Jury chosen in murder trial of Joseph Elledge

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jury selection was finalized Monday, in the first-degree murder trial of Columbia man, Joseph Elledge.

Judge Brouck Jacobs swore in the jurors around 6:15 p.m. on Monday. Jacobs, along with the prosecution and defense, spent all day Monday asking questions of jurors to find the group of people from Boone County to serve.

Opening statements are set to take place Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.

Elledge is on trial for the death of his wife Mengqi Ji in October of 2019. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.

The prosecution, defense and Judge Jacobs questioned around 100 possible jurors Monday morning and afternoon. By noon, there were around 66 potential jurors left after Jacobs asked about potential conflicts jurors had with the length of the trial.

During jury selection, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Knight asked potential jurors several questions about conflict of interest.

"Does anyone know Mengqi Ji or her family or her friends?"

"Would knowing any witnesses cause you to create bias against the state?"

"Will anyone have a problem making a judgment about another person?"

Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum asked more than a dozen potential jurors about what they heard about the case through the media. At least a few of them admitted to having "strong" opinions on the case, but did not say which way those opinions leaned.

Rosenblum asked jurors how they might handle evidence of people's reactions to accidents. Rosenblum asked jurors if they agreed that if Ji died from a "tragic accident," then they could not say Elledge was guilty of murder.

Jury Selection

The potential jurors will be questioned on their ability to serve on the jury as well as personal questions about themselves.

According to Boone County court administrator Cindy Garrett, the court will pay the jury pool six dollars for jury selection day. Jurors who are chosen to serve on the trial will be paid $21 for each day they serve. Everyone who's called for the jury pool is also paid based on their mileage traveled to go to court.

If the court isn't able to select a jury on Monday, the court will call the second group of 75 potential jurors on Tuesday.

Case History

Mengqi Ji was first reported missing to police by her husband, Joseph Elledge on Oct. 10, 2019. Elledge reported his wife had not come home the night before.

Elledge was arrested on Oct. 25 and charged with child abuse and neglect after officers found evidence of abuse to the couple's only child during Ji's missing person investigation.

During this time, law enforcement considered Elledge the primary suspect in his wife's disappearance.

Authorities then spent over a year on-and-off searching for Mengqi Ji's body in the Lamine River in Cooper County due to cell phone records from Elledge.

In February of 2020, a grand jury indicted Elledge on a charge of first-degree murder for the death of his wife.

In March of this year, a hiker at Rock Bridge State Park found human remains.

In April, the remains were confirmed to be those of Mengqi Ji through her dental records. Personal identification documents found at the scene, including her driver's license, also helped identify the remains.

Prosecutors claim Elledge strangled Ji to death.

Elledge's Future

According to online court records, Elledge was charged with abuse or neglect of a child and endangering the welfare of a child in January of 2019.

He was charged with third-degree domestic assault on Oct. 8, 2019.

Elledge is set to appear in Boone County court on these charges on Jan. 10, 2022.