Missing University Of Illinois Scholar: Judge To Decide Whether Suspect Can Be Released

CHICAGO, IL — A detention hearing is set for a 28-year-old charged in the kidnapping of a University of Illinois scholar from China.

A federal judge will decide at Wednesday's hearing in Urbana whether Brendt Christensen can be released pending trial.

He's accused of abducting 26-year-old Yingying Zhang on June 9 as she headed to sign an apartment lease off campus in Urbana. Authorities believe she's dead, though her body hasn't been found. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Judges consider two main factors in deciding whether suspects qualify for release. One is whether they pose a danger. The other is whether they're a flight risk.

Christensen lives in Champaign and has a master's degree in physics from the University of Illinois. He previously lived in Stevens Point, Wisconsin,

If convicted, he would face a maximum life prison sentence.

Christensen's attorney Evan Bruno previously said he talked to Christensen a few times, but that "this case is very young and we haven't had a really full opportunity to develop everything yet."

Bruno asked the public to "be patient, to keep an open mind, wait till the evidence comes in."

He described his client as a "very intelligent guy" who has no criminal history. "He has a speeding ticket, I think, but that's about it," Bruno said.

Bruno added that Christensen is married, but that he and his wife do not have any children, according to the newspaper. He said Christensen is not employed but has been looking for a job.

Zhang, who received her master's degree in environmental engineering in China last year and hoped to eventually land a professorship and help her family financially, went missing on June 9. Her father traveled from China to Illinois in June for the search.

Authorities announced that they believed she was abducted after viewing surveillance video showing her climbing into a vehicle. Authorities charged Christensen on Friday after federal agents heard him tell someone that he'd kidnapped Zhang and held her against her will.

WATCH: Surveillance footage (edited for length) of Zhang entering the Saturn:

Authorities say Zhang was trying to hurry to an apartment to sign a lease and had been unsuccessful in flagging down a bus when a car stopped. The video shows a woman authorities have said is Zhang climb into the vehicle in Urbana, 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

Since then, details have emerged about Christensen and the events leading up to Zhang's disappearance.

According to authorities, a website that hosted an "Abduction 101" forum linked Christensen to the kidnapping of Zhang. The federal complaint says Christensen's phone was used April 19 to visit that website, FetLife.com, including to view threads titled "Perfect abduction fantasy" and "planning a kidnapping."

FetLife describes itself as "the Social Network for the BDSM, Fetish & Kinky Community," stressing in online policy statements that it is a place for consenting adults to trade advice and images of themselves, and to arrange to meet. The acronym BDSM stands for bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism. Users provide their ages, genders and roles they wish to play, but otherwise remain anonymous.

Photos credit: Macon County Sheriff's Office via AP; University of Illinois Police Department via AP