for yin ying's remains had
been long but futile dumpsters creek beds and abandoned mine shafts had been thoroughly searched
crime stoppers and yin ying's family offered a fifty thousand dollar reward for information that led to her
discovery they were completely unaware that christensen had already revealed what
had become of yin ying in november 2018 christensen had divulged the truth to federal prosecutors in an
attempt to negotiate a deal that would prevent him from receiving the death penalty
as this information was part of an immunity agreement prosecutors had been unable to share it
until after christensen was convicted and sentenced after killing yin ying christensen had
dismembered her and placed her remains in three separate garbage bags the following day
he threw the bags into a dumpster outside his apartment building on monday june 12 he placed the yin
ying's iphone clothing and backpack in the large duffel bag he'd purchased earlier that
month and then drove around disposing of them in various dumpsters around the champagne urbana area
finally he threw the duffel bag away the dumpster where yin ying's remains were placed was emptied
the same day its contents were taken to a private landfill then compacted twice spread over an
area spanning 50 yards and buried beneath 30 feet of garbage due to the compaction process
ying-ying's remains would have likely been reduced to a size smaller than a cell phone investigators
believed it would be near impossible to recover them any attempt to do so would be extremely
complicated and expensive ying ying's family fronted a press conference after finally being told
what became of her ying ying's father told assembled reporters if what that man said is true it further
confirms that he is a heartless and evil person we condemn his brutal and malicious
actions and we hope that he suffers the rest of his life as he made yin ying suffer in the final
moments of her life we now understand that finding her may be impossible but if ying-ying's remains are ever
found we will return to take her home to china where she belongs two days after learning what had
happened to yin ying her family had a memorial service in illinois that same month it was announced that
they had assisted the uiuc in creating an endowment in honour of their daughter named ying ying's fund had aimed to
assist international students and their families in times of crisis ying ying's parents donated thirty
thousand dollars to the fund from the gofundme money that was raised for them the uiuc's chancellor spoke of his
admiration for their gesture the jung's cherished members of our own illinois family are going through one of
the most challenging points in their lives and yet they are still thinking of others
their gift will make an enormous impact when these students and their families need it most
[Music] yin yang's family also donated a further 20 000 as rewards for individuals who
helped solve her case the uiuc also awarded three members of their police department
the institution's highest honor the chancellor's medallion for their work on yin ying's case
sergeant james carter who identified the saturn astra's distinctive hubcap and sunroof telecommunicator kenny costa
who traced yin ying's path to the second bus stop and discovered she had been abducted
using cctv footage and detective eric stuyvesant who interrogated christensen [Music]
despite brent christensen boasting that he was a prolific serial killer nothing has ever been found linking him
to any other crimes investigators concluded that this element of his confession was nothing more than a fantasy
yin ying's parents chose her name as it meant the twinkling of the stars saw candlelight
from an early age their daughter proved to be extremely intelligent she ranked at the top of her class at
every school she attended in 2009 yin-ying was accepted to study environmental science at university
she was the first member of her family to pursue a tertiary education four years later ying yin graduated as
one of the top students in her year next she began a master's degree in environmental engineering
at beijing's prestigious per king university by 2016 yin yang had her masters and began working as a research
assistant at the chinese academy of sciences she set aside some of the money she
earned and to purchase the gifts that would make her family's lives easier such as a microwave and a cell phone
ying ying's ultimate ambition was to become a professor this career path would help her support
her family financially despite never having left china before she decided that the best way to achieve
this goal was to travel to the united states for further education [Music] [Music]
you

Case 176: Yingying Zhang

On June 9 2017, Yingying Zhang vanished on her way to an appointment in Urbana, Illinois. The Chinese visiting scholar missed her bus and after she failed to return to work that day, her colleagues quickly raised the alarm...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-176-yingying-zhang

Brief Summary

Ying Ying Zhang, a Chinese student, vanished in 2017; Brent Christensen was later arrested and confessed to her murder.

Key points

Emily's Encounter with Danger. Emily Hogan is approached by a man posing as an undercover cop, sparking concern.
Yin Ying's Disappearance. Yin Ying Zhang goes missing after a series of concerning events.
A Father's Plea. Yin Ying's father begs for her return during a media interview.
Confession of a Serial Killer. Megan's boyfriend reveals he is a serial killer, shocking her with his confession.
The Investigation Narrows. Brent Christensen becomes the prime suspect as evidence mounts against him.
The Disturbing Details. Christensen describes the brutal murder of Yin Ying in chilling detail.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Don't get into the car!

Emily warns others about the suspicious man.

4:48WatchMay 22, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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