Zhang Yingying (File photo: CGTN)

CHICAGO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Three more potential jurors were pre-approved and two were excused on Monday in the trial of accused kidnapper and killer Brendt Christensen, bringing the total number of qualified jurors in Zhang Yingying's case to 70.

According to the US District Court's arrangement, prosecutors and the defense lawyers will pare down the number of 70 to 12 jurors and 6 substitute jurors on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, lawyers will make opening statements in the trial.

The jurors will first decide whether Christensen is guilty or not, which they need to reach a unanimous decision about.

If they find him guilty, there will be a short break, followed by the sentencing phase, where the same jury decides whether Christensen deserves the death penalty.

To receive a death sentence, the jury must again reach a unanimous decision. If they don't, Christensen will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), went missing on June 9, 2017, after getting into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks from where she got off a bus on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease.

Police arrested Christensen on June 30, 2017, who was a former UIUC doctoral student, and charged him with the kidnapping, torturing and killing of Zhang. He pleaded not guilty.