of environmental sciences. >> to get into a research group here at the university of illinois, you obviously have to have promise. her intent was to begin a ph.d program here in the fall. >> yingying was applyingn in our lab. she was really excited about almost everything. it's just, it's a new, kind of a new world and a new life open to her. >> she was so new. she had only been here for a few weeks. and so she hadn't really had a chance to establish a lot of relationships. >> she spent lots of her time working, or doing research. she also bought a guitar. and she said she didn't have a lot of time to play it. but it just made her feel like she had a friend in her apartment. >> friday, june 9th, 2017. just a typical beautiful summer day here. >> during the summer, campus is a lot more empty while the students are home. >> yingying went to turner hall on campus that morning of june 9th. >> it's just a normal day. we kind of cleaned some equipment we have been using. >> so around noontime, she told me she had an appointment around 1:30 p.m. to sign an apartment, the lease. >> so she was living on the south end of the campus. what they call the married student housing complex. >> she was looking