Statement of Cristina Yang - Witness Practice Flashcards

Who are you?

I am Christina Yang (I prefer Chris), Meredith Grey's best friend since 5th grade, although Meredith was 2 years older than me

What academic program did you enter as an 18-year-old freshman?

I’m an 18-year-old freshman in UCONN's Agricultural Engineering program (Ag Eng) - studying to work in crops science, land use and conservation

How did you describe Meredith Grey when you first became friends in the fifth grade?

As a weird little girl who talked like Wednesday Addams and was two years older than the rest of their class (because she had failed kindergarten)

What career did Meredith Grey actually want to pursue, despite Ellis's insistence that she become a doctor?

Meredith always wanted to study at UCONN and be a teacher, though she played along with Ellis's dream of her becoming a doctor. They didn’t really have money for either.

Why was an athletic scholarship Meredith Grey's primary path to attending UCONN?

1. Ellis didn’t have the grades for Ag Eng

2. Ellis was unwilling to help Meredith financially

3. UCONN's track team was Division I in a power conference, requiring top-tier athletic performance

Which famous athletes did the track coach cite in lectures warning against performance-enhancing drugs?

• Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of 7 Tour de France cycling titles

• Marion Jones, who had to forfeit 5 Olympic medals.

What non-illegal methods of enhancement did you and Meredith pursue? Did these work?

• Elite training methods, better sleep habits and diet

• They improved their times steadily and Meredith was on track for a state title in J + S year

What did an improvement in Meredith’s times lead to?

She started getting visits from coaches and drawing some D1 attention

Why did you and Meredith carry out your own research? How did you do it?

Because we couldn’t afford our own private coaching or pre-Olympic camps (we were public-school kids)

1. Took books out of the library

2. Watched anything we could on YouTube

3. Spent hours on Reddit

Why was this research easier for you to do than Meredith?

Because Ellis was very strict about the internet

What media brand and personalities influenced you and Meredith to adopt a raw food diet?

Gabby, Doug, and LeMond Pure, whose videos ( became mesmerizing) showed them eating raw meat, raw vegetables, and other raw foods while promising improved athletic performance

What happened to yours and Meredith’s times at the start of Junior year?

They plateaued and started getting worse. Meredith’s fell worse than mine.

What incident occurred over winter break in 2023 that resulted in Meredith receiving a DUI + losing training time?

After smoking weed at a house party with about 100 athletes, Meredith fled the police in Chris's sister's Jetta, exceeded the 25mph residential speed limit, and failed a sobriety test

Why did you and Meredith flee the party?

Because Coach would sit us for a month, and Meredith had coaches coming in to watch her run in early January

Why did you take Meredith to her trial?

Because she didn’t want Ellis to know about it (drugs were a big deal to Ellis)

What initial legal arrangement did Meredith Grey's court-assigned attorney negotiate for her DUI citation?

A deal where Meredith would complete counseling and community service rather than having to plead guilty - judge seemed nice at this time

Why did Meredith skip counseling?

Because she would lose more cross-country training time

How did the judge respond when Meredith Grey appeared in court the following summer without completing her court-ordered counseling?

The judge yelled at her for 3-4 minutes, reset her requirements as a final second chance, and warned that any violation, even a parking ticket, would lead to an immediate guilty finding and severe punishment

Why did the judge’s warning mean Meredith had even less time for training?

Because she couldn’t let her grades slip, otherwise Ellis would notice

Which runner began beating Meredith across the finish line when her training time fell behind in junior year?

Shonda Rhimes, a teammate who had no ambitions of running in college.

What raw food dishes did you and Meredith prepare at home after re-engaging with LeMond Pure?

When our times were really tanking, we found LMP again and prepared salads, sushi, ceviche, and steak tartare using ingredients from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

What other cooking channels did you watch?

Anthony Bourdain and Food Network

How was this time w/ LMP (after the trial) different?

We got really hooked, desperate to get back on the leaderboard and followed all the directions exactly.

Did following LMP (after the trial) help?

Yes, Meredith’s times improved, and she started beating Shonda again. I also started getting back into form.

When did you confirm what Gabby and Doug were saying?

When I logged a PB and Meredith was back on the podium the day after we had tartare and sushi with my folks - raw food was safe, no matter what Big Food wanted us to believe, and it worked

Why did things become more urgent?

Colleges were deciding who to offer scholarships next year and she wasn’t back to her PB yet; nothing was happening fast enough.

Because things were getting more urgent, what did Meredith say you had to do in late October?

Get more serious - we started watching all the videos, the crazier, ‘pure truth, before they went commercial’. She emailed the founders for advice, and they sent us some merch (M said we should wear it every day to stay committed)

What pattern did you notice?

The more we watched, the more she did, and the more meets she was winning. But her times were more like a PB than the next state champ.

What did Meredith ask you to do when she wanted to go Full Pure?

She talked me into going out to my family Camp the weekend after Thanksgiving

What did you and Meredith do during your weekend trip to the family Camp after Thanksgiving?

Chris used a small bow to kill a deer after a long day’s hunt, which Meredith skinned and prepared into raw deer tartare with salt, pepper, and an egg with the guidance of an LMP vid.

Why did Meredith Grey refuse to add Worcestershire sauce or mustard to her raw deer tartare?

She considered prepared condiments to be processed foods that would prevent the raw meat from rewilding her mitochondria.

How did Meredith react to eating the deer?

She was happier than ever, kind of in a freaky way.

What did you consume during the hunting trip at the family Camp?

I pan-fried a small bass caught in the lake, but ate a couple of bites raw after Meredith insisted - it was nasty.

What athletic milestone did Meredith report to you the night after returning from the family Camp?

She texted me that she ran her best time ever in the 1500 and subsequently ran an additional 7 miles for fun.

What information did you find on a notice board at a local state park the Monday after hunting the deer?

A fish and game commission flier stating that deer hunting required a license.

What did you do after seeing the flyer?

I texted Meredith a picture and showed it to her in homeroom. She had no idea she had broken the law, so she freaked out bc it could put her back in front of the judge so I promised not to say anything.

What physical symptoms did Meredith develop after eating the raw deer meat?

Vomiting, diarrhea, a high fever, extreme physical wasting, puffy eyes, and severe pain whenever she tried to run.

What did you initially think was wrong with Meredith?

We though it was COVID or the flu, until later when we knew it had to be something else, so I started coming over.

Why did you suspect that Meredith’s sickness was associated with the deer?

Because I hadn’t eaten that and I wasn’t sick.

Why did Meredith Grey insist that you keep her raw deer consumption hidden from Ellis and medical staff?

Meredith feared Ellis would tell doctors, who would inform the judge that she committed illegal hunting, thereby violating her court deal. She said it would make her feel better knowing that her secret was safe.

How did you respond to Meredith’s intense pleas for you to keep this quiet?

I went along with it, although I encouraged her to come clean.

Did you understand Meredith’s concerns?

Yes, because Ellis was really uptight and would get stuck on an idea then go on and and on about it

Do you regret not telling Ellis or a medical professional?

Yes, but back then I was still influenced by the LMP way: that raw was good. I had raw fish and I was fine.

What response did you receive after emailing LeMond Pure regarding Meredith's health risks?

I received only a generic auto-reply.

When did you realise that this was so serious?

When Meredith was admitted to the hospital. I heard from a friend whose mum is a nurse that she had almost died, and Ellis confirmed what I originally thought were rumours!

What long-term health effects did Meredith suffer following her hospitalization?

She can no longer run, never returned to Middletown Central, lost memory from shortly after Thanksgiving until after hospitalization, and has periods where she cannot think straight.

Who visited Meredith whilst she was in hospital?

Only me because all her other friends thought it was gross that she ate raw deer. I also eventually stopped calling - it became too much, and M was out of it, so we had nothing to talk about.

What confrontation in 2025 caused you to cut ties with Ellis and Meredith?

Ellis was always raging at the doctors or LMP and spent two hours ranting against social media and phones, and then screamed at me about what my family and I had allegedly done. After that, I decided to concentrate on myself.

Will you please state your name and where you go to school for the jury?

1. My name is Cristina Yang

2. I am studying to get a job in crop science or land use

3. I am in my freshman year in UCONN’s Agricultural Engineering program.

What is your relationship with Meredith Grey?

I am Meredith’s best friend

How long have you known Meredith?

We have known each other since we were both in fifth grade, although Meredith was two years older than me

Did Meredith have similar intentions of attending the agricultural engineering program you are in?

1. Meredith wanted to study at UCONN as well, to be a teacher, although Ellis insisted that she was going to be a doctor

2. They didn’t really have enough money for either.

Tell me more about how Meredith was an elite athlete?

1. She was a runner and desperately wanted to improve her times because she didn’t have the grades to get into UCONN without athletics

2. She tried elite training methods, better sleep habits, and all sorts of diets in an attempt to get faster

3. While searching for answers, we found videos by Gabby, Doug, and LMP, who ate crazy raw foods, promising that it would improve athletic performance

Did Meredith's times improve after using these methods?

They began to steadily improve, yes.

Was this not enough for her?

1. When Meredith hit junior year, we thought her times would be better than ever, but instead, they became worse

2. She missed a lot of training time in the spring and summer after getting a DUI while trying to escape from a party.

3. Although her actions were extremely reckless, she got lucky and worked out a deal where she would only do counseling and community service.

4. It was the middle of the cross-country season, so Meredith didn’t end up going.

After Meredith stopped attending her community service hours, what happened?

1. The judge was very upset that Meredith hadn’t fulfilled her end of the bargain, but gave her one last chance.

2. She did the community service and kept her grades up so Ellis wasn’t upset

3. Led to her having barely any time for running so she started getting desperate.

Explain to me what next steps Meredith took (after the trial).

1. When our times got really bad, we found LMP again, and we were struggling enough to adhere properly this time.

2. We started changing our diets, but it still wasn’t enough for Meredith

3. That’s when we finally went out and shot the deer.

What happened when you and Meredith began following LMP's advice again?

Our times began slowly improving again, but not enough.

How did your approach to eating raw foods change over time?

At first, we started small, but when our times started improving slowly again, we tried eating more and more raw food.

What did you and Meredith eventually decide to do when your running times were not improving enough?

1. We decided to go online, and social media recommended raw meat, so we went out to hunt a deer.

2. We had watched videos about this before, but never went through with it.

What did Meredith do with the deer after killing it?

She immediately skinned it, following an LMP video in the background.

What did Meredith eat, and what did you eat?

1. She made a tartare of the deer and ate it with salt, pepper, and an egg, but I didn’t have any.

2. I had the small bass that I had caught at the lake pan-fried, although Meredith insisted I eat a few bites raw.

What happened to Meredith in the weeks following the hunting trip?

1. The next day, Meredith went home excited to run and texted me that she had never felt better

2. I thought it was the start of her best running ever, but after I sent her a picture of the sign saying that you needed a license to hunt deer, she went home early and freaked out

3. She never came back to school after that, and I learned of her sickness.

What symptoms or changes in Meredith's condition did you personally observe?

1. She was vomiting and had diarrhoea, a fever, and sometimes puffy eyes

2. We thought it was probably the flu or COVID until proven otherwise

Why did you begin to suspect that Meredith's illness might be connected to the deer?

Mainly because she had eaten the deer and I hadn’t, and I also wasn’t sick

What happened when you raised the possibility of her illness being connected to the deer with Meredith?

She told me that it definitely wasn’t the deer, and that I couldn’t tell Ellis under any circumstances.

What did Meredith tell you about sharing information about the deer with Ellis?

1. She made me swear I wouldn’t tell Ellis anything,

2. because she was sure that Ellis would share the info with the doctors, who in turn, would inform the judge (who helped her)

What was Meredith and Ellis’ relationship like?

1. They got along okay, but Meredith didn’t really seem to trust Ellis all that well

2. e.g., she refused to tell her about the deer because she shot it illegally (if the judge ever found out, she would be in a lot of trouble)

3. M seemed sure that Ellis would tell, and made me swear I wouldn’t

4. Ellis could be pretty uptight.

5. e.g. After what happened to Meredith, she was always ranting about LMP, the doctors, or social media. She had always been a bit crazy about screens.

6. The last time I saw her, she ended up screaming at me that this was all my fault, and since then, I’ve tried to step away.

What reasons, if any, did Meredith give you for wanting to keep the hunting trip a secret?

1. After finding out we had killed the deer illegally, she knew that if the judge found out, she would be in a huge amount of legal trouble

2. Especially since she was already on thin ice for skipping the community service the first time

How did you respond to Meredith's request to keep the information private?

1. I encouraged her to tell somebody

2. But I respected her wishes when she asked me to keep it a secret

What, if anything, did you do to find out whether eating raw food could have harmed Meredith?

1. I emailed the creators of the LMP videos to ask about the dangers of Meredith eating the deer

2. I only received an automated reply