Published: 4:32am, 8 Nov, 2019
Updated: 5:29am, 8 Nov, 2019
“[SBM]
Joseph Elledge is a ‘jealous, controlling, manipulative psychopath,’ Boone County Chief Prosecutor Dan Knight said during a hearing on Wednesday in which he argued that Elledge should remain in jail on his current US$500,000 bond on a child abuse charge, the
Columbia Missourian reported.
The judge did not rule on the bond matter at the hearing.
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But Knight described him as the prime suspect in her disappearance and he played four audio recordings of the couple arguing.
[SBM]
Mengqi Ji Elledge can also be heard arguing with her husband, who raised his voice several times. At one point, he told her, ‘I know you want me to hit you,’ and, ‘This, it’s not abusive.’
[SBM]
The defence, meanwhile, argued that Joseph Elledge’s bond should be reduced, saying that Mengqi Ji Elledge had exchanged sexually explicit messages with another person.
Little else was said during the hearing about the messages. A police detective clarified that officers had not yet gone through the woman’s phone, which police found along with her wallet, laptop and passport in the couple’s apartment after her disappearance.
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Mengqi Elledge received a master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Missouri in December 2014. She previously attended the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai.” (BBM)
‘Psychopath’ US husband is ‘prime suspect’ in Chinese woman’s disappearance