Back to court for convicted Columbia killer

(AP) — A Mid – Missouri man who was convicted last year of killing his wife and burying her body will face another trial this year on charges that he abused the couple’s young daughter.

Joseph Elledge has pleaded not guilty to three felonies involving his daughter, who was 1-year-old when her mother was killed.

Elledge was convicted Nov. 11 of second-degree murder in the death of Mengqi Ji, a 28-year-old Chinese woman he married while they were studying at the University of Missouri. He was sentenced in January to 28 years in prison.

Elledge buried his wife’s body in a park near Columbia after she died in October 2019. Her body was not found until March 2021. Elledge has said Ji’s death was accidental.