This undated photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. The parents of the visiting University of Illinois scholar who disappeared two years ago have arrived in Illinois from China for the murder trial of the man accused of abducting and killing her. Former Illinois student Brendt Christensen is charged with Zheng, whose body hasn't been found. He pleaded not guilty and his trial is set to begin Monday, June 3, 2019. (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP)
The Associated Press
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A judge at the trial of a former University of Illinois student charged with killing a visiting Chinese scholar says lawyers should be ready to deliver opening statements by the middle of next week.
Thursday is the fourth day of jury selection at Brendt Christensen's trial in Peoria.
Champaign's News-Gazette cites U.S. District Judge James Shadid as saying the final selection of 12 jurors and six alternates could happen Monday, with openings on Wednesday.
Christensen pleaded not guilty to charges he tricked or forced 26-year-old Yingying Zhang into his car off campus in 2017, then tortured and killed her.
Prosecutors informed Shadid they'll need eight days for their presentation. Early, they'd said two weeks.
Evidence they intend to present includes a baseball bat and apparent blood stains in Christensen's apartment.
FILE - This photo provided by the Macon County Sheriff's Office in Decatur, Ill., shows Brendt Christensen. Jury selection starts Monday, June 3, 2019 in Peoria, Ill., for the federal trial of Christensen in the 2017 disappearance and suspected killing of Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar from China whose body hasnât been found. (Macon County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE- In this Nov. 1, 2017 file photo, Ronggao Zhang, left, and Lifeng Ye, display a photo them with their missing daughter, Yingying Zhang, in Urbana, Ill. Almost two years after their daughter disappeared from the University of Illinois campus, the parents of visiting Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang are back in Champaign-Urbana for the trial of her accused killer. Former Illinois student Brendt Christensen is charged with Zheng, whose body hasn't been found. He pleaded not guilty and his trial is set to begin Monday, June 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy File)
The Associated Press
File-This Oct. 11, 2018, file photo shows guests mingling after a ceremony to dedicate the memorial garden for Yingying Zhang, Chinese scholar who disappeared from campus in June 2017. A judge at the trial of a former University of Illinois student charged with killing a visiting Chinese scholar says lawyers should be ready to deliver opening statements by the middle of next week. Thursday, June 6, 2019, is the fourth day of jury selection at Brendt Christensen's trial in Peoria. (Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette via AP)
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