URBANA, Ill. (AP) — The University of Illinois is seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the estate of a slain visiting Chinese scholar against two social workers at a campus counseling center.

A judge dismissed a federal lawsuit against the social workers in December. But the woman’s estate refiled it in state court in January.

Brendt Christensen was later convicted of kidnapping Yingying Zhang. Her body has never been found. The News-Gazette reports that her family has argued that the social workers should have done more when the Christensen told them about his fascination with serial killers and that he had bought items to move and dispose of a body.