PEORIA, Ill.—Attorneys for the man charged with kidnapping and killing a Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois-Champaign say the FBI searched his jail cell when he was in court.
his photo provided by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in Decatur, Ill., shows Brendt Christensen. (Macon County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)Brendt Christensen’s attorneys now want a judge to force the FBI to divulge what they found in the search on Dec. 14. They filed a motion Sunday requesting a hearing.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Christensen , who’s charged in the 2017 abduction and death of 26-year-old Yingying Zang. Authorities haven’t found her body.
The News-Gazette reports Christensen’s attorneys say the FBI came to the Livingston County jail when he was in court Friday in Peoria, searched his belongings and interviewed his fellow inmates.
They allege agents violated Christensen’s right against unlawful searches and seizures by showing up without warning and without a search warrant.
