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Judge OKs Cadaver Dog Evidence In Chinese Scholar's Case

URBANA, Ill. (AP) -- A federal judge has denied a request to exclude evidence about a cadaver-sniffing dog from the trial of a former University of Illinois physics student accused of killing a Chinese scholar in 2017.

The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports that U.S. District Judge James Shadid ruled that prosecutors can present evidence from McHenry County Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Bruketta's dog Sage. The judge found both Sage and Bruketta to be reliable.

Yingying Zhang
Yingying Zhang (FBI)

The FBI says the canine "possibly indicated an alert" in the bathroom of Brendt Christensen's off-campus apartment in Urbana.

Prosecutors are trying to prove Christensen kidnapped and killed 26-year-old Yingying Zhang. The scholar from China is presumed dead, but her body hasn't been found.

Brendt Christensen Mug
Brendt Christensen. (Courtesy: Macon County Sheriff's Office)

Christensen faces the death penalty if convicted at his trial, which is scheduled to begin in April.

RELATED: Lawyers For Man Accused Of Murdering Chinese Scholar Say He's The Victim Of An Illegal Search

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