Kidnap suspect denied bail

Brendt Christensen, charged with kidnapping a visiting Chinese scholar, was ordered held without bail on Wednesday by a US federal judge in Urbana, Illinois.

During a hearing in the District Court for the Central District of Illinois, US Magistrate Eric Long said that Christensen, 28, presented a danger to the community and was a flight risk.

Christensen, who has a master's degree in physics from the University of Illinois, was arrested on June 30 on a charge of kidnapping Zhang Yingying, a 26-year-old student at the same school.

Zhang has not been found, and police believe she is dead. Sunday will mark one month since her June 9 disappearance, when she got in a car allegedly driven by the defendant.

According to the criminal complaint made public at the hearing, Christensen made statements about the characteristics of the ideal victim while he was under surveillance at a vigil for Zhang on June 29; there's audio of him describing how Zhang fought and resisted after he brought her back to his Champaign apartment; and he threatened another person to whom he made the incriminating statements.

"The facts speak to the very danger the defendant presents to the community," said Assistant US Attorney Bryan Freres. "The circumstances of the case indicate the defendant used violence."

Liu Jun, acting consul general in Chicago, said he had spoken to the FBI after the hearing on Wednesday and requested the bureau step up efforts to find Zhang as soon as possible.

"This is the most urgent thing at the moment," Liu said. "They have put in the best detective experts and have been working on the case around the clock."

The University of Illinois Police Department, the Illinois State Police and local police also are investigating.

"In a case like this, it's not unusual for bail to be denied," Evan Bruno, Christensen's attorney, said outside the courthouse.

In arguing for bail, Christensen's attorneys said that keeping their client in the Macon County Jail, which is about an hour away, disadvantaged his defense.

"We just wanted the judge to take that into consideration when determining whether this defendant would have the ability to meet with us and work on his case," said Tom Bruno, also an attorney for Christensen.

"It's not real evidence at all yet," said Tom Bruno when asked about the case against Christensen. "One of the founding principles of the American system of justice is the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against you. We're entitled to test that evidence to see if it's reliable."

Members of Zhang's family attended the hearing on Wednesday and an initial hearing on Monday. Christensen, in a jail jumpsuit, remained silent during the proceedings.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 14, but that could be waived if the grand jury returns an indictment before then.

Wang Zhidong, an attorney representing Zhang's family members, said the ruling on Wednesday was what the family had expected.

"I believe the judge made the right decision, which also comforted the family," Wang said.

Mike Judge, 63, a local Uber driver, said the kidnapping has raised a lot of concern in the community.

He said some of his customers who are Chinese students, along with other students, mention it every day.

"I know lots of people really who are so worried about it. It makes people really nervous about getting in a car," Judge said.

"It's extremely sad," he said. "It's really kind of rare that things like this happen here. It makes everybody who lives in the whole area disgusted. I think everybody still hopes this girl is still out there somewhere, and they can at least find her," he said.

Kathleen Hu, a Chinese-Canadian engineering student at Illinois, said she and her friends have talked a lot about the case.

"It's a big deal, because usually we think the campus is a safe place, but things like this happening ... cannot easily be foreseen," said Hu, who was born in Chengdu and is in her fourth year at the university.

Hu said her parents were "a lot more worried. They tell me to be more careful, come home earlier," she said, adding though that she hasn't changed her routine much.

Hu believes the case will influence international students attending the university "because parents will be more afraid of this situation".

The university is the top destination in the US for overseas Chinese students.

Kevin Li, 25, a computer science student from Wuhan, Hubei province, said that Chinese students should not skip campus safety orientation meetings.

"Most Chinese students don't attend orientation, but it's necessary," he said.

Contact the writer at wanglinyan@chinadailyusa.com