Judge hears arguments on allowing secret recordings as evidence in Joseph Elledge murder case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A judge said he would take listening to 13 hours of secret recordings under advisement in the Joseph Elledge murder trial in Columbia Thursday.
During today's proceedings, the prosecution says the recordings show Elledges' motive for murder, the consciousness of guilt. The prosecutor said the 11-month remote recordings show what started the whole thing leading to Mengqi Ji's death.
The prosecution submitted nine out of the 13 hours of recordings. Officials removed four hours of an illegible section of the recording and parts that the prosecution say show Elledge bad character.
The defense told the judge the tapes are hearsay.
The defense wants to introduce all 13 hours to the court to listen to not just the nine wanted by the prosecution.
Elledge's lawyer said the remote recordings don’t show motive for murder show arguments between a man and wife. He argued the recordings will show the characterization of Elledge that the prosecution wants.
Elledge was charged in Feb. 2020 with first-degree murder in the death of his wife.
The original hearing was scheduled for Monday, but it got pushed back due to time constraints.
Back in May, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Knight originally made the request, arguing the audio evidence is necessary in order to show the jury Elledge's motive for killing Ji. Knight said without this evidence in court, it will be difficult for the jury to understand why Elledge killed Ji.
ABC 17 obtained court documents that described the secret audio recordings of conversations between Ji and Elledge that show months of verbal abuse by Elledge to Ji.
The prosecutor also said recordings show Elledge may have lied to police and reporters after Ji went missing in October 2019.
Police found Ji's remains at Rock Bridge State Park in March, after originally spending months searching the Lamine River.
The hearing is set for 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Boone County Courthouse.
This is a developing story, check back for more information or watch ABC 17 News.
