国产精品99一区二区三_免费中文日韩_国产在线精品一区二区_日本成人手机在线

Closing arguments start in Chinese scholar slaying trial

Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-25 00:43:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan
Video PlayerClose

PEORIA, the United States, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The closing arguments in the case of Brendt Christensen, who is accused of kidnapping and killing Chinese visiting scholar Zhang Yingying in 2017, started on Monday morning at a federal courthouse in Peoria, in the U.S. state of Illinois.

After eight days of testimony from 35 witnesses, both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases on Friday in the trial of Christensen.

They are making their closing arguments Monday, when prosecutors try to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that evidence shows Christensen kidnapped and killed Zhang, a University of Illinois visiting scholar from China.

Christensen's lawyers admitted in their opening statement on June 12 that their client killed Zhang and appear focused on avoiding a death sentence.

After the closing arguments, a jury of seven men and five women will deliberate on whether Christensen is guilty or not of kidnapping and killing Zhang.

A guilty verdict is expected, given that his lawyers admitted in their opening statement that Christensen killed Zhang.

If convicted, Christensen faces life in prison or death penalty during a later sentencing phase of the trial, where lawyers for each side will argue to the same jury why Christensen does or does not deserve the death penalty.

Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), went missing on June 9, 2017, after getting into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks from where she got off a bus on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease.

Police arrested Christensen, a former UIUC doctoral student, on June 30, 2017, and charged him with kidnapping, torturing and killing Zhang. He has pleaded not guilty.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105091381702691
主站蜘蛛池模板: 乐都县| 津市市| 桂东县| 仁化县| 陆良县| 公主岭市| 渝中区| 霸州市| 韩城市| 新疆| 乾安县| 左云县| 东港市| 定陶县| 洛隆县| 玉龙| 左权县| 永安市| 沿河| 湖北省| 奉新县| 五莲县| 太湖县| 塔河县| 武强县| 阳泉市| 汉川市| 沙河市| 余江县| 潼南县| 梨树县| 塔河县| 溧水县| 南靖县| 莲花县| 新巴尔虎右旗| 青铜峡市| 桑日县| 陆良县| 永靖县| 晋城|