University of Illinois to honor investigators of Chinese scholar's death

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Three law enforcement officials will be honored for their work investigating the killer of a visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois.

Sgt. James Carter, Detective Eric Stiverson and telecommunicator Kenny Costa of the University of Illinois Police Department will be awarded the Chancellor's Medallion at a ceremony Feb. 24 in Champaign.

The award is the highest honor given by the university and has been awarded seven times.

Brendt Christensen was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year in the June 2017 kidnapping of Yingying Zhang. She was a graduate student who had recently arrived at the school's flagship campus.