A popular national podcast has profiled the 2019 Columbia case of a Columbia man convicted of killing his wife and burying her in Rock Bridge state park.
This week’s “Crime Junkie” podcast has profiled the murder of Menggi Ji. 27-year-old Joseph Elledge is serving a 28-year prison sentence for second degree murder, and is appealing his conviction. The appeal is still pending. Elledge is currently incarcerated at the maximum-security Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, which is south of Cape Girardeau.
The late Boone County prosecutor Dan Knight said this case highlighted his commitment to stopping domestic violence. Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum told jurors this was never a murder case. He describes the death as a tragic accident, not a murder.
The 2021 trial took 11 days, and the jury worked a 17-hour day on Veterans Day. That included the penalty phase. 939 the Eagle News was at the Boone County Courthouse for all 11 days of the trial. The closing arguments were intense and emotional. Prosecutor Knight told jurors that Elledge was a bully and killer and deserved no mercy. Counselor Rosenblum told jurors that Knight had no real evidence.
