Missouri Man Accused of Killing His Wife Takes Stand

Joseph Elledge listens to a conversation he secretly recorded of himself, his wife Mengqi Ji and his mother Jean as they talk about problems the couple were having in 2019 during his trial in Boone County, Mo., on Nov. 3, 2021. Don Shrubshell/Columbia Daily Tribune via AP

COLUMBIA, Mo.—A Missouri man accused of killing his wife and burying her body in a park took the stand Tuesday to testify in his first-degree murder trial.

Joseph Elledge is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Mengqi Ji, whom he reported missing in October 2019. Her remains were found in March at a park near Columbia, Missouri.