Columbia man who admitted to killing his wife will not get a new trial

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who pleaded guilty to killing his wife will not get a new trial.

Joseph Elledge pleaded guilty in 2022 in Boone County for second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He admitted to killing Mengqi Ji and disposing her body in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. 

Previous reporting indicates that Elledge admitted he killed his wife, but claimed her death was an accident. Medical examiners were unable to provide a cause of death because of the decomposed state of Ji's body. The state said due to a missing neck bone in Ji's remains, they believe Elledge strangled her.

Elledge asked for a new trial after he claimed his lawyers were not effective. Judge Brock Jacobs wrote in his decision – that was filed on Thursday – that the conviction and sentence did not violate Elledge’s rights.