(AP) – The boyfriend of a Chinese student who was kidnapped and killed by a former University of Illinois doctoral student is telling a federal jury about the devastation of the woman’s family.
Xiaolin Hou said Tuesday that Yingying Zhang’s mother cries almost daily.
The emotional testimony of the man who planned to marry the 26-year-old Zhang is part of the penalty phase of Brendt Christensen’s trial. The jury that found Christensen guilty last month must decide if he should be put to death or allowed to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors are urging the jury to recommend the death penalty. Christensen has shown no remorse for the grisly slaying that he meticulously planned. He has never revealed what he did with Zhang’s body.
Christensen’s attorneys say life in prison is punishment enough.
