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Judge delays trial of suspect in abduction of Chinese woman

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The federal kidnapping trial of a man accused in the abduction of a University of Illinois scholar from China has been rescheduled.

The trial of Brendt Christensen in the disappearance of Yingying Zhang was scheduled to start Sept. 12. U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce on Monday granted Christensen's attorneys' request for a continuance until Feb. 27.

Defense attorney Tom Bruno said the defense is still waiting to see some of the evidence against Christensen. He added it would be unrealistic for the trial to begin before January.

Zhang disappeared June 9, weeks after arriving at the central Illinois campus. Investigators say they believe the 26-year-old is dead. Her body hasn't been found.

Christensen is suspected of abducting her in Urbana while she was going to sign an apartment lease.

Ronggao Zhang reads a letter he sent to President Trump during a news conference at the I-Hotel in Urbana, Ill., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017. Zhang is the father of visiting Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang who went missing on June 9. (Rick Danzl/News-Gazette via AP) The Associated Press
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. The parents of Zhang, a Chinese woman who was abducted while studying at the University of Illinois plan to speak at a news conference Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, for the first time since an arrest in the case was made. Investigators have said they believe Zhang is dead, although her body hasn't been found. Brendt Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang on June 9 in Urbana, Ill. (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP, File) The Associated Press
FILE - This undated photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. The parents of Zhang, a Chinese woman who was abducted while studying at the University of Illinois plan to speak at a news conference Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, for the first time since an arrest in the case was made. Investigators have said they believe Zhang is dead, although her body hasn't been found. Brendt Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang on June 9 in Urbana, Ill. (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP, File) The Associated Press
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. The parents of Zhang, a Chinese woman who was abducted while studying at the University of Illinois plan to speak at a news conference Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, for the first time since an arrest in the case was made. Investigators have said they believe Zhang is dead, although her body hasn't been found. Brendt Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang on June 9 in Urbana, Ill. (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP, File) The Associated Press
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