Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors say they've held talks on a possible plea deal with the suspect charged with kidnapping and killing a University of Illinois scholar from China.
Prosecutors disclosed the talks in an Urbana federal court filing which offered no additional details. They recently said they'll seek the death penalty for Brendt Christensen, citing how he allegedly tortured 26-year-old Yingying Zhang before killing her. Her body hasn't been found.
Such pretrial talks are not unusual. They often involve defendants offering cooperation for a lesser sentence. But what Christensen could offer and whether prosecutors would be willing to recommend a punishment other than death isn't clear.
Wednesday's filing focused on a request to unseal certain court papers. In addressing that issue, prosecutors revealed the talks.
Trial is set for April 2, 2019.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
