(25 News)- Since the killer of Yingying Zhang was sentenced to life in prison, information regarding the victim’s remains has become known to the family and public.
At a press conference Wednesday (Aug. 7) morning, information was revealed by Steven Beckett, the family’s attorney, that Brendt Christensen, who was convicted of Zhang’s kidnapping and murder, placed the remains in three separate garbage bags and disposed of them in a dumpster outside his apartment building.
Christensen told the information to his defense attorneys, who, in turn, told the information to prosecutors and law enforcement agencies under an immunity agreement, thus the information could not be used in his trial.
“Due to the compaction process, Yingying’s remains may be very, very small in size,” Beckett said.
Beckett later went on describing that some of the remains could be as small as a cell phone.
Two days after Christensen disposed of the body, Beckett said, “he placed Yingying’s clothing, backpack, cellphone, books and other personal items along with cleaning materials he tried to use to cover up the murder into a large duffel bag. He then drove around the Champaign, Urbana area and placed the items from the duffel bag into various dumpsters and placing the duffel bag itself in a dumpster,”
Beckett said the dumpster was emptied on June 12, 2017. By the time the information was disclosed, about 30 feet of fill could have been placed over where officials believe Zhang’s remains could be located.
The excavation process, as Beckett described, will be expensive, complicated, require government oversight and cooperation of the landfill owners.
No search has taken place, but authorities are still considering an attempt to recover the remains.
Zhang’s family and boyfriend were present at the press conference Wednesday. Her mother, Beckett said, just learned the information of what happened to the remains of Zhang that morning.
Her father, Ronggao Zhang, through an interpreter, said they are allowing the authorities to handle the recovery, if it is feasible.
“As the father of Yingying Zhang, my primary goal has always been to find my daughter and bring her home,” Ronggao Zhang said.
His sentiments echoed those he held after Christensen was sentenced July 18.
“If what (Christensen) said is true, it further confirms that he is a heartless and evil person. We condemn his brutal and malicious actions and we hope that he suffers for the rest of his life as (Yingying) suffered in the final moments of her life,” Ronggao Zhang said.
“There’s nothing in the world that we want more to find our daughter and bring her home. We now understand that finding her may be impossible.”
Zhang’s father said they will work with officials to create a site to memorialize Yingying.
“We have decided to follow Chinese custom and create a grieve site here in America in Yingying’s memory. We’re working with University of Illinois officials to do so. We hope it will be a solemn place of reflection to all who visit; a place of joy to remember the joy Yingying brought to her family and everyone she met during her life.”
