By Jennifer Keiper, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) The defense is asking for more time in the case of a man charged in connection with the disappearance of a University of Illinois Chinese scholar who is presumed dead.
YingYing Zhang disappeared last June while on her way to sign an apartment lease. Authorities say she was seen getting into former University of Illinois grad student Brendt Christensen’s car at a bus stop. Her body hasn’t been found but Christensen has been charged.
Last month, the charges were upgraded, adding one count of kidnapping resulting in death which opens the door for the death penalty if convicted.
Lawyers for the 28 year old Champaign man are asking for more time to prepare their case and have asked that the February trial date be pushed to October 2018. The Chicago Tribune reports that the defense says the case is complex and it needs to look into purported sightings of YingYing Zhang.
The judge has taken the matter under advisement. No word on when he will announce a decision.
Copyright 2017 WLS-AM News
