For the abduction of a student an American faces life imprisonment

Brentt Christensen Photo: Macon County Sheriff's Office

On Monday, the first trial of an Illinois resident who is accused of kidnapping a Chinese student from a college campus.

Brentt Christensen, a resident of Champaign County, did not utter a word and did not ask for pardon during a meeting in federal court in Urbana, Illinois.

Nor did he say anything about where 26-year-old Inging Zhang might be, who, according to investigators, might already be dead.

"He has no criminal history," the suspect's lawyer, Evan Bruno, said in an interview. NBC News later, when asked if Christensen had been previously arrested.

Also, Bruno said that his client has not yet declared his innocence.

Zhang lived in the United States about two months before disappearing. The lawyer also declined to answer the question of whether his client met the girl before July 9 supposedly crossed their paths.

28-year-old Christensen is expected to return to court on Wednesday for a bail hearing.

The suspect, a former physics professor at the University of Illinois, has also been given a preliminary trial date of July 14. If he is found guilty, he will receive the maximum possible prison sentence, the prosecutor's office in Urbana said.

The conjecture of the investigation that Zhang might be killed is also included in the charge brought against Christensen.

“Law enforcement does not believe she is still alive,” said FBI Special Agent Anthony Manganaro.

Manganaro also reported that the suspect’s phone was used on April 19 to visit the website Abduction xnumxwhich offers information on planning abductions.

It was almost two months before the disappearance of Zhang from the University of Illinois caused a massive stir and large-scale searches.

Zhang, who received a master’s degree in environmental design, traveled to sign a lease for a new 9 apartment in June at 2: 04 in the afternoon. On the way, she sat in the front seat of a black car, driven by Christensen. This was recorded by surveillance cameras in the parking lot. The manager, who was waiting for Zhang to look at the apartment, wrote to her in 2: 38 and did not receive an answer, this is stated in the documents of the investigation.

Zhang was wanted in 7 hours and has not yet been found.

Investigators went to Christensen after identifying his car and found that only 18 vehicles of this brand and model were registered in the county.

12 Jun Kristensen first told investigators that he could not remember where he was during Zhang’s disappearance, and then said that he was sleeping and playing video games at home.

Three days later, Christensen changed his testimony. He admitted that he traveled around campus and noticed an Asian girl with a backpack. She looked upset. Christensen said he offered to give her a lift when he learned that she was late for the meeting.

He said she got into the car but "began to panic" after making a wrong turn and he "let her out of the car in a residential area a few blocks from where they met," the papers said.

On the same day, FBI agents examined Christensen’s phone and found that he had visited the website. Fetlfeewhich positions itself as a “Social Network for BDSM, Fetish & Kinky».

The agents who searched the suspect's car also noted that the place where Zhang was sitting seemed to have been cleared more diligently than the others. A court opinion states that "this type of action may indicate an attempt to hide or destroy evidence."

Since June 16, Christensen has been monitored. Thirteen days later, Kristensen was arrested on the basis of the available audio tape, in which he “explained how he had kidnapped” a Chinese student and “kept her in his apartment against her will”.

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