Skeletal remains, clothing, a driver’s license and some credit cards with Mengqi Ji Elledge’s name on them were found in Rock Bridge State Park on Thursday 

University of Missouri student, Joseph Elledge, was accused after his Chinese born wife, Mengqi Ji Elledge, who vanished in Oct. 2019

Pending DNA confirmation, authorities say items with the remains, found by someone out walking in the state park, belong to Ji who has been missing for 18 months 

Ji’s husband, Joseph Elledge, was charged with first-degree murder back in Feb 2020 in relation to her disappearance

Prosecutors who described the suspect as a ‘jealous, controlling, manipulative psychopath,’ have four audio recordings of the couple arguing

Elledge told Ji: ‘I don’t like being with you’, ‘I’m eager to end it’ and ‘I will bury the earth under you’ 

Prosecutors have speculated that Elledge strangled his wife to avoid a costly divorce and stop her from fleeing to China with their two-year-old daughter

Joseph Elledge has pled not guilty to charges of murder, child endangerment and domestic abuse

He is remanded without bond until Nov when his trial begins 

Skeletal remains found in a Missouri park are believed to be that of a Chinese woman missing nearly two years and whose husband has been charged with her murder after police said he killed her to avoid a costly divorce and stop her fleeing the US with their daughter. 
The skeletal remains, some clothing, a driver’s license and some credit cards with Mengqi Ji Elledge’s name on them were found in a remote area of Rock Bridge State Park in Boone County on Thursday.
Authorities say the remains, which were spotted by someone out walking in the state park, are believed to belong to Ji, who has been missing for 18 months. 
Police officials said DNA and potentially other testing would be done to confirm. 
Ji’s husband, Joseph Elledge, [photo left], was charged with first-degree murder back in February last year in relation to her disappearance.
The couple have a two-year-old daughter, authorities believe the motive behind the murder was so the suspect could ‘avoid a costly divorce and stop [his wife], from fleeing to China with their daughter’.
Murder suspect Joseph Elledge, a University of Missouri student, has pled not guilty to the murder charge and to related charges of child endangerment and domestic abuse.
He remains jailed without bond ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to start on November 1. 

 Prosecutors have speculated that Elledge strangled his wife to avoid a costly divorce and stop her from fleeing to China with their two-year-old daughter.
Elledge told authorities he realized his wife was missing when he woke on October 9, 2019 but didn’t report that she was gone until 36 hours later when a friend came to the house at the request of Ji’s mother. 
He claims he had given her a massage with her lying on her stomach and him on her back before they went to bed. 
Authorities say he drove to remote areas, spending around 45 minutes at a secluded access point to the Lamine River after dark, during those 24 hours. 
Police said at the time that the locations were places ‘where a body could be disposed of and not located for some time’. 
Cadaver dogs detected the presence of human remains there but law enforcement was unable to find a body despite multiple searches.

Columbia Police Assistant Chief Jeremiah Hunter said parts of Rock Bridge State Park had been previously searched, but not the area where the remains were found, which is about 30 feet from a road.
Elledge told authorities he realized his wife was missing on October 9, 2019, but didn’t report she was gone until the following day after a friend came to the house at the request of Ji’s mother.
During a court hearing in November 2019, Boone County Chief Prosecutor Dan Knight described Elledge as a ‘jealous, controlling, manipulative psychopath.’ 

Knight played four audio recordings of the couple arguing.
In the recordings, the husband says: ‘I don’t like being with you’, ‘I’m eager to end it’ and ‘I will bury the earth under you’. 
Ji 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.’
He was also heard saying he wanted a divorce ‘the sooner the better.’
Her mother told police that Elledge was a controlling husband who would not allow Ji to have a social life and would get upset if she left the house for trips that he thought were too long. 

Defense attorneys argued during the hearing that Ji had exchanged sexually explicit messages with another person.
Elledge’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said he had no comment Thursday evening. A message left with Ji’s family attorney was not returned Thursday.
Mengqi Ji 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.
Prosecutors have speculated that Elledge strangled his wife to avoid a costly divorce and stop her from fleeing to China with their two-year-old daughter