Transcripts For KGO 2020 20240713

Could you believe it . Look who the kidnapper was. Oh, my god. Look, you know that we didnt bring you all the way up here to talk about video games. I needed to know where she was, like, now. And to find out, to trap him, theyre having his girlfriend wear a wire, maybe even risking your life. Im turning this thingy on. Its about 12 40. They want her to go undercover. The girlfriend is scared to death. Does this mean youre trusting me . I want to tell you. We see that he was on a group chat entitled abduction 101. It was a fetish, a fantasy. It was clear this was something he wanted to do. She started really freaking out. She fight . Champaignurbana is in the heart of champaign county. People who work hard. Have strong values. The university of illinois straddles both cities, champaign and urbana. The story itself plays out essentially on the u of i campus. From beginning to end. Its a beautiful campus. Its sprawling. Youtube was developed by two of our alums. Soybean was developed as a cash crop here at the university of illinois. So the ag roots are, no pun intended, very deep. Im a graduate of the university of illinois. It has the largest Chinese Student population in the country. Theres no other college in the u. S. That has more Chinese Students. And now if you went about campus about this time, i swear to god, youd think you were in beijing because there are so many asian students. In the spring of 2016 a new person flies in from china, joining thousands of other Chinese Students. A brilliant visiting scholar. She was 26 years old. And her name is Yingying Zhang. Yingying was a graduate student from one of the top universities in all of china. She was an academic superstar. And she had a real zest for experiencing all sorts of different things. She travels. She did volunteer work. Yingying loves singing. And she and a few friends, they formed a pop group called cute horse. And she was the lead singer in that group. Before she came to the u. S. , her friends celebrating yingyings birthday, and that party also became a Farewell Party before her journey to the u. S. She felt that the university of illinois here was one of the best places she could go in her field of environmental sciences. To get into a Research Group here at the university of illinois, you obviously have to have promise. Her intent was to begin a ph. D program here in the fall. Yingying was applying a position in our lab. She was really excited about almost everything. Its just, its a new, kind of a new world and a new life open to her. She was so new. She had only been here for a few weeks. And so she hadnt really had a chance to establish a lot of relationships. She spent lots of her time working, or doing research. She also bought a guitar. And she said she didnt have a lot of time to play it. But it just made her feel like she had a friend in her apartment. Friday, june 9th, 2017. Just a typical beautiful summer day here. During the summer, campus is a lot more empty while the students are home. Yingying went to turner hall on campus that morning of june 9th. Its just a normal day. We kind of cleaned some equipment we have been using. So around noontime, she told me she had an appointment around 1 30 p. M. To sign an apartment, the lease. So she was living on the south end of the campus. What they call the married Student Housing complex. She was looking to move to the one north apartments because it would be less expensive. And so she had set up that morning to go tour the one north apartments later that day over the lunch hour. And she said shed probably leave for two hours. And i said, yeah, it was fine. Yingying and the apartment manager had been texting each other to set up this meeting. When she doesnt show up, he texts her back and says, where are you . At around 3 30 or 4 00 p. M. , i felt a little bit strange because it shouldnt take so long. Not the kind of an employee that would just leave. No, no. She was a person who was very responsible. So they became concerned rather quickly. And they attempted to contact her. And they couldnt contact her by cell phone. After dinner i went back to the office to see if she might have been back there, but no. I thought id go to her apartment to check. Nobody, like, answered the door. So at that moment i thought something must have gone wrong. Then we went to the University Police office. So you went in physically and walked into the office . Yes, yes, yeah. And what did they say . At that time, because it was friday evening, and the police, they thought this just happened so often. Like, student went missing on weekend night. We have had missing students in the past. But theyre very rare that theyre actually, that we dont find them immediately. And then some of her colleagues that are also grad students came in and would literally sit in our front office. Do you think they were feeling you were not doing enough . I think they were just so concerned for her welfare. And they had a sense of urgency about it that she needed help and that none of this made sense. That night, then we just stayed in front of the apartment building. We stayed maybe until midnight. Still we really didnt have any clue. The newsgazette. This is mary. The next day, saturday, june the 10th, i was working here in the newsroom. And the phone rang. And it was a male friend of yingyings. And he told me, we have this missing international student. And i have to admit, i kind of rolled my eyes. As a crime reporter, we get missing persons reports quite a bit. But there was something about the way these people were conveying, we think somethings wrong, that made me say, okay, it wont hurt if we run a short story saying that the police are looking for her. There was a determination to find her. And there was that determination from campus and from law enforcement. Our officers initially went there. Her apartment was in normal condition. She didnt pack up her clothes. She didnt have a car, so i assume that she took a bus. So i basically checked with mtd buses in town here to see if she had gotten on a bus. Thats when they started looking at the cameras, the buses. And to try to figure out her last movements. We have about 2,000 cameras. So, yeah, that changed everything. Theres probably ten cameras on this bus. One there, there, here, and back there shooting every angle. Yeah. And then they discover that an exterior camera on the outside of a bus captures yingying boarding a city bus at about 1 30 p. M. Right in front of her apartment. Inside cameras show her walking toward the back and taking a seat. So she was captured on video from the bus that dropped her off. So the bus is traveling eastbound from that direction coming from the west. And she got off the bus right here at this location. Right this spot . This spot right here. So whats the next camera that we see . So she got off the bus, came over in this direction, saw another bus heading this direction. I think she was trying to flag it down. Im not sure if the bus driver saw her or not. Shes almost desperate to get that bus to stop. Yes, yeah. Based on the video, i mean, you can tell that there was a sense of urgency. Im trying to get there, sign my lease so i can have a place to stay. What happens next . I think shes stopping there to, you know, collect herself, wait on the next bus, and still kind of like maybe trying to figure out, am i going to make it in time . We noticed her standing next to a bus stop just south of university. And what was she doing . She was just standing there. Shes feeling anxious. And at that moment, something dark is on the horizon. Youre looking at somebody who has no clue what is around the corner. Wanna go to the gym . Uh, its too expensive. Actually, our Unitedhealthcare Medicare plans come with renew active, a gym membership and more, at no extra cost. 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Because wed look silly in sweaters ahhhh mom wocka wocka. fozzie wocka wocka, ma. fozzie vo portal. From facebook. Ive slain your dreaded dragon. For saving the kingdom what doth thou desire . My lord . Hey good knight. Where are you going . Climbing up on Solsbury Hill grab your things, salutations. Coffee that is a cup above is always worth the quest. Nespresso. Tis all i desire. Did thou bring enough for the whole kingdom . George nespresso, what else . Tell me what happened that day out here. Yingying zhang was on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease. She got on a bus from one of the Campus Housing facilities. She gets off a bus. She gets off on one side of the street, her connecting bus is on the other side of the street. She misses it by seconds. The Surveillance Video shows her running after the bus. After 2 00 p. M. , shes at the bus stop. Yingying is standing on the corner, probably hoping that she can just catch a break. Then they make a critical discovery on a camera at the parking garage right across the street from where she was waiting for a bus. You had no idea how to find where she went. Mmhmm. Until this. Yeah, it was like literally trying to find a needle in a haystack. So here you realize, heres the needle. Heres the needle. The camera captured her standing there. And when we watched that video further, there was a black sedan that drove by her, actually turned in front of her east, circled around the block and then pulled up next to her and stopped. And it appeared that the driver rolled down the passengers side window and i saw yingying look inside. It was a pretty eerie video to watch. As soon as the car drives up, basically, and stops right by yingying, im just thinking, like, dont get into the car. Dont get into the car. But then you see that she walks up to it. It was a discussion between yingying and the driver for about a minute. And then she eventually got in the car. She opened the passenger side door and got in, and it shut, and then just drove right off the camera. The video footage from that camera dramatically changed the scope of the investigation cause now we didnt just have a missing persons case, now we had a suspect vehicle. She got into a car with a person, whoever was driving that vehicle knew exactly what happened to her. Once she got in the car, we realized, okay, were dealing with a kidnapping here. Through that video we were trying to figure out, okay, what kind of car is this . You could not see from the distance. It got too pixelated as you came in close. You could not get a view of the driver. Could not get a view of the license plate. And so the fbi got involved. That vehicle is a very unique vehicle. It was identified as a saturn astra, which was only produced for a very short time frame and imported into the United States. Its a very rare vehicle. If it was a honda accord, toyota camry, in champaign county, i would imagine theres probably thousands of common vehicles. This car, i believe, there was only 58 in the state. There was nothing more important than determining who owned the car, whether they could make any identification of the driver, and then go talk to that person. The fbi has been treating this as a kidnapping. Campus police say Surveillance Video shows her entering a black saturn astra vehicle. The fact that the police were releasing the video gave it a renewed sense of, this is a serious situation. The posters of yingying and the car were hung up all around campus. I think students on campus were very concerned. How much fear was there amongst the other students here when this started to unfold . Everybody was kind of really, really frightened, especially the females. And just thinking about how many times you see young females, College Students Walking Around in the area by themselves. And i think it was a huge eyeopener. I think the biggest theory of her disappearance was that somebody did take her. I know there was big talk of, like, a sex trafficking ring. One has to think if there is someone driving around the campus scanning for potential victims that its someone from the greater community, but certainly not someone whos a student on that campus. A lot of students dont even have vehicles. It got more frightening when this british grad student named emily hogan tells police that earlier the same day that yingying went missing, a man tried to get her into his car. She said a white male in a black sedan pulled up next to her, identified himself as an Undercover Police officer and asked her to get in his car to answer a few questions about things going on in the neighborhood. Emily described seeing mirrored sunglasses and being shown a badge. She declined, and then she immediately calls the police. Do you remember, like, hearing anything like, police would have a Police Scanner or a radio. No scanner, no radio. What if you saw a picture of him . Would you be able to say that was him . Because of the sunglasses it would be tough . Emily hogan i that she posts about the encounter on facebook. This is hours before yingyings kidnapping. She warns people, dont get in a car even if they say they are police or have a badge. If yingying had just seen that post, perhaps she might never gotten picked up. It was just scary to know that somebody was out there, just driving around wanting to pick up women. [ speaking Foreign Language ] across the ocean, in china, that video of yingying getting into that black saturn is seen on chinese media. One of the people watching that was someone very, very close to yingying, her serious boyfriend xiaolin hou. I saw that video. I dont know what happened after she get into the car and i also have some bad feelings. Days went by and Nothing Happened . Yeah, Nothing Happened, and we decided to go to the United States to look for her by ourselves. Yingyings boyfriend and her family wanted to do something that the fbi could not do. Just find out for themselves exactly what happened to her. They saw a girl in a small town. An asian girl, just look like yingying. So you rushed right down . Yeah, we went there. They said the girl was her. Some of them even said, definitely its her. Needles. Essential for the sea urchin, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Because there are options. Like an unjection™. Xeljanz xr, a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. Xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; dont start xeljanz if you have an infection. Kiljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; can increase risk of death. 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Its near the wuyi mountains, surrounded by whats known as the ninebend river. The main economy in this area is tea farming. Yingyings hometown of nanping is one of the poorer cities in the country. When i got there, the people were so nice, the family welcomed me when i came to their apartment. It was very modest, and there was no heating so when i sat down to interview them we actually had to wear our coats. The moment in june, 2017, what did you hear first, that she was missing . The family does not come with great means. The father was a driver for a small company. Mom never really got any education. She does not read and write, so she basically is a homemaker. Yingying has a younger brother dropped out of school when he was middle school aged. And hes learning to be a cook. Was she the smartest one at school . Yingying was very special. From when she was little, she enjoys studying. She was the best student in every school she went to. She was my english assistant for three years. She was friendly, positive and always helped other classmates. Shes just precious. And she had a smile that would light up wherever she was. Yingying was the very first member of the family who ever went to a university. And thats where she met her boyfriend, xiaolin hou. I met her in the first meeting of the classmates. I have a deep impression of yingying at that meeting. She has beautiful face and a beautiful voice. They were both great students. They graduated number one and number two, xiaolin being number one. And they both went on for graduate studies at peking university, which is the equivalent of a chinese harvard there. When you look at those of yingying getting into the car, what did you think when you saw that video . On one hand i think yingying will be found soon because it will be not difficult for them to locate the car and locate yingying. Days went by and Nothing Happened . Yeah, Nothing Happened. And we decided to go to the United States to look for her by ourselves. To do your own search . Yeah, to do our own search. You thought the police at the university were not doing enough . I think we could do better. Yingyings father, her boyfriend, her aunt, her mothers sister all came. The family tells me they want to do anything they can to find their girl. We will not give up until we find her. We cant imagine what the emotion would be for a family to come to a country theyve never been to before, they didnt speak the language. Oh, haggard, devastated. It was horrible. And all you could do is think, as a parent, my child is halfway around the world. Nobody knows where they are. Im going to get as close as i can to where she was last seen, and then im going to try to find her. S wre an yingytiounkyoveeehispot . Oh, many, many times. I also did everything we can to find her by ourselves. We searched a lot of place around champaign. We got a lot of tips. One time i saw a tip on facebook. It was a woman of asian descent that was seen in salem, illinois, which is south of here about 75 miles. Did you rush right down to salem . Yeah, we went there. We showed her picture to the people there. They said the girl was her. Some of them even said definitely its her. The family contacted the salem police department, which offered to check Surveillance Video from street cameras to see if the girl in question was actually yingying. They have checked the videos but unfortunately that girl was not yingying. You saw the video . We saw the video. She did not look like yingying at all . From the back it looked like yingying but from the front that was not yingying. Your hopes disappeared . Yeah. This kind of thing happened several times. It was very frustrating for us. So i cant imagine what the family was going through, you know, trying to figure out if their daughter is still alive. Can they find her, can they locate her . Crime stoppers is offering a 40,000 reward for any information that leads to zhang. It is the largest reward of its kind ever offered by the organization. Eventually, we came up with 18 vehicles that were persons of interest that we wanted to look at. It got exciting at that point. But then it slowed when we made contact with those people and we still had nothing. The Police Always like to say that its Good Police Work that solves crimes. In this case, the greatest clue that they could have was right in front of their eyes. And the person who found the clue that would help crack this case wasnt an fbi agent. He was a campus cop. I watched it for somewhere between five to ten minutes. Just watching it go forward and backward. I was able to determine that, yes, this is Something Different about this car. I kind of got a little excited, cause im like, hey, well, theres something there. It changed everything. It was a huge moment. Make it. They hold strong with a peel, stick and press. 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The police and fbi agents are working 20hour days because they know that theyre up against the clock. They know that with each passing hour, with each passing day, the chances of finding yingying diminish. We were working 24 7. We werent seeing our families, we were in some ways sleeping just a couple hours, just enough to get back up and go again. All attention came onto that black saturn astra. Whats the license plate . Whos driving the vehicle . The video was very grainy. It got too pixelated as you came in close. You could not get a view of the driver. Could not get a view of the license plate. I wanted this young lady to be found. There were some detectives looking at video footage. So i went in and asked, is there anything i can do to help . What are you guys looking for . He said, were trying to figure out if we can, you know, enhance this and see the license plate. On june 14th, i reviewed the video. It was from this camera angle. Its on the electrical and Computer Engineering building. And the black vehicle is actually traveling northbound. I started watching the wheels. I noticed that there was something missing here a defect. There was a dark spot that was missing from the right passenger front hubcap. And then going through doing my checks, going forward, going backward. Spending a lot more time, frame by frame, taking a look at it, i was able to determine that, yes, this is Something Different about this car. So, no one else had seen that before you did. Yeah. And then i kind of got a little excited, cause im, like, hey, well, theres something there. Sergeant carter, Everybody Knows that hes a car guy and he has a real close attention to detail on everything. And i didnt see it, but he did. It was a huge moment. That information comes back to the fbi that theres a piece missing from that front right hubcap. You could also see that the vehicle had a large sunroof, which was not observable in some of the other camera footage. An fbi agent, he goes through his notes and he realizes, the first guy we interviewed, his car had a sunroof. When they initially interviewed him, he was calm, did not appear to be nervous. He said that he was home all day playing video games. An fbi agent noted, well, he had a sunroof on his car. I sent him back out there with a team and said, if theres a broken hubcap, let us know immediately. And they went back to that saturn, looked at the car. A couple minutes later, i get a photo and its a match. It was the same hubcap that has been seen on the video. The owner of that vehicle was Brendt Christensen. Christensen was a young man, 27, who had just completed a Masters Program with the university of illinois in their physics department. He was on the list of teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students. Assistant, for physics, mechanics. He seemed pretty knowledgeable, you know, like any t. A. In the physics department, smart, and pretty respectable, know what theyre talking about. What was he like . Was he stressed, was he relaxed . He seemed pretty relaxed and seemed pretty mild. You know, he didnt really have, i wouldnt say he had much of a big personality, you know . He was married. He lived in a nice apartment on the west edge of champaign. Certainly didnt fit the profile of a kidnapper. I knew very little about him. I knew that he had no criminal history. He had no police contacts. So there was really nothing of significance in his background. I really wanted to talk to mr. Christensen. We knew she got into his vehicle. So our plan was to knock on the door. We wanted to ask if mr. Christensen would be willing to talk to us. It was almost midnight by the time they had the warrant and assembled the team to go out to his apartment. And i just kept saying to myself over and over again, out loud, i cant believe that its this easy. I cant believe this is how were going to catch him, is from that cracked hubcap. When we knocked on the door, he seemed maybe a little surprised, but was relatively calm in his demeanor. When we entered the apartment, we immediately noticed that his wife was undressed. I dont know why she would answer the door in that way. She seemed to be very comfortable. The agents asked her if she would put on clothes, cause it would make them feel more comfortable. One of things that was in the apartment that theres a photograph of are the mirrored aviator sunglasses that you can actually see a reflection of christensens wife. Its interesting, because when you see those mirrored sunglasses, theyre just like the ones that the british student said she saw on the man who tried to talk her into his car. I walked with him inside the apartment, he sat down at his kitchen table. I gave him a copy of the warrant, asked him if he would come and talk to us. Our office was just a mile away. He was very nonchalant. When agent manganaro asked him if he was willing to come down to the station, he told his wife, he said well, everything ive seen in the movies tells me i shouldnt talk to the police. What do you think . And she nonchalantly said, yeah, i think you should go. He agreed to come and interview with us and so myself and detective stiverson drove him to our champaign fbi office. This is a voluntary interview, so if at any time youre done, well drive you back home. Okay. I really had a sense of urgency that, i needed to know where she was, like, now. I know that you picked her up. Whered you take her, brendt . We need to find yingying. Save time and get right to same day deliveryour door. Get ready for the season from dinner, to home decor, and more. For all the merry multitaskers. Get a free, fourweek trial of same day delivery from target. 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You never cease to amaze me, maya. See how investing with a j. P. Morgan advisor can help you. Visit your local chase branch. It was close to midnight. Mr. Christensen agreed to come and interview with myself and detective stiverson, with the University Police. We left his apartment and drove back to the fbi headquarters. Did he look like he was worried . He was very calm. My name is anthony manganaro. Im a special agent with the fbi, im assigned here in champaign, and then this is eric. Yeah, detective eric stiverson. Detective with the University Police, okay. We are investigating the disappearance of ms. Yingying. Im willing to answer qutis, somqutions, obviously, i dont know one of the things i like to do when i start an interview is just have the person tell their story. Or in this case, retell his story that he had prior told to agents. Do you remember what you told him . I was either playing video games on my computer or taking an afternoon nap. Was he abnormal, the way he was answering . He didnt seem very concerned of why he was there. Most people in that situation might be like, you know, why are you pulling me out of bed at this time in the morning . Why are we here . And he never really asked that . He just was just kind of wanted to see what we were gonna ask him. Almost like he felt he was interviewing you. In a way. He wasnt gonna provide us anything new, and he wanted to know what we knew. Why am i under suspicion . Is it just my car or is there anything else . I mean thats, you know, a large portion, i mean, it is a very unique car. Detective stiverson and i hadnt interviewed together before. We were very comfortable with doing it together. We pretty quickly and easily evolved into a softer approach for myself. What did you graduate in . Masters in physics. Wow, thats way smarter than me. Thanks. And a bit more confrontational approach with detective stiverson. Look, you know that we didnt bring you all the way up here to talk about video games and what you had for lunch that day. Yup. Why do you think that we brought you up here . Because the car i own was seen picking up a girl thats missing. Boy, i was really going after him, and it was because i had a sense of urgency that, i needed to know where she was, like, now. I really pressed him about the video, youre a student here at the u of i. What do we have everywhere . Im like, cameras, brendt, cameras. We have cameras everywhere. We control kiosks of bus stops. We can look in buses, we can look in every building, out on goodwinng m idit see yving yo and then you turned, you turned on clark. And we still have cameras. Ive seen the videos, but i didnt see me. Youve seen what weve allowed you to see. And then at that point, you could see it in his face. The wheels are turning. His eyes start to flutter. I know that you picked her up. Where did you drop her off at . She was looking for a ride, she had missed her bus. She told you she was going to one north, so where did you drop her off at . There is a lengthy period of silence. Mr. Christensen starts to physically react to that confrontation when he realizes hes at odds with his story. Hes almost hyperventilating like somebody thats having a panic attack, and at one point, he looks over to tony. Mr. Christensen even looks at me, almost wanting help, almost wanting an out. And i remember just staring back at him because i wanted the answer as well. I wasnt there to give him an out. Maybe im getting my days mixed up then. Okay. I thought i drove, i thought i drove around on saturday. I did pick a girl up, i dont remember where. Okay. He made an admission that was like a light bulb going off. He changes direction and admits that he actually had picked up an asian person in his car earlier in that day. He had gone from that cool, calm, confident to nervous. I saw her picture. I dont think it was her though. And seemed to desperately be looking for an answer to give that would explain why she got into his car. Do you remember the girls name that you picked up . No, she was talking very broken english. Okay. Tell us about what happened. What time of day was that . Early afternoon. I dont really remember. Okay. I was just driving around. I saw a girl and she was very distressed. I asked her if she needed help, i talked to her for a little bit, not that much. I gave her a short ride. A couple of blocks. She freaked out and got out. Okay. And thats all it was. He says, oh, i did pick up an asian female. And then the information that he provided pretty much narrowed it down to it was yingying. You have no doubt at that moment . No doubt in my mind at that point. I knew that he was our guy, that it was not only his car, but he was the driver. Christensen was our guy, but we still didnt know where yingying was. We still didnt know what happened to yingying. So where did you drop her off at . Whered you take her, brendt . We need to find yingying. Tonight. I think its time that i stop answering questions. I know the typical advice is to get a lawyer before you answer anything, and i think ive tried to help enough. I knew we had the guy. What i struggled with was being able to prove it. He was arrested for making a false statement to the fbi. He was detained for about 24 hours, but ultimately the u. S. Attorneys office decided to not prosecute. We didnt want to hold him in custody because we thought that, by releasing him, we would have the opportunity to find yingying. The authorities are trying to find her if shes still alive. They have a secret game plan. They are going to have somebody very close to christensen go undercover and help them solve the case. I know everything. Well, i know way more than everyone outside of, like, you know, the fbi and the police. I want to tell you. You want to . I do want to. I ooooh something. 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Isnt saving great . Save smartly on med d. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. A few months ago i happened upon a huge forum of serial killers. It is a parents nightmare. I mean, send your kid away to school and then they never come back. Where did you take her, her, brendt . We need to find yingying. Tonight. Can you believe this. Thats brendt. Thats our t. A. Im just absolutely blown away. They asked christensens girlfriend to wear a wire for them. They want her to go undercover. Lets find yingying. During the entire walk, terra was recording everything that he was saying. Im on victim 13. The last person i would consider at my level that actually did anything was ted bundy. Does this mean youre trusting me . The girlfriend is scared to death. They want to find their daughter. Please cut. She disappeared at the university of illinois and still has not been found. No matter dead or alive, we just want to find her and bring her home. Yingying zhang was last seen on this campus video. Moving toward late june of 2017, this may have been the most frightening time for students, faculty, residents in champaignurbana. You still had a missing young woman. And nobody knew who was behind this. Theres this image of a black car thats been put out in the media. People on campus are wondering, is there a kidnapper out there . Is he gonna strike again . Im willing to answer questions, some questions. What the public doesnt know at this point is that authorities have tracked that vehicle to the owner, a u of i physics grad student named Brendt Christensen. Initially christensen said he never left the apartment on june 9th. That he was sleeping and playing video games. I did pick a girl up. But in that interrogation he admits that he picked someone up. And, oh, by the way, that person he picked up . Matches almost to a t yingying. I gave her a short ride, a couple of blocks. She freaked out and got out. We knew christensen was our guy. We still didnt know where yingying was. We still didnt know what happened to yingying. We thought that, by releasing him, we would have the opportunity to find yingying. The suspect in this case was not at all some nefarious person. From the outside looking in, hes the kind of guy youd want to bring home to mom and dad. I think it took a lot of people by surprise because he was a ph. D candidate. It didnt, i guess, fit what would be considered a normal profile. So there was really nothing of significance in his background. And i knew that he was from wisconsin. Brendt christensen was born in 1989 in stevens point, wisconsin. So this is the town of stevens point, which is population of about 26,000 people here in wisconsin. You cant get a town any different than nanping, where we met the family of yingying. When people talk about stevens point, the first thing that usually pops up is the point brewery. We have our own symphony orchestra, three different playhouses. Its not quite norman rockwell, but it is. People come here and they raise their families. And nobody feels unsafe. This is the neighborhood where brendt grew up. Certainly middle class. Thats where brendt grew up. They were very nice, very friendly. They kept their yards up, their house up. The kids were very, very mindful. The mom and dad worked real hard. Mi a carnt. And hehaa and the guy was always working hard. Fr, a little bit more outgoing, okay, and very hardworking. This is brendt eating again. Its still his birthday. Hes 1 year old today. Typical brothers. You know, matt was always picking on brendt. Brendt wouldnt fight back. And i had to warn my older boy, watch out, hes getting bigger. Whats the history of brendt . Typical kid, really. Highly intelligent. Was able to teach him early on, you know, before kindergarten, how to read, write, math, no problem. He also had a piano that he learned on his own, without notes or anything. When he was in grade school, he was in a gifted program. So, really, he had a fairly good upbringing. He has no aggression in him. Very gentle. Very private. My sons, my daughter, myself, we depend upon logic and so we can shove our emotions down. He did have night terrors. He would wake up in the middle of the night. There was one incident where he tried to jump off the second floor porch. He ran into street, into a car that was passing by. And that sent him to the hospital. The neurologist, who was a specialist in sleep disorders, told me, this is just something odd. He mentioned perfect storm, that it probably would never, ever happen again. What was he like when he was in high school . I guess i could call him a loner type. He was the invisible guy except for the handful of times that he and his friends decided to be goofy in class. Goofy . Goofy. One time he had coordinated with a friend outside of class to burst in in the middle of the hour to just have a light saber fight with plastic light sabers. This is his graduate yearbook. Yeah. So brendt decided to take a scanned picture from a roller coaster ride. This is the kind of person that was in class with me. I mean, he was kind of a goof. After christensen leaves high school, he meets michelle, who had also gone to the same high school. They began a dating relationship. And just very fast. They got married. What did you think of michelle . Intelligent. She was good for him. He needed somebody intellectual. He got admitted to the university of illinois to grams country. Did you feel he was at the top of his game . Yes, absolutely. Nothing but good things. I mean, here, he was doing something that i really envied. He was a professional student. By 2016, his coursework is going down the tubes. He decides that the doctoral program, hes not going to make it. So he downshifts to a graduate degree. While hes failing academically, there are suddenly cracks in his marriage. Hes drinking too much. His wife michelle has had it. She gave the option of open marriage instead of divorce. And thats why he agreed to it. It was basically an ultimatum. And he did not want to lose her. You mentioned that theres another guy that she hangs out with. You mentioned that theres another girl that you hang out with. Do you guys have a were in were in an open relationship. Fairly open relationship . I have a girlfriend. She has a boyfriend as well. Terra bullis is Brendt Christensens girlfriend. He found her on a dating website after him and his wife decided to go into an open relationship. Terra bullis is a person in the local champaignurbana community. She would say shes had a hard life. Was a very honest and forthright person. At 10 00 here, the family of a missing university of illinois scholar from china is pleading for help. Terra was interviewed by agents on june 15th and gave a very thorough interview, very open, and very cooperative and wanted to help in any manner she could. Authorities dont yet have the goods on Brendt Christensen. So they throw somewhat of a hail mary. They ask christensens girlfriend terra bullis to wear a wire for them. They want her to go undercover against not just her boyfriend, but a man that the authorities have now considered to be the prime suspect in the kidnapping and probable death of Yingying Zhang. This is terra. Its thursday the 22nd at 5 25. And he should be coming over around 5 30 so im turning it on. M. His ordinary tissues were causing it harm. They left his nose raw, with each wiping motion. So dad extinguished the problem, with new puffs plus lotion. Puffs now have more lotion to soothe through the blows. And more pillowy softness, to cushion your nose. Dont get burned by ordinary tissues. A nose in need, deserves puffs, indeed. Hey your science project. Thanks, dad. Toyota. Lets go places. Is it our 80year heritage . Or is it the fresh taste, born of farmgrown ingredients . Actually, its both. 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Tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormer b tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Be in your moment. Ask your doctor about ibrance. The mystery at u of i, what really happened to a visiting scholar from china who disappeared from campus. The best and perhaps only opportunity we had to have someone who could interact directly with Brendt Christensen really was terra bullis. The fbi called terra in because she was the closest person to christensen. She came in voluntarily and sat and answered questions. This is a girlfriend. This is somebody who he has an intimate relationship with. She was conflicted because she loved Brendt Christensen. During the conversation with terra, we approached her with the idea of wearing a wire and recording future conversations with christensen. She was willing to cooperate, because it would either exonerate him or it would help find yingying. We have the girlfriend whos wearing a wire. The girlfriend is scared to death. This was a very risky proposition from the very beginning. If he were to determine that shes also involved in this at this point, in a private moment, in their bedroom, in a car, he very easily couldve taken her out. There is always concerns with having a confidential source thats going undercover. We felt pretty good because christensen was under 24hour surveillance. Im turning this thingy on. Its about 12 40 and im gonna go see brendt on the porch. The way the recordings progressed, the first few, there was little evidence towards the crime necessarily. I have already done more than i had to for them, and i was repaid by getting arrested. I want to find this girl. He makes a comment to her that he wants to clear his name with the fbi. Im going to go talk to one of the fbi agents. Why do you have to talk to them . I want to. I dont, but i will. Im trying to clear my name. So eight days after yingyings disappearance, christensen voluntarily goes back into that fbi office. Good to see you again. You too. He gives a very similar story about how he had just mixed up his days and how he had just wanted to help this woman. She started really freaking out, she was grabbing at her hair, being like, where am i . What are you . All that kind of stuff, and, like, i stopped. I didnt want a crazy girl in my car. Yeah. Do you remember where she got out . I remember it was a residential area. Would you maybe be willing after this to hop in a car with us and sort of take us through the area, and see if that kind of refreshes your recollection . I can try. So he agreed to go out with them. And drive around the area north of where he had picked her up to try to identify a specific location where he had let her out of his car. He directed them in all sorts of different directions. He basically took them on a wild goose chase. I think he went in with the intention of trying to clear his name. He was more of a suspect after the interview on the 17th. After the second interview with Brendt Christensen, the fbi let it be known publicly that they had his car. They found that black saturn, but wont say where it was found or who it belongs to. That must have been a key moment in his mind. If he had any thoughts that he was gonna control the situation, they went out the window at that point. Thats weird. Why would they release that, like so they kept the info because they didnt want the real culprit to know of their progress on the case. Like, for instance, they knew it had nothing to do with me or at least i assume they do by now. The undercover tapes have really gone nowhere initially. He doesnt say anything incriminating. And then all of the sudden, there is an event that will change the direction of the case. On june 29th, 2017, there was a vigil held in honor of yingying. This event was established to try to bring more awareness, to try to help find her. Brendt christensen was still in contact with terra bullis, and that morning he texted her and told her that he wanted to go to the Memorial Walk. He showed up at a vigil for the woman he was accused of kidnapping. Its 6 46 on thursday, june 29th. Were at the benefit for the walk and brendt has a thing of alcohol and he is drinking while hes here. Lets find yingying. Lets find yingying. Lets find yingying. The fact that he wanted to go to her Memorial Walk was very odd. So when christensen and his girlfriend are walking along in that vigil, a wcia news crew got a very quick shot from behind. It turns out during the entire walk, terra was recording everything that he was saying. He said, everyone is here for me. He made comments to that effect during the walk. I just wanted to see how many people were here for me. Are we also going to the concert or are we going to the concert because thats also for me. 20 days is a long and hard journey for me and for the whole family. Xiaolin had a song that he had written for yingying, and at this memorial he played that song for the crowd. And at the end of that song, everyone stood up and started cheering and clapping thank you guys so much for coming out here. Except christensen. He stayed in his seat and he just slowly clapped. It really was an insight into the depth of Brendt Christensens depravity. He describes how people are coming up to him, thanking him for being here. They thanked me for being there, like, just think about that. Just just think. Does this mean youre trusting me . Yeah, of course i am. I want to tell you. You want to . I do want to. In the middle of that vigil, his girlfriend with the fbi recording device suddenly hears exactly what happened to Yingying Zhang. She was valiant. She was. She was . Did she fight . Uhhuh. Woman 1 oc this is my body of proof. Man 1 vo proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. Man 2 vo proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis. Woman 2 vo . With humira. Woman 3 vo humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. Avo humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. 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Maybe. bert how do you know all this stuff . burke just comes with experience. all muppets yup. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum i remember getting home that night. I couldnt sleep. Close to midnight, my phone rings and its my supervisor, and he goes, terras here, were listening to the recording and christensen admits on the recording that he killed yingying. Nobody knows what happened. Nobody will know what happened. Except for me. I am the only one. Terra was very upset when she was with us at our office. On the day of the Memorial Walk, she was very frightened many times. She was very scared many times. Crying, just shaking. This really impacted her, the things that were said to her. Theyll never find her. The family, you know, they are gonna leave emptyhanded because no one will ever know where she is. With those admissions, we believed that we had enough evidence to now arrest him for kidnapping. We start tonight with breaking news. The fbi within the hour announcing charges against the man accused of kidnapping. News of the charges shocking to those who knew christensen. Finding out Brendt Christensen was a student made the situation a little more scary. He was going to class here, he was going to work here. I reached out to one of my friends, and im like, hey, did you see this . Can you believe that this is brent . Thats our t. A. This is a text you sent to one of the other students in the class . Im saying, look at who the kidnapper was. Oh, my god. Isnt that insane . Brent was the kidnapper. Im just absolutely blown away. I spent most of june 30th drafting a criminal complaint authorizing his arrest. Investigators believe the missing sudent Yingying Zhang is dead. And knowing that i was the agent who wrote that really struck me because i had to then go and be with her family. So sorry. So when you first heard this name, Brendt Christensen, what did you think at that moment . Christensen has no criminal history and has pleaded not guilty. Christensen is charged federally. One count of kidnapping resulting in death, two counts of lying to the fbi. While christensen is in jail, he has multiple phone calls with his family, which are all recorded. He tells his mother ellen he had nothing to do with yingyings disappearance. Its all circumstantial [ bleep ]. I didnt do it. Yeah. I know. Im just wondering what theyre basing all this on. Everything will be okay in the end. I didnt do it. And the truth will come out in the end. But at the time christensens family just had no idea what was actually said on that recording at the vigil. You strongly believed that he was innocent when you first heard this news. Oh, yes. It was not the brendt you knew . Oh, no. Brendt couldnt have done that. That does not fall within his character at all. As we continue to move the case forward, the defense turns over to us this march 21st counseling video. He went to the university of illinois Counseling Center to seek help for his marriage, and he talked with an intern counselor who interviewed him for about an hour and because she was an intern, she took a video of it. So then tell me a little bit about what brought you in today. Mostly my alcohol and drug abuse. Its been going on for years. He described himself as kind of lonely, in a way. In despair. I have probably had some form of depression ever since i was a teenager. I dont want to live anymore. That would be, i dont know how else to describe it. The only person i interact with outside of working is my wife. I dont have friends. My wife told me she wanted to separate from me on sunday night. I just cant live without her. Christensens wife is fed up with their relationship and wants a quoteunquote open marriage. Christensen meets terra bullis, and then what happens next leads to a new direction for christensen. She is into the fetish community, and she brings him into that fold. The agents learned from examining the defendants phone that he was on this fetlife website, which is a website that individuals with various fetishes can get on and have various discussions. And so we see that he was on a group chat entitled abduction 101. And it revealed in there he was talking to a woman about something called a consensual abduction. And he described how he was going to take her, put her in a large duffel bag, duct tape her mouth. And then put her in the, either the backseat or the rear of his car. He actually was just visiting these sites just a few times overall. He contacted one other person and that was it. There are individuals, no doubt, who are on there who, for them, it was a fetish, a fantasy, but something they wouldnt act out. For Brendt Christensen, the large duffel bag that he discussed on the website, he actually purchased. It was clear this was something he wanted to do. Theres an avalanche of seemingly incriminating evidence against Brendt Christensen. But he sticks to his guns. He maintains his innocence. I know what happened and i didnt do anything wrong. But at the christensens trial, the victims family would hear something no parent should ever have to hear. It was unbelievable, like supernatural almost, how she just didnt give up. Yingyings father and brother, i kind of wished they would just take off their headphones. Eating right . On it on it. Audrey thinks shes doing all she can to manage her type 2 didoing enough to lower her heart risk . [sfx crash of Football Players colliding offcamera. ] maybe not. Jardiance is the number 1 prescribed pill in its class. Jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. That means jardiance can help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. Plus, jardiance lowers a1c and it could help you lose some weight. 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In their dreams, they want their daughter, or they want the remains. It may be that this trial brings closure. Brendt christensen is on trial for his life in federal court. June 12th, 2019, Opening Statements at the peoria federal courthouse. Its two years and three days since yingying disappeared, and Brendt Christensen is on trial for his life. The government is seeking the federal Death Penalty in a state where Capital Punishment has been abolished. This is a Federal Capital case, and thats extremely rare to begin with. The Death Penalty at a state level was abolished years earlier, but prosecutors wanted to puthristensen on death w. Its a cavern the defense table facing the jury. Yingyings family is sitting in the front left side of the gallery in christensens field of vision. They were very solemn and stoic. And yes, they could look at them, but he, i dont think, would ever try and make eye contact with them. During the opening statement, the simple phrase that i repeated several times was, he kidnapped her. He murdered her. He covered up his crime. The prosecutions star witness, christensens girlfriend terra bullis, arrives flanked by fbi agents. He didnt want to look at her at all. There was an opportunity when she would sail right past him, and he would still keep his eyes down. She testifies to the relationship that they had. The prosecution takes her through the relationship, through her decision to wear a wire for the fbi. Terra bullis, shes a hero in the case. I believe that she did an incredible job testifying. I mean, you can imagine how hard that was for her. During crossexamination as the defense asked her numerous questions, and attacked her. They said when he started dating terra, thats when he linked sex and violence in his mind. And maybe thats what propelled him to go farther down this path. Maybe she was the catalyst that made him think about these things. Any claim that terra bullis led him to do this is preposterous. The evidence shows that he was already making these plans long before he met terra bullis. Her testimony was crucial, but it was what she did, recording conversations surreptitiously of christensen, that became the cornerstone of the case. I want to talk about it. Its is it hard to hold in . Ive wanted to talk about this with someone so much. The jury is hearing the details, theyre wearing headphones. Theres a transcript playing in the courtroom of the recording. Im sitting behind yingyings father and brother, who are listening on headphones to a translation of the recording. I tried to choke her to death. I couldnt believe it, like, she just didnt die. It was unbelievable, like, supernatural almost, how she just didnt give up. I couldnt believe it that she was still alive, so i carried her into my bathtub. I got the bat and i hit her on the head as hard as i could, and it broke her head open. Its chilling that a human being, first of all, could do what he said he did to another human being. But even more chilling, that he could describe what he did with such pleasure. He ultimately says to terra on that recording that he decapitated yingying. So i chopped her head off, and i said that was the end of it, right . She was done. Yingyings father and brother, i kind of wished they would just take off their headphones, but they didnt. They absorbed every single word, and it was just heartbreaking to witness. But what was on that tape just got even more horrific. The recorded evidence that christensen may not have killed just one person, but many people. Im on victim 13, counting yingying. Number 13. Were thinking he just admitted to being a serial killer. I suffered with psoriasis for so long. I felt gross. People were afraid i was contagious. I was covered from head to toe. I was afraid to show my skin. It was kind of a shock after. I started cosentyx. I wasnt covered anymore. 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Mcdonalds buy one, get one for 1 deal is here. Buy one of your faves and choose another for just an extra buck. Doesnt mean you got to spend a lot because dennys brought back the super slam™. With eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage and pancakes. All for just 6. 99. The 6. 99 super slam™ is back see you at dennys inside the peoria federal courthouse, a recording has been played of Brendt Christensen not only admitting to killing yingying but boasting that he had killed before. Im on victim 13, counting yingying. Number 13. Ive been at this since i was 19. The last person i would consider at my level that actually did anything was ted bundy. Either you have a bona fide serial killer and youd better find his other victims, or hes just following a path of lies and deceit. When we heard that, we took that very seriously. So the fbi ran down all the leads they could. Looked back at the places that he had lived. Looked for missing persons at those locations. Ultimately, we could not find any other victims. Thats not saying there arent any but weve never been able to find any other victims. The defense early on admitted that christensen had kidnapped and killed yingying. But they said because he lied about killing those 12 other victims, you cant believe Everything Else heard on the tapes. The defense said these were the ramblings of a drunk man. That he was embellishing these statements. That he was performing for terra bullis. He didnt do half of what he said. It wasnt as horrendous. I mean, sure, killing somebodys horrendous. But it wasnt as the prosecution made out. The difference between the claim of 12 other victims and not being able to corroborate that. And thus, what he did to yingying then not being truthful. It doesnt match with the evidence obtained from the apartment. He describes hitting her on the head with a baseball bat. We have her dna on the baseball bat. We have her blood, her dna on the mattresses, on the floorboards underneath the bed. He knew that his wife was going to be out of town for the weekend. Huge amounts of cleaning had been done on the drywall going all the way down to the baseboard. Weve got video of him going to a local walmart. He purchased large amounts of drano. He purchased swiffer pads. He purchased garbage bags. Theres a mountain of evidence against Brendt Christensen. Not a lot of question about whether or not hes guilty. I think the jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before coming back. Yeah, didnt have to wait around that long. And then that guilty verdict came. And it was for her. When it came time for the penalty phase of the case, it does kick it into a whole new emotional level on the part of the Defense Attorneys to try and spare his life. The prosecution would have you believe that Brendt Christensen is a singular predator. The defense portrayed him as a man drowning in pain. They played videos of him blowing out his first birthday candle, playing the piano. They also talked about the history of Mental Health issues in his family. He lost control. Wasnt the brendt i knew. Wasnt the brendt anyone knows. It makes no sense. Something snapped. I believe there is evil in the world. That people do evil things. And that he allowed himself to go down this dark path. The jury deliberated for about eight hours over the course of two days. When they read the sentence, there was no unanimous decision. So the default was to give him life in prison. It was not what Yingying Zhangs family had waited two years for. The result today seems to encourage people to do crimes. And me, myself, will never agree with that. You were furious when this Death Penalty did not happen. Yeah, very frustrated, very disappointed. You would like to kill him . Yes, if i have a chance. Justice to yingyings family is the Death Penalty for Brendt Christensen. They leave disappointed. But theres Something Else that comes out in court that outrages them. And it has to do with his visit to the u of i Counseling Center. When christensen arrived at the Counseling Center 11 weeks before he kidnapped yingying, he was required to fill out an intake form. One of the questions is, have you had homicidal or suicidal thoughts . And he checked the box, yes. The counselor intern asked him for a little bit more information about that. You also mentioned thoughts of hurting others, thoughts of harming others . Yeah. A few months ago i happened upon a huge forum about serial killers. When i started looking into these people, how horrible they were, i just got some stupid thing in my head about it. I think i know how to do it, but its just me planning it. Christensen talks about how he bough did you ever, like plans. Purchase anything related to the plans . Yes. Then he said, but im not having these thoughts anymore. Im done with these thoughts. But obviously he wasnt done with these thoughts. The intern did flag christensens case and two Specialized University counselors met with him. They offered christensen different Treatment Options including a followup visit. But he never showed up. It certainly raises questions about whether or not somebody should have done something more with this information. Could they have prevented this murder if they had just gone public with this information . I think they can do something to stop the whole case. But they didnt. So, in my view, they do have some responsibility. Its a huge red flag. Im angry that it couldve been prevented. That it wasnt necessary. Just 11 weeks prior to yingyings disappearance, brendt had sought counseling with the school. Yeah, i cant talk about anything thats an aspect of the case. Im sorry. I know its a sensitive one, but how did you find out about it . Yeah, thats really all i can say about it. You cant talk about that at all . Yeah, sorry, yeah. I dont think they can deny liability, the Counseling Center and their staff. Thats why we filed a civil lawsuit naming two employees of the Counseling Center. The counselors are trying to dismiss the suit, saying that their actions did not put yingying in danger. The university recently sent us a statement saying it will defend the social workers named in the civil suit. And that its confident they followed best practices in Mental Health care. After everything that has happened, after all of the courtroom action, despite the lawsuit, despite christensen being locked up for life, the family wants a traditional chinese burial. Brendt right now in prison, he knows everything about the family wanting one thing in their lives to bring peace to this crisis. Hes aware of that, yes. They want to find the body of their daughter. Hes aware of that, uhhuh. Would he . Would you ask him to do so . Right now hes been told not to. By whom . Well, its not something right now i cant say anything about that. Mike christensen later called us to say there would soon be a revelation about the whereabouts of yingyings body. Where is yingying . Christensen finally offers up some information. But will it offer yingyings paul switch to sprint everyone is talking about. S the. sprintern the new iphone 11 or iphone 11 pro with amazing allnew camera systems. And you can get both an unlimited plan and the new iphone 11 included for just 35 a month. paul and with sprints 100 total satisfaction guarantee you can try out the network and see the savings for yourself. sprintern ahh its the best season of the year. paul is that your excited dance . sprintern what dance . For people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay. Com. Save time and get right to same day deliveryour door. Get ready for the season from dinner, to home decor, and more. For all the merry multitaskers. Get a free, fourweek trial of same day delivery from target. Peroni italia. Could another come aroundot, the corner. Or could it play out differently . I wanted to help protect myself. My doctor recommended eliquis. Eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. Almost 98 of patients on eliquis didnt experience another. And eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling numbness or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planed medical or dental procedures. Whats around the corner could be your moment. Ask your doctor about eliquis. The trial is over, but the sense of this case being over isnt. Pretty much everybody is still just kind of wondering, where is yingying . Yingyings family and boyfriend were told about what he did with yingyings remains. Before the trial, christensens attorneys went to the government and told them exactly where christiansen said he had put yingyings body. And those were not on the record conversations. It couldnt be released publicly. So thats why it was held in close confidence, and came out only after the trial was completed. After killing Yingying Zhang on june 9th, 2017, he placed her bodily remains in three separate garbage bags. The next day, june 10th, 2017, he placed those garbage bags in the dumpster immediately outside his apartment building. The hauler would take it to the landfill in danville. The landfill says that the area is probably the size of half of a football field. By the time they provided that information, it was almost 18 months after she would have been placed in the landfill. Theres 30 feet of fill on top of the area where the trash wouldve been dumped at the time. We know that he lied to the fbi. So when he says this stuff, can you go to the bank on it . Can you send hundreds of people out there to search, and have him back in his cell, laughing, to me, it just adds to the tragedy. And yet youve got the family still wants to find the body. Will the family ever let this go . I think the only way for us to find some comfort and end the whole case is to find the remains. We remember the life of a beautiful young lady who made her family very proud. A friend who was kind, joyful, and giving. They actually brought in what was a casket, and they put yingyings clothing in it, and at the end of the service they had a private burial in yingyings garden. Yingyings family went back to china, but without yingyings body. And thats never going to be a closure for yingyings mother and father. Is this difficult for you to look through these pictures now . And xiaolin lost the only woman that he wanted to spend the rest of this life with. You asked her to marry you. Yes, we plan to get married in october of 2017. So you wrote a song for her . Yeah. And the name of the song is angel. Even right now, i still feel shes the angel surrounding me. The universitys police did a search after yingyings missing, and they found her diary. Most part in the book is written in chinese, but the very last line was in english. Yingying wrote, life is too short to be ordinary. Sadly, authorities tell us it would be next to impossible to ever find the remains. But yingying will never be forgotten. Thats our program for tonight. Im amy robach. For david and abc news, good night