Cover news reporter Yan Lei
If there is no accident two years ago, Ji Mengqi is just 30 years old this year, and her 3-year-old daughter can already clearly shout "Mother". Unfortunately, she couldn't hear it anymore.
In the early morning of October 8, 2019, Ji Mengqi ran away from home in the United States and then mysteriously disappeared. Her husband, Eric, was seen as his wife's killer. A few days later, Eric was suddenly interviewed, facing the camera, and he said that he hoped his wife would come home safely, and that he and the children needed her very much.
At the moment of saying these words, a strange and penetrating smile appeared on Eric's face.
On the 2nd local time, the Boone County Court, which was responsible for the trial of the case, revealed in an email replying to the cover news that the trial of this case is expected to be completed within three weeks.
【Dreaming】
Ji Mengqi was born in April 1991 in Xi'an, China. As a graduate of both small schools, she studied mechanical engineering at East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai and was given the opportunity to exchange with the University of Missouri in the United States, and went to the United States in 2012. In December 2014, she received her master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Missouri.
If she had returned to China after completing her studies, she might have become a white-collar elite in a big city, or she might have returned to her hometown of Xi'an, where she had her family and friends.
But after graduating in 2014, she changed her plans to return home from her studies and found a job at a local company specializing in medical devices.
It was during her time at this company that she met the man who changed her fate.
The man, named Eric, was also a student at the University of Missouri, five years younger than Ji Mengqi, and was an intern at Ji Mengqi's company, and Ji Mengqi happened to be responsible for taking him. The two soon began dating and got married in September 2017, and not long after the marriage, Ji Mengqi quit his job to become a full-time wife, and At this time, Eric had not yet completed his studies at the University of Missouri.
A year later, the couple's daughter was born, and Eric was only 22 years old. The disadvantages of getting married and having children early soon appeared, and soon after the birth of the daughter, the contradictions intensified day by day, and soon the marriage between the two lit up with a red light.
On October 10, 2019, Ji Mengqi's parents in Xi'an could not contact their daughter for two days. This is very abnormal for them who talk every day. Ji Mengqi's mother contacted a friend in Missouri to check it out, and the friend knocked on the door of Ji Mengqi's house while maintaining a video call with Ji Mengqi's mother, and it was Eric who opened the door, until he was questioned by his mother in the video, and he admitted that Ji Mengqi had been missing for two days.
Finally, Eric reluctantly called the police.
【Suspect】
Upon arrival at the scene, police questioned why Eric did not call the police in the first place when he found his wife missing. Eric told the police that he thought his wife might have just gone out on an errand and would come back.
Subsequently, in an interview, Eric repeatedly hinted that Ji Mengqi may have an ambiguous relationship with others, "For months she refused to kiss and hug me, and our relationship became more and more cold." ”
Surprisingly, Eric smiles strangely from time to time in this video, and uses the past tense many times when talking about Ji Mengqi.
Given Eric's whereabouts after Ji Mengqi's disappearance, police have deepened their suspicions about him. The police found that Eric's mobile phone signal appeared in several inaccessible wooded areas around Colombia on the 9th, and Eric stayed for 45 minutes near the Lamin River.
The police were therefore highly suspicious, and Eric dumped the body in the Ramin River Valley. Although the police organized police forces to search the Lamin River and its vicinity to the sky, unfortunately, they did not find anything.
More than 30 days after Ji Mengqi's disappearance, the police once again made a surprising discovery in the recording of the couple's usual dialogue.
On November 16, Prosecutors in Burn County, Missouri, broadcast several recordings of Ji Mengqi's conversation with Eric in court. During an argument, Eric yelled at Ji Mengqi, "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to bury you in the dirt!" ”
The prosecution told the judge in court that Eric was the main suspect in Ji Mengqi's disappearance, suspected of killing his wife, and that Eric had mental illnesses such as jealousy and a strong desire for control.
It is understood that Eric recorded the reasons why he hated his wife in a diary, which was named "Dissatisfaction". He also said that In another notebook, Eric recorded how he should face the media in the event of his wife's disappearance.
Eerie smile
【Searching】
According to the information at hand, the police conducted several searches, but it was difficult to find the remains of Ji Mengqi. After more than a year-long investigation, Missouri authorities briefly announced the end of the search for Ji Mengqi's body.
"We are 90 percent sure that her body is in the Raming River," said Amy Saladi, a family lawyer for Ji Mengqi, "but the searchers couldn't get to that area because there were dense trees and shrubs there." ”
If the remains are not found, it also means that the prosecution of Eric's murder charges will face many difficulties. Justice will be late, but it will never be absent.
On March 26, local time in the United States, a hiking traveler found a seriously decomposed human body in a remote area of Iwahashidate Park in Missouri, and found Ji Mengqi's driver's license and other documents around.
After receiving the alarm, the police rushed to the scene and found not only Ji Mengqi's driver's license, but also her credit card, bank card and clothing and other items. Through DNA comparison, the police finally confirmed that the remains were Ji Mengqi, who had been missing for 18 months.
On February 28, 2020, Eric was charged with the murder of his wife. Prosecutors at the time speculated that Mr. Erich killed his wife to avoid paying large alimony after the divorce and to prevent Mr. Ji from taking their two-year-old daughter to China.
While evidence kept emerging, Eric repeatedly denied the murder of his wife when confronted by police, saying it was "just an accident.". Today, Ji Mengqi's parents are still fighting with Eric's mother for custody of their daughter.
Eric appeared in court
【Hearing】
The trial of Ji Mengqi's disappearance and murder continued in the United States this week, and Eric was charged with first-degree murder. Mr. Erich's lawyer said Mr. Ji's death was a "tragic accident" caused by a fall and head-on collision while arguing with her husband.
The Boone County Court, which is in charge of the trial of the case, revealed in an email replying to the cover news on the 2nd that the selection process of the murder jury has been completed, and the isolation jury means that the jury cannot go home and must stay away from the public during the entire period of the case. The full trial is expected to be completed within three weeks.
In his opening statement, defendant lawyer Rosenblum said that on October 9, 2019, Eric and his 28-year-old wife Ji Mengqi quarreled because he believed Ji Mengqi was having an affair.
Rosenblum said Ji Mengqi pushed Eric first, and he pushed back, causing her to fall and hit her head. Ji Mengqi got up and went to bed, but the next morning, Eric found that she was dead. Rosenblum blamed Ji's death on subdural hematoma, the accumulation of blood in the brain.
Boone County Prosecutor Knight said in his opening statement that Erich was suspected of continuing to abuse his wife during the marriage, including the night of her death. Knight also said that Eric and his mother worked together to ensure that Ji Mengqi obeyed his words.
Knight told the jury they would play in court recordings of the couple's more than 9-hour arguments, some of which were recorded by Eric and others by Ji Mengqi.
The prosecution played the first recording during the trial on the afternoon of the 2nd. In the nearly hour-long recording of the phone call, Eric scolded Ji Mengqi for eating "like a pig" and repeatedly cursed her, criticizing her mother, and Ji Mengqi could be heard sobbing.
Eric also asked, "Do you want me to leave?" I'm leaving and never coming back. I'm not happy here, do you want me to get out of here? Tell me. Ji Mengqi replied, "No." ”
The legal process in this case is expected to continue for some time. Now that key evidence is constantly emerging, what awaits Eric will be the severe punishment of the law.
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