URBANA - A memorial garden is planned for a University of Illinois scholar from China who went missing last year.
The News-Gazette reports that the campus memorial will be created near the spot where Yingying Zhang was last seen. Work will begin Friday.
The university is funding the memorial that was suggested by Zhang's friends and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. It'll feature a path leading to a bench, surrounded by greenery and white flowering plants.
Brendt Christensen is charged with the kidnapping and death of Zhang, who went missing on June 9, 2017.
Government attorneys announced in January that they plan to seek the death penalty because Christensen allegedly tortured Zhang before killing her . Her body hasn't been found.
Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin April.
