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Joseph Elledge
Joseph Elledge has been convicted of second degree murder for the death of his wife, Menggi Ji

Joseph Elledge charged with murder relating to wife’s disappearance

The Columbia man with a missing wife is officially facing a murder charge.

Court documents say prosecutors charged Joseph Elledge with first degree murder Wednesday.

Prosecutors say his wife, Mengqi Ji Elledge, was last seen on Oct. 8. Joseph Elledge had allegedly made “threatening” statements to his wife.

Police say Joseph Elledge may have strangled his wife at his apartment. They also say cellphone data shows he drove to an area around the Lamine River late at night after she went missing. That’s the river in which divers have searched for Mengqi ever since.

Joseph is already facing charges of child abuse and child endangerment. The trial for those charges is scheduled for April 6.

(This story was last updated at 10:09 a.m. Thursday.)

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