UPDATE: Elledge sentenced to 28 years in prison for killing his wife; victim’s remains found in Rock Bridge state park

UPDATE: Boone County Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs has sentenced Joseph Elledge to 28 years in state prison. Jacobs sentenced Elledge during a sometimes heated sentencing hearing Friday afternoon at the Boone County Courthouse. Boone County Prosecutor Dan Knight and defense attorney Scott Rosenblum criticized each other several times in open court.

HERE IS OUR ORIGINAL FRIDAY MORNING STORY:

A Columbia man convicted of killing his wife in 2019 and burying her in Rock Bridge state park is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon.

A jury deliberated for seven hours in November, before convicting Joseph Elledge of second degree murder for the death of his wife, Menggi Ji. The jury is recommending a 28-year prison sentence.

The trial took 11 days, and the jury worked a 17-hour day on Veterans Day. That included the penalty phase. 939 the Eagle was at the Boone County Courthouse for all 11 days of the trial.

Closing arguments during the trial were intense and emotional. County prosecutor Dan Knight told jurors that Elledge was a “bully and killer,” and deserved no mercy. Knight says Joseph Elledge tortured his wife. Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum told jurors that Knight had no real evidence, and that this was never a murder case. Rosenblum says it was a tragic accident.

Counselor Rosenblum has filed a five-page motion, requesting a new trial. He says Judge Brouck Jacobs erred in admitting 1,000 photographs during the trial.