On Aug. 23, defense attorneys involved in the case filed an appeal to the court asking to postpone the start date for trial, stating that they require additional time to prepare.
After considering opinions from both sides involved in the case, the appeal was approved by the judge, though it was stated that there's a high probability the federal government will bring in additional charges in the future.
Suspect Brendt Christensen will remain in custody ahead of the start of his trial. Defense lawyer Thomas Bruno explains the reason.
"As the attorney for the defendant, we are always concerned about reviewing what the government's evidence would be, and vigorously and zealously protecting the rights of the defendant. So we have a duty to research the law, review the evidence and determine whether or not the defendant is being treated fairly,"
In the meantime, Steven Beckett, a notable local criminal lawyer, says both sides need enough time to prepare for the trial and it's common for a federal judge to delay the final date of the trial.
Beckett says the lawyers need more time to go through evidence and documents detailing the case.
"If you were the defense lawyer, as I said before, you'd want to entertain your own experts to have them look at that evidence and see if they agree with the conclusion that the government experts made. That all takes time,"
He also says there is a strong possibility that this could become a death penalty case.
Zhang Yingying ,a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was last seen getting into a black car driven by 28-year-old Brendt Christensen on June 9.
Police arrested Christensen on charges of kidnapping 26-year-old Zhang on June 30, but her location remains unknown.
Based on the facts unearthed during the ongoing investigation, the FBI has said it believes Zhang is no longer alive.
Christensen was indicted on July 12 by a federal grand jury on a criminal charge related to Zhang's abduction. He has been in custody since then.
The father of the missing Chinese scholar has asked US President Donald Trump to direct all available Federal law enforcement and investigatory resources to help find his daughter.
