Brendt Christensen, Accused Of Murdering Chinese Scholar YingYing Zhang, Heads To Trial
The man charged with murder in the 2017 death of Chinese scholar Ying Ying Zhang is going to trial.
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The man charged with murder in the 2017 death of Chinese scholar Ying Ying Zhang is going to trial.
Prosecutors are trying to prove Christensen kidnapped and killed 26-year-old Yingying Zhang in 2017. The trial was originally scheduled for September 2017. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Pedro Flores took the witness stand last week to testify about his wildly lucrative business partnership with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Pedro Flores told the jury that the brothers had face-to-face meetings with Guzman and another Sinaloa cartel leader, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, in Mexico in 2005 to begin negotiations for the cartel to use the pair's successful drug-dealing network covering Chicago, New York, Detroit and other large cities.
Opening statements are set to start Tuesday in the high-profile trial of alleged Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
The delay from a previously scheduled November trial was sought to give his lawyer more time to prepare.
A Cook County jury has convicted Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery, and acquitted him of one count of official misconduct in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.
After a jury convicted Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and aggravated battery charges, his lead defense attorney said he expected the jury to convict the Chicago police officer of at least some charges.
Jason Van Dyke: fast facts
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke's murder trial for killing Laquan McDonald is over for the week after four days of the defense presenting evidence.
A woman who called 911 about Laquan McDonald hours before he was shot and killed said he had asked to borrow her car even though she'd never met him, but said he never acted aggressively, and "seemed like he was a nice young guy."
Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke's defense team will be presenting evidence for a third day on Wednesday, though it's still unclear if the officer will testify on his own behalf in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Defense attorneys for Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke showed jurors a 3D animation showing a recreation of the first few shots the officer fired at Laquan McDonald four years ago, in an effort to bolster his claim the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald was a justified act of self defense.
Van Dyke's defense team began presenting its case on Monday, and three witnesses testified about encounters with McDonald long before the shooting.
At the Jason van Dyke trial today, it may have sounded more like Laquan McDonald was on trial.
Defense attorneys started presenting evidence today at the murder trial of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, charged in the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke's defense attorneys will begin presenting evidence on Monday, following four days of testimony from witnesses for the prosecution in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
After four days of testimony, prosecutors rested their case Thursday against Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, and his defense will begin presenting its first witnesses on Monday, seeking to convince jurors Van Dyke was justified when he shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.
A forensic pathologist told jurors Laquan McDonald died of 16 gunshot wounds, before detailing each individual wound as she testified about the autopsy at Officer Jason Van Dyke's murder trial.
Officer Jason Van Dyke returns to court today for a final pretrial hearing, before jury selection begins tomorrow on first-degree murder charges in the death of Laquan McDonald.
Van Dyke wants the trial moved because of all the publicity; meantime, his face is plastered all over the Chicago Tribune as part of his interview with the newspaper.
For the first time since he shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald nearly four years ago, CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke is speaking out publicly, in a Chicago Tribune interview a week before his murder trial is set to start.
When Hadiya Pendleton walked into Harsh Park on an unassuming January afternoon five years ago, she could have never known the decision to hang out with friends would mean she would soon become the face of Chicago's gang violence problem.
Jurors convicted Micheail Ward of first-degree murder Thursday in the 2013 slaying of honor student Hadiya Pendleton, a say after a separate jury convicted getaway driver Kenneth Williams.
Jurors have begun deliberating first-degree murder charges against Micheail Ward, the alleged gunman in the 2013 slaying of honor student Hadiya Pendleton, one day after a separate jury convicted getaway driver Kenneth Williams.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
The city of Aurora is kicking off Black History Month by honoring a living legend, one of the last remaining Negro Leagues baseball players.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
A federal judge in Chicago has ruled key evidence in the Marimar Martinez shooting, including bodycam video and text messages, can be released.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney was named the NFL's top offensive lineman of 2025 on Thursday, winning the inaugural Protector of the Year Award.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
Six months after a well-known charter boat captain was found dead at DuSable Harbor in downtown Chicago, a man has been charged with his murder.
