Champaign, IL  (AP)  Attorneys for a man accused of abducting and killing a University of Illinois scholar from China are asking for more time to prepare his defense.

Former graduate student Brendt Christensen is charged in the June kidnapping and death of Yingying Zhang. His trial is scheduled for February

Christensen’s public defenders have asked for a trial delay so they can prepare a thorough defense. The attorneys noted the average time between indictment and trial in federal death penalty prosecutions is 28 months.

The government said in September it was considering the death penalty. That was before Christensen was indicted on charges of kidnapping and making false statements to federal investigators.

A judge has given prosecutors until November 3rd to respond to the defense request.