Man, 28, indicted in kidnap case
Print Edition
A US grand jury has indicted a 28-year-old man with the abduction of a University of Illinois student from China.
Brendt Christensen was previously arrested and charged on June 30 in connection with the disappearance of 26-year-old Zhang Yingying.
On July 5, US Magistrate Judge Eric Long ordered he remain in custody pending trial.
The grand jury indictment charges Christensen with kidnapping Zhang near the university campus in Urbana.
Investigators say she was abducted on her way to sign an apartment lease and allege that Christensen lured her into his car.
Following his arrest, investigators said it was believed Zhang was dead although her body has not been found.
The indictment means a preliminary hearing due to take place today has been canceled. An arraignment date will be set sometime in the next few days by the US Clerk of the Court in Urbana, where the university is situated.
If convicted, Christensen faces life in prison.
He was enrolled as a PhD candidate in experimental condensed matter physics at the university, but it was not clear if he was still a student at the time of his arrest.
Zhang went missing on June 9, a Friday, after she got into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks from where she got off a bus on her way to sign a lease for an apartment.
According to an affidavit previously filed with the court, the car allegedly driven by Christensen had stopped next to Zhang at an intersection, and then pulled away.
Zhang had arrived at the university in late April.
An investigation by the FBI, the University of Illinois Police Department and Illinois State Police is continuing.
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