Joseph Elledge Timeline: Jury selection to begin Monday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Starting Monday, Joseph Elledge will stand trial for the murder of his wife, Mengqi Ji, bringing an end to the case that sparked the attention of many people throughout Mid-Missouri.
Jury selection starts Monday morning at the Boone County Courthouse.
On Wednesday Oct. 10, 2019, Mengji Ji was reported missing by her husband, Joseph Elledge, after he said she had not returned to bed Tuesday night.
A full week had passed without anyone hearing from her, and police turned to the community and media for help.
From the start, police considered Elledge a prime suspect, and just 15 days later on Oct. 25, he was arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect after officers found evidence of abuse during Ji's missing person investigation.
Law enforcement searched for Ji's body in Boone, Callaway, Howard, and Randolph counties.
Elledge's cellphone records from Oct. 9, ultimately led police to the Lamine river in Cooper county.
The search at the Lamine starting in December of 2020, where the Missouri State Highway Patrol dive team spent one year on and off searching the river but found no signs of Ji's body.
On Feb. 28, 2020 a grand jury indicted Elledge with first degree murder in the death of his wife, after Boone county prosecutor Dan Knight said Elledge lied to police and deflected conversations about his missing wife.
Elledge has been in the Boone County Jail ever since.
On March 25, 2021 a hiker at rock bridge state park alerted authorities they found human remains.
CPD and the patrol expanded the search locating Ji's credit cards and drivers license nearby.
By April 6, 2021 authorities confirmed that the human remains are Ji's by her dental records as her remains were too badly decomposed.
