URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the estate of Yingying Zhang against two clinical counselors at the University of Illinois Counseling Center.
The News-Gazette reports Zhang's family argued the counselors should have done more when Brendt Christensen, the convicted killer of Ms. Zhang, told them about his fascination with serial killers and that he had purchased and returned items to move and dispose of a body.
U.S. Judge Colin S. Bruce ruled that Zhang's death "was simply too remote a consequence of Defendants' alleged actions to hold them responsible under the federal civil rights law."
In his 36-page decision, Bruce said nothing in the lawsuit "alleges that either Defendant directly encouraged Christensen or otherwise told him that he could act on his violent impulses with immunity."
The U.S. Judge sided with the UI counselors' lawyers, who argued in their motion to dismiss the social workers responsibility for the women's death and Christensen's actions.
The lawsuit was filed last June, before Christensen's criminal trial was set to begin.
Christensen was found guilty and sentenced to life for kidnapping and killing Yingying Zhang in June 2017.
While a UI graduate student, Christensen had visited the counseling center on March 21,2017, after previously being treated for depression and sleep issues at the McKinley Health Center.
He told an intern at the counseling center he "had thoughts of committing a murder", in which the intern suggested he seek further assistance at the center.
On March 30, 2017, he met with Jennifer Maupin and Tom Miebach, the counselors named in the lawsuit who both testified in court during his trial.
Christensen talked about murder, and when asked if he would act on it he said no.
It was suggested to him to visit a substance-abuse facility, but Christensen declined.
The lawsuit put the UI in the position of both providing care and comfort to Zhang's family while opposing them in court.
“We will continue to support the (Zhang) family as we have throughout this ordeal, and we will defend the social workers who are named in the civil suit,” UI spokeswoman Robin Kaler told ABC News last summer for a “20/20” episode devoted to Ms. Zhang’s disappearance. “The professionals and staff of our counseling center are highly qualified and trained to provide care and services to students consistent with the best practices in mental health care, and we are confident they have followed these best practices.”
In dismissing the federal counts, Bruce declined to take on the state charges, allowing Zhang's family the option of refiling in state court.
Zhang's body still hasn't been found.
Christensen reported to a high-security federal prison in Kentucky earlier this month.
