COLUMBIA - Police confirmed Tuesday that the remains found at Rock Bridge State Park this month were those of Mengqi Ji, who went missing on October 10, 2019.
With this new evidence, the trial for Joseph Elledge, who is being held on child abuse and murder charges pertaining to this case, could completely shift gears.
Local Defense Attorney Ben Faber said this discovery could change the route the defense takes in explaining Mengqi Ji's death.
"It really (cuts) out the possibility that the defense could claim that she, for example, ran off," Faber said. "You would think that that would be kind of a natural defense when there's no body that can be used to prove that the person's actually dead."