The Tree that Helped Solve a Murder | Full Episode
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2023
- When a young mother disappears, DNA from a tree helps lead to her killer. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.
#48hours #crime #mystery
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DNA from a plant just tells what kind of plant. It doesn't tell you exactly which plant. This is absurd. It's certainly not like that was the only Juniper tree in the area.
48 hours is the absolute best at telling the story. The way they write the show is outstanding and stands out above all of the rest.
@@theoryofpersonality1420Juniper trees reproduce sexually, just like mammals, so it tells you which individual plant. Learn some science. I never understand how people can be so confident in something they know absolutely nothing about and simply made up.
I'm very sure she was a very nice kind person but she used him to get her green card, to become a citizen. She's in noway an innocent person BUT killing her was evil. VERY selfish.
Isn’t it beautiful how this monster said “I conquer nature, I conquer nature by killing it” and then, the Juniper trees, beautiful nature, provided evidence which ultimately conquered him in the end, it is poetry 🌲
This! 🌲
Lovely way to see it 🌲❤
Lmao yes he was taken down by a leaf
Wow, you said that so eloquently, I didn't even think of it like that!
Too bad it’s Fake Evidence
I'm not into drugs, and would never be, but I'm always appalled that a drug user can easily get 40 years in prison, but a cold murderer would get 28 years.
I heard about an old man with 100 pot plants growing that got 30 years in prison!
🎯🎯🎯🤬🤬🤬
Ridiculous isn't it? Guy gets caught with some drugs and drug paraphernalia and gets the book thrown at him but murderers get 28 years, probably released in 20.
Cracra
That's the good ole judicial system in 'MERICA!
There is nothing more dangerous than a weak man.
OBVIOUSLY, she was NOT a good person to be with. Flirting with a stranger while having a husband and a kid? He should have taken a divorce.
@@kingpriapatius5832that man is clearly disturbed. There's no way you can justify this. He's a small man seeking power in all the wrong ways
@@wendyntswane4719Judging the victim does NOT justify the crime.
Are we still speaking English?
@@wendyntswane4719 Any arguments?
Prosecutor Dan cared so much about Mengqi and her child. He had the utmost empathy as expressed so eloquently at 39:00. So sorry to hear we have lost him. Rest in peace and thank you for fighting so brilliantly for justice.
He was a rare one, he truly cared and wanted to bring those who could not speak for themselves, justice. If there is an afterlife I hope that man went to Heaven and he could tell Mengqi personally that he brought justice for her.
My heart sank when I read your comments that Prosecutor Dan has passed away. What a great human!
Apparently it was suicide :(
I don't know why I have a feeling it was not suicide, idk. I just have this strong feeling there's more to his death...
@@Bbydoll90he probably was so haunted by all the evil he saw or maybe he suffered from mental health and took his life 😢
This guy is jealous of his wife and how smart she was. She was an amazing young lady. Poor thing!
Girl apparently it is becoming more and more obvious that men really are jealous of women. I almost thought it was not true when i first heard it but when i started watching true crime shows it became as clear as day that men REALLY ARE jealous of successful women!
Yet a cheater. Real amazing.
that's what malignant narcissists do, they can't handle someone else succeeding.
@@Elaine-br4lw Yes, but not in this case. She was his boss when they started dating. Moreover, he didn't even have the password to his wife's phone LOL. + "several" of her friends took the stand and she was cheating, but they said she didn't have anyone to turn to haha. She was toxic as you can be.
@@user-dw4cs4xv8y You don't understand the male psyche. Some guys are threatened by the idea that a woman or their wife being smarter than them and the breadwinner. It makes them feel like less of a man, it emasculates them. However, these men are extremely insecure and pathetic in my opinion.
The murderer's mother should not have that grandchild..look how the son she raised turned out.
I couldn't agree more. The grandparents in China should have received full custody.
Not to mention Mengqui’s parents’ feelings, having to communicate with the mother of the man who killed their only daughter and dump her body carelessly like she’s trash.
And the recorded conversations were anger inducing.
@@imissmybed3469 the fact that he didn't change his behavior in her presence shows she enabled him
You are so right!
Exactly, I couldn't agree more eneobande7433
I knew something was wrong with him when he didn’t want such a talented , educated woman to work. He was jealous of her
RIP, Dan Knight. You were a great man to find justice for this and many other innocent victims.
Yes he the get justice RIP 😢
So let me get this straight, the baby is being raised by the person that raised this disgusting killer???
It's pretty horrible. The Chinese grandparents should've gotten full custody. I get the feeling that they didn't really understand American law well and therefore probably didn't put up enough of a fight.
My thoughts exactly!
Yup - made my post before I read yours. That was stunning. You know they keep in contact with their murderer son. This girl will grow up with that. Stunning, simply stunning. I don't care how "good" they are - that's not the point. They have no right to that child.
America. It's not shocking.
@@jenna-a-gogo The grandparents on both sides might believe his disgusting lies. And I don't understand how his mother can sleep at night knowing that she was told about the controlling nature of her son and did nothing to help.
28 yrs?! Ridiculous! It’s absolutely disgusting that the mother of a killer would be allowed to keep the child. God knows what lies she’s feeding the kid.
Exactly my thoughts! How could they?? is it because she’s and American citizen? I had to comfort myself around that thought !
The mother appeared to speak truth into her son's life. She shouldn't be held accountable for his sins...especially since she didn't appear to show signs of enabling him.
I am glad the grandparents on both sides are trying to show unity and peace in raising the child. The child already has to deal with enough turmoil and discord with being separated from her parents and the horrible circumstances surrounding the reason why.
Be well and be at peace.
How did she not enable him. Notice how chill she was when he was talking if he should have smacked etc his mother in law. She barely only said “you don’t want to go there”. Even just the fact she want to keep the child
@@eraldadevole Going ballistic doesn't help when you are already dealing with crazy. You also don't know what else was said.. this is an edited show.
Be well and be at peace.
@@Kizzyfranthe bigger issue is likely that the girl is not a Chinese citizen. China doesn't have dual citizenship. It may be impossibly difficult for her to get Chinese citizenship, and if course she would have to surrender American citizenship. It's not like being a dual Irish American citizen. That's just not how it works there.
When you raise your sons like they are the main characters of the universe and everyone else are just the supporting cast, this is what you get. This sorry excuse for a man doesn't even see his wife as a person. The more she succeeds, the more he hates her. Pathetic.
Love how you put this!!
And his enabling mother gets majority custody of her granddaughter. The mother of a murderer raising the child of the woman he killed! Disgusting.
@@NefariousEvildoertruly turns my stomach but I'm grateful to know she will get to spend a good deal of time with her mother's parents still I think it works out in a way
You have NO idea how she raised her son. None. This guy is a GROWN MAN. HE is responsible for his actions. His mother was not and isn't on trial. It's easy to spew these things out of anger- but ultimately none of us know how he was raised. We are our own person.
We all have a blueprint to who we are. Also, some parents can't fathom the fact that they have a kid who did this. Assumptions of a person does not make it true.
@@linamarie84aren't you also assuming she IS a good person? She certainly displayed enabling behavior of him , and downplayed the death of her granddaughter's mother in the sentencing hearing. Better for the child the dice is not rolled either way, just because you want the benefit of doubt given to the rich white parent of murderer. If there's even a 1/1000 chance she enabled this man, why play the odds for the baby when the maternal grandparents have done nothing wrong. They only raised a smart, successful kind daughter who wasn't a MURDERER.
When they said she passed up a job of a lifetime after grueling through grad school to become a stay at home mom i broke a little inside silently screaming "nooooooo !"
This shed a tiny light on the struggle of the immigrants in our world-especially women. He also used that to terrify her. How all that evidence and audio recordings of his threats weren't overwhelming evidence of premeditated (also his scripts!) I don't know. If it had been the woman, life in prison!
@@respectpleasethankyouactually, women normally get lesser sentence for the same crimes. This might have something to do with race. He was white, she was Asian and a foreigner. These things can cause bias.
If he was a normal person, they could have been a good couple making bank. Imagine, grandma helping and couple working. That would be great!
@@ivanelisua8089 many do not appreciate grandparents
Imagine sharing custody of your granddaughter with the same parent who asked for leniency for your daughter’s murderer. Wow! This was so sad and unnecessary.
Unfortunately, the child's only opportunity to live and be educated in the country of her birth, her natural citizenship, is to live with the paternal grandparent. The maternal grandparents will have several months every year to expose the child to the truth of who they are, and who her mother was. In that way, a kind of balance is struck. She will love all her grandparents and know when she's old enough to understand that her father killed her mother. She'll have all the evidence she needs to really know the truth.
@@jeanvigneswhy give the child to parents that raised a murderer?
@@jeanvignessadly enough, she’ll be around the same age as her mother when that murderer is released from jail.
So sad 😢
So so sad
What an amazing lawyer Dan Knight is, absolutely giving his all for this poor woman's justice. 28 years still not enough for this despicable man. What a loser!
Dan Knight is deceased unfortunately
@@Elaine-br4lw Very sad he was depressed and committed suicide. He was a great prosecutor in this case and I'm sure through his whole career. He cared. RIP
@@sigiloXXX I'm so sorry to hear that, but must add, in our minds he will live forever, because of his work. I'm sure the families who's lives he touched will also remember him very fondly. It's just so sad.
@@Elaine-br4lw Thanks for letting us know about this very sad news. I just wanted to compliment him on a great job, then I read your comment, and it just stopped me in my tracks. May he R.I.P.
@@TheSybil47 it was a shock to me too when I heard the news of how he died.
So proud of the prosecutor, our justice system and the forensic folks. They secured justice for the poor girl and her powerless, traumatized parents who didn’t have the means to pursue this case. Bless you Mr. Knight🙏
The grandmother raised a monster - now she gets another chance to fail horribly!! Madness!!!
When both parties start secretly recording each other for hours on end you know it's a deeply unhealthy relationship.
Super creepy.
@@MothGirl007Not necessarily creepy, maybe out of necessity.
@@nathanwilliams9176thank you
That's when you know there just might be trust issues happening...
It's advisable especially with children involved if you're concerned with an abusive partner getting custody of the kids.
Shocking that not only did this disgusting worm get 28 years instead of life, but his parents get to keep the child for most of the year. The same parents that already had a chance but raised and enabled an insecure ground worm for a son. His mother is enabling and will likely turn Mengqi's daughter against her mom and her mom's parents. This is beyond infuriating!
Totally I feel so sick about the outcome
That’s the truth😢
In February 2022 he pleaded guilty to child abuse, child endangerment and domestic violence. He received and additional 10 years - to be served consecutively! He was 26 when sentenced, +28 + 10 = 64 years old. Sleep well.
The issue is that the maternal grandparents are in China not in US. Otherwise, that would not have been a problem. It is so unfortunate that it is the way it is.
@@RLU-wt8vi 50000 DOLLARS PER YEAR TO KEEP HIM ALIVE TIMES 32 YEARS = ALMOST 2 MILLION DOLLARS FROM OUR TAXES...SLEEP WELL
It’s comforting to know that even though she was out there in the cold amongst nature that the juniper trees were protecting her and were leading people to protect her child
Major props to Dan Knight for his work in prosecuting this evil person. As a Columbia resident, I’m happy to see this story being told. Rest in Peace, Dan!
10 minutes into this and I knew that husband was threatened by his wife’s success and her intelligence. Unfortunately there are so many people in our world like him. Such a horrible situation for this wife and baby.
yep literally controlled her life cuz she didnt have "green card". Sad reality
I hate that they gave the daughter to the mother, who was a complete enabler of his abhorrent behavior.
There’s no worse omen in a relationship than a person who feels hurt by their partner’s success.
I don't know. It takes two. I don't condone what he did by any means but if he was in love with her and the child and she was lying to him and using him for a green card..
@niraku321 where did you get that she was lying to him? I think she was In love with him but he showed his true colors when they got married and he knew she needed him in order to stay in the US. And of course she would want to stay! they already had a baby together!
Listening to Joe’s mother “mediate” and stay “neutral” while Joe is describing how he wanted to slap and hurt Mengqi’s mother in front of Mengqi is quite telling and indicative of how he must have been raised to feel entitled and safe to express whatever selfish emotion he was feeling and not feel the slightest remorse. If I was his mother and he started talking like that to the mother of his child, I would have stopped him right there. Hold your sons accountable and stop raising these narcissistic monsters.
Likewise, that was one of the most disturbing moments, that he would even feel comfortable to talk that way in front of his mother. I would knock the head off of my 23 year old son if he EVER disrespected his elder such as Joe did!
@@Empress1014_you would be a murderer too then if yu knock somebody's head off....
And how immature he is.
@@akagetobimaru1994🤡
This is what happens when you don't make your children take responsibility for their actions and make excuses for them, sick! I've seen it too many times
What a spoiled brat. He quit to go back to school, and she is "Just a woman". She got a baby and got her mom to help her, and he "didn't want her there". He had too much time on his hand. He should have been out working to support his family and studying at the same time to evolve and be with his child as much as possible instead of looking at his mother in law using the chopping board in the wrong way... What a spoiled brat.
The recordings of his constant barrages against her and her mother, clearly shows a man that is abusive to women. He expected her to be submissive at all times, he showed no respect whatsoever to her and mother, he threatened her with deportation whenever it suited him, he killed her and actively took steps to bury her in a shallow grave. If all these do not point to a cold blooded murderer, then what is the use of the justice system?
His mother should be ashamed, asking for a “break” for the monster she raised? “It’s so out of his character…” Please. He even abused his own daughter & definitely deserved a life sentence, disgusting.
Tootie, yes, the murderer's mother saying it was out of character for her son to be violent when he was plainly, terribly abusive verbally proves she has no ability to raise his little girl. Courts and the public have to get wise to coercion in relationships, how dangerous it is, and how fundamentally unequal. (For his mother to take the position that she could and should be non-judgemental and even-handed between her son and Mengqi shows how ignorant she was about this offensive, dangerous behavior. Lundy Bancroft is an expert on this man's personality type and has several good books on the subject. Women, educate yourselves. We can protect ourselves with knowledge!)
Thank you!!!!! They should have never given her custody.
Still trying to figure out how the mother can say it was out of character for him when she was called to the house to mediate his violent temper. He expressed his desire to hurt her in front of the mother. She should be the one with summer visits and her parents should have primary custody.
@@kickrockspleze Yes! She should be the one with the summer visits...if at all! (And he expressed his desire to hurt the wife in front of the mother??! I missed that. For God's sake! That someone so blind should have custody of another child -- and likely to mess it up again! -- is a terrible mistake.)
@@kickrockspleze Yup!!
The fact his parents have her daughter is sickening. Nothing worse than knowing the murderer still gets to see his child after murdering her mother.
One thing I will say is that immigrant parents are desperate to get their children to a better life. She went MISSOURI university of all places just because it was in the US. Her parents most likely don’t want their grand daughter to have to grow up in china.
Oh yes, I absolutely agree with you user-dz9ex5dh6q !
@@leahwilson9152 yea i totally agree. I just wish he didnt get to see his child especially if her mother cant because of his actions.
@@leahwilson9152lol. It's not like her life in China was that bad. She might still be alive if she stayed in China.
@@leahwilson9152😊⁰😅
He is a true misogynist. It is awful for his parents to have her for most of the year because they raised her mothers killer. I am shocked by the short term in prison.
She was an abuser
There needs to be laws against allowing parents or immediate family members of the convicted murderer of the child's mother to ever have custody of the child.
I agree. I hope someone will work on it o make it happen.
Joe has zero remorse. What a tremendous loss of a brilliant young lady. May she rest in peace
This case infuriates me! Haven’t been this angry over a case in a long time
Guaranteed that clown only talked down to women…. Dude is gonna get his face scramble in prison if he talks to any man like that
the amount of contempt he had for others makes me sick, how he thought himself as so much more important and smarter than others. The whole time this case was going on, he was so smug and arrogant.
Sounds like she never loved him but was scamming him for her true love interest in China? I feel for child.
Zero remorse and zero moral.
What a disgusting person, he just reeks of insecurity. He wanted a wife he could bully and demean to make himself feel better. I’m just concerned where he learned to treat women like that and that his enabling mother will try to make sure the daughter continues to have contact with him.
Of course she's making sure the daughter has contact with him. They're probably at the prison on visitation day every time! Ugh! Makes me sick that the mothers parents did not get custody of the baby because "they fear for the child's safety if it moves back to china"! A billion ppl live safely in China. She is Chinese and her mother and grandparents are Chinese she should be with her people. Not the parents of her mothers murderer. Imagine living with those ppl.
so true and also his eyes are so creepy+one can see the crazy in them
yes he reminds me of a sociopath like Chris Watts
You would figure they already raised one murderer,why should they get another chance to raise another baby.
@@Elaine-br4lw exactly!
I think Mengqi's parents should have gotten full custody of their granddaughter, I don't think his mother deserves to raise that child at all, personally
I want to cry like I knew her. Her sweet sweet spirit shines through in every way.
That paternal grandmother did NOTHING to correct her son. She should NOT have that child. That child is STILL in danger.
I definitely agree with you!
Came here to the comments to say the same. That child should be with the maternal grandparents, period! It just makes my stomach turn that the same parent who raised such a monster is raising their child? WTF?!?! My jaw literally flew open when I heard the custody arrangement. And only 28 years for that POS?!?! Just disgusting.
@@TheKissyfer Oh yes, I know, I completely agree with you on everything that you said! 😐
The mother knew her son's behaviour...wtf is wrong with people and ignorance
Mengqi’s daughter should go back to Mengqi’s parent.
It’s staggering how much pain 1 psychopath can cause.
Most likely a malignant narcissist, but yeah, it is disgusting.
Well said.
@@waynepolo6193this. Joe wishes he was a smooth talking psychopath.
@@waynepolo6193 Interesting.
Of course no one who only watched this show could diagnose this scumbag, but I was wondering what made you lean malignant narc over psychopath?
@@touchofdumb Well, take for example his absolute loathing at Meng-Qi's mom's presence, as well as at them speaking "privately" in Mandarin. Narcissists are deeply fragile people and, in their minds, if you aren't praising them, you're criticizing them. I expect he truly was paranoid that they were insulting him behind his back.
He also would have hated her having any kind of outside support system. Narcissists, paradoxically, need external supply/validation, while knowing that they would be judged negatively for the ways they go about getting and sustaining it. That's why isolation is the first step in the abuser's playbook: they're afraid of their victims ever figuring out that they can do better.
Psychopaths, on the other hand, don't actually need what's called Narcissistic Supply in their day-to-day lives. Their interpersonal manipulation is purely for their own entertainment. They do it because they can, not because they need to.
Casey Anthony might be a good example. Narcissists are in a constant battle against their own inner shame. They lie to avoid having to feel it. Someone like Casey Anthony is simply incapable of feeling it at all. There is no shame, no empathy, and no remorse in her actions. She lies and manipulates purely to continue on doing whatever she feels she should be allowed to do.
I hope when I become a grandparent I can spend 100 days caring for the new baby and helping the family... What a lovely tradition! ❤️
imagine being that child. my heart goes out to her.
This story is heart breaking. She had so much potential and was severely abused by this low life of a man. As an immigrant I have learned that I should never resign from work much less for a relationship. That's usually the beginning of a downward spiral. He should have faced the death penalty. I have never been so touched by a story. Rest well girl.
I’m also an immigrant on F1. My story resonates with hers so much. When the narrator said her Visa was about to expire and she got married within 2 weeks. I totally understood her anxiety and desperation.
I know that marriage visas eliminate a lot of our immigration problems but I just ask God for discernment. To know who’s meant to be in our lives.
That man was so manipulative. To dangle the ‘deportation’ word like that
The death penalty isn't the answer. It's a way out.
@@pascalemwavaga9583there really needs to be more protection for immigrants (especially women) in these marriages. They are so at risk. We spend all this money to catch a murderer like him, but what if we spent that to prevent these murders in the first place? We need to decide to do what we can to stop predators like him before they can hurt vulnerable people.
. Bbvo9🎉😂🎉
😅
J
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I'm concerned about the baby, clearly the mom was an enabler for this monster behavior. The girl should have gone to her grandparents in China.
It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about that baby being raised by that woman that raised that monster. The baby should be with the Chinese grandparents. The Chinese grandma never got her traditional 100 days with her its so sad
I can't imagine losing my only child and only being able to see my only grandchild a few months of the year. And the other months of the year, she is being raised by the mother of my daughter's murderer. I wish the courts gave Mengqi's parents sole custody, but if its the same court system that only gave that monster 28 years....sole custody probably wasn't an option. And god yes the 100 days custom, they should be able to make up for the lost days by taking care of her for the rest of her life.
Absolutely she should have, so called judges are disgusting and evil.
@@furball192 I know, how horrible for the Grandparents in China, they deserve to have full custody of their Grandaughter!
@@pixelk8261 I completely agree!
28 years is a slap in the face
the 48 hrs music always gives me goosebumps 😭
As an east asian woman I've always been aware of men having these weird power fantasies for having a "subservient wife". And when that fantasy doesn't play out irl they go ballistic. And to use immigration issues to gain leverage over someone is disgusting. This is terrible. RIP
OMG This is exactly what I thinking, just from the intro! Things he said like "she wouldn't listen very well" gives me goosbumps.
This is exactly what I can’t help but think when I see a problematic white
man with a very submissive Asian woman (or even man in this case…)
That guy was sicko u can read his face
But this shouldn’t be news to the Asian community….especially women.
Then you can stay in china
I have concerns about Joe’s mother raising that child. She didn’t seem to do very well raising her self absorbed, abusive, murderous son.
They're going to brainwash that little girl and to thinking her dad is a great man who mistakenly killed her mother Because you know it was out of character for him to do so
We are all worried. That woman should not get another chance to raise a human because of how bad she messed the first one up
And how do you know how she raised him? Plenty of murders were "raised right" in loving homes, and they still ended up being terrible human beings.
@@lisa8351in the “mediation” recordings, his mother heard him threatening both his wife and his mother in law and sounded completely unfazed. I don’t know how a parent could just be neutral listening to their adult child abuse their spouse, especially if they hadn’t raised them to behave that way.
@@mikalin9286EXACTLY 👏🏼. It’s Honestly disgusting how people can think what that “mom” did was right. Thats not a parent. She heard his pathetic attempt to threaten and control his wife…. I would’ve set my son straight right then and there… and had him get therapy as well as marriage counseling so he could learn from an unbiased person, the way he treats his precious wife is DISGUSTING 🤮. And if he refused… I would’ve offered my home to my daughter in law and granddaughter, to live their happy with family indefinitely. That’s what REAL family does.
Pinching your daughter is inexcusable. He was abusive with all females; children, his own children, his mother-in-law, his wife. He should have gotten life without parole.
Amen! 😢Mengchi was a tower of power! 😅
Hearing his voice the way he talks. So disheartening to experience something like this and hear someone else experience it. Monster.
This is awful. He took a smart, brilliant young mother from this world and used Deportation against her. Real men would've loved a woman like her. RIP 🙏
My ex husband tried to deported me during divorce to find out that I became US citizen without anyone approval. I had a green card for many years and he didn’t want me to apply. You should see his face when he couldn’t do nothing to me .
@mariapilarme I'm glad you were able to get away from him, no one deserves to have their nationality used against them. Thank you for staying strong 💪
As a European who’s married to an American I remember when I first moved to the States they gave me all these information on how to apply for help and support in case of abuse in the relationship. The Custom officer told me there’s many case of broken relationships which ends up in domestic violence so I had so many contacts of agencies available to help women. I wish she knew what her rights where even as a none citizen! Of course I knew my husband wasn’t like that as we have been together for 12 years before I decided to move to the US with him but it was comforting know I had resources available to me incase I ever needed as I had no family or friends there.
@@mariapilarmeOh wow that's messed up sorry you went through that 🫤 I'm a born American and so is my dad but my mom isn't (she's from Austria a country near Germany) and even though my parent's marriage before they divorced was a toxic and unhappy one before my mom got her American citizenship my dad NEVER threatened my mom with deportation the thought never even crossed his mind. Not only is it morally wrong but my dad's side immigrated to America not too long ago too and not unless a person is full Native American everyone in America is either an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants so the logic behind bashing other immigrants makes no sense to me 🤷🏻♀️
I was also on the process of getting a green card with my ex, and let me tell ya. It didn’t matter what I did, or how much I forgave and got over his cheating, he would always threaten with divorce because he knew it would wreck my status.
I was also the one with a steady job and career at the time.
Men who have nothing like to use what ever little power they have to control a woman.
Really sad the prosecutor killed himself less than 6 months later. You could see his passion while he was cross examining him. He put everything he had left to win that case. He is the hero of this story.
Yes, stewmeat9261, I agree!
We can all tell Dan worked tirelessly for this case and there seem to be a certain sadness in his eyes when he speaks....we lost a great man, RIP Sir 💔
is it true that he killed himself??
@@loriecanlas8557yes, i Googled it and it so sad
@@loriecanlas8557yes. Very sad.
This power dynamic between immigrant and host is pretty much the same across everywhere. I was abused for an entire year by my employer in Japan and had to just wait it out until I got my permanent residence. I of course had no one to talk to about my problems because I was afraid my employer would find out about it and contact the immigration office.
Lord please heal these parents pain over the unspeakable loss of such a beautiful, smart and seemingly sweet young lady.
I watch tons of these but for some reason this one truly broke my heart.
Rest in Peace, Dan 👼
This was Prosecutor Dan Knight's final case before he passed away soon after at age 55. I can't help but imagine that dealing with seeing all the horrid details of the crimes he fought to bring justice to was a big factor in his sad decision. May he rest in peace and be remembered as a valiant soldier in our war against crime.
Wait, he took his own life? That's incredibly sad. :( And yes, he seemed to be incredibly empathic so I can only imagine what dealing with all those horrible cases must have been like for him.
omg it can’t be true that he took his own life😭😣
Yes, that was terrible news, I thought that Dan was a phenomenal Prosecution Lawyer! I was proud of him and of his work!
He seemed very emotional at the trial, tbh.
That's horrible. He seemed very intellectual and thorough. May he rest in peace.
What a tragic senseless loss, he really tried to control and dominate her. What a low blow to call her stupid, he was obviously threatened by her incredible intelligence. Rest in peace beautiful woman.
I watch all the 48 Hour episodes and this one was really sad.
@@digby_dooright truly is 😞
I agree with you SnowFamilyOf4
Yeh, they met cos she was his supervisor 😢
Yess! 😉that part*stood out to me too.Apperntly.. he couldn't understand why somebody so brilliant ..would be with such a loser...?( probably) 🧐
And I suppose also for the reason in her own handwriting of why she couldn't leave was because emotional and mental abuse takes a toll on your whole being 😢 add in the factors of the child in the immigration status (probably) 😢she felt hopeless and trapped.
I'm hoping the baby will ultimately end up with mengi's family full time🎉🎉🎉
How can you allow the parents, who raised a killer, to raise a victim's baby? WTF!
Another antisocial narcissist, who made it his goal to make himself look and feel better about himself by charming his boss, who was smarter, prettier and better than he, into the marriage, and then annihilating her when he couldn't keep her under his foot. It's a typical example of malignant NPD behavior with APD features. She looks like such a beautiful, good person, and a good mother, from a good, respectful family, who taught her well. Except, they didn't know how to teach her to protect herself against the evil of antisocial personality of her murderer, abuser of not only her, but of her baby girl.
How could the law reward HIS mother with the custody of that baby? How can his mother say it was "out of his character"? Everything he recorded about himself is manipulation and flat out abuse.
That child should not EVER be allowed to be with that boys’ mother. She came that day and didn’t take sides although her son was being openly hostile and abusive to her daughter in law. It’s mothers like her that raise evil children like her son!!
Yes! This 100%
Yes, food vibes. That mother listened to her son being hateful and disrespectful and said nothing to him about it. If he had been my son, you can bet I'd be coming down on him, but then again, I would have beat that out of him years before! No doubt Joe learned that violence and disrespect at home, and the mother was treated the same way.
The child is an American citizen. If Mengqi's parents want to fight for full custody, move to the US.
@@barbarapaige Physical punishment is abuse. You think that is better than lack of response/failure to address a problem?
@@MrCityslickerktm US citizens or not, his mom is NOT the only option! A murderer's parent who had proof of enabling such violent nature, should NOT be qualified to raise another child, even her own! Adoption or foster care is a BETTER option! Or, just give temporary visas to the mom's parents to come to the US and take care of the baby, if Muricans like you INDEED care SO MUCH about the child's US citizenship and well-being 🙃
Out of character?!? This mother is ridiculous
Yes, it's clear that how he treated his wife and his mother-in-law that he's a misogynist.
That mother is not the sharpist knife in the drawer!
This hit so close to home, as a woman migrant living in a foreign country, married to a man who's at home here. I'm so sorry Mengqi and little daughter ❤ May she have a great life.
ain't no one looking so well-rested when talking to the media about their missing wife, unless they're the culprit
His mother was an enabler.
Yes!! Please,' Justice needs REMOVE the baby from her.
“You are still just a woman,” “I AM God!” “I will get you deported!” I hope he keeps this rhetoric in prison, we’ll see how far it will get him. Too bad maternal grandparents aren’t raising the baby.
I believe a lot of that is due to Chinese law. This child is not a citizen, therefore legally it's not an option in this scenario.
@@cb3514 If the mom is Chinese citizen, and the child is fully being raised in China by her Chinese grandparents. They can submit to make her a Chinese citizen, as long as the child gives up her US citizen. It has been done before.
I know right!
@walden6272
Make non sense whatsoever, to give up her citizenship over her Chinese citizenship..
Her America 🇺🇸 citizenship is her future up ahead
@@ingodwetrustdellaware-inc8322 no
Rest in peace, prosecutor, Dan Knight. It showed you had passion, empathy, and poured your heart into this case to help the victim and her family. Dan Knight passed away at 55 years young. I will pray for your holy soul.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was one of the cases that caused Dans demise 😢
Wow. I am glad there's closures in this case . I fell sad for the baby.
Prosecutor Daniel Knight died by suicide. Gunshot to the head on June 4th, 2022. Soon after the resolution of this case. A brilliant and honorable man who held this murderer accountable. A great loss to our society. How incredibly sad 💔 RIP, Mr. Knight and thank you for your service. ❤
You can't help but think poor Daniel Knight was severely affected and exhausted by this case. He poured his heart and soul into this case, yet the jury only gave him 28 years. The injustice of that sentence maybe had David despairing of the system that could so easily give injustice to this beautiful woman who never got to see her daughter grow up.
SUICIDE IS PREVALENT EVERYWHERE..IM NOT SURPRISED
😮😢
Awful. :(
😭😭😭 I hope it's not true that he died by suicide.....
So the mother who raised this monster will be primary parent this innocent child of a wonderful mother? Just absolutely heinous! Her parents needed professional guidance in this case.
He hated her because she was so clever and she had a good job! He couldn't stand that she spoke her mind and made her decisions!! He was brought up to mistreat women in every possible way, like probably his dad did to his mum.
Hope he rots in jail and suffers so badly, he wishes he weren't born.
Rest in peace beautiful lady! ❤
It is unfair that her baby was in the custody of her hsuband's parents.
Sad to learn that the Prosecutor died of suicide… I personally don’t know him but you can tell he worked tirelessly on this case… RIP to both..
I can only imagine the horrors he witnessed. It's tragic he didn't get help.
Oh no ,:( I didn’t know that ..He really fought so hard for for this amazing young women to get justice!
Where did yoi find that info?
@@mariadanicalim5118 you can google his name and find the news
ABC 17 News obtained the Columbia Police Department's investigation into Knight's June death through an open records request. The case, which the department closed on Nov. 17, determined the 55-year-old prosecutor died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
RIP Dan Knight. You were an amazing prosecutor for this case and truly did so much to bring justice and respect to Mengqi and her family. The story of this case was already so sad but to see that last bit at the end made it even sadder.
❤ agreed he was a great prosecutor that truly cared
He died? I only got to know him recently how unfortunate. May his soul rest in peace. 😢😢
RIP Dan Knight
@@jijiqt yes, he killed himself.
We didn't deserve him. Earth is now the devil's playground.
Thank you for this documentary. Hope the daughter will find the truth when she grows up.
we should always, always take abuse seriously. people can start as very kind and charming, and once you are trapped by new baby, no job, move to a new area, and so on - then the verbal abuse starts. verbal abuse can and does move to psychological and physical violence. we should always listen and take these claims seriously.
People fail to realize that EVERY Person, Plant, and Animal has their own unique DNA that differs from others of the same species.
They won't after watching this.
Thankfully there are highly educated people such as yourself to teach the rest of us.
@@misterx-gy3fg You don't have to be "Highly educated" to understand DNA. DNA is constantly changing with every replication of a living thing.
Keep putting 48 hours on CZcams! I love them all!
❤
Right.!!!
me too. Im watching while working lol
Yesss
RIP prosecutor knight. Your job on this case appreciated!
This is the most interesting 48 Hours episode I have ever seen!!! It's so amazing how much the investageters can find!
9:15 - "It is really foreign concept for American citizens to understand the stress that an immigrant faces. She is fully capable of supporting herself financially, but she cannot get this greencard. So this really changes the power dynamic in a marriage."
So true! especially for Chinese and Indian citizens who are waiting for decades while immigrants from rest of the world get it in an year or so.
Oh give over. Every immigrant has the same issues. If you’re from a third world country or “hostile” country, it’s generally difficult.
Bless that translator. Who communicated back and forth with Mengqi’s parents. I know it had to be hard to be the one to tell them that her body was found 😢
I was in the same situation as Mengqi. After my ex tried to choke me to death, I ran away and never saw him again. I don't think many immigrants know there is a law that you don't need your husband‘s sponsor to get a green card. You get married to an American citizen, and if he abuses you, you can leave and still get a green card. I did not find out about this law until I had to hide in a shelter from my ex and and I spoke with a lawyer who helped me later. My ex had given me plenty of verbal and physical abuses and they still bother me today
so u came to America for Green Card lol
I hope you find peace and in a better place now. Praying for your safety and success ❤
@@jasingh774 More than green card, but green card first for sure. I saw too many cases in last ten years, especially for chinese females.
@@jasingh774 He obviously married a vulnerable woman whose existence in a foreign country depended on him, to abuse her and control her. Your comment is disgusting.
Tell us why your family came to America, @@jasingh774
Perfectly summarised thank you 🙏 for your insight ❤❤❤
She was not unable to leave the relationship because of her immigration status...she could not leave because she was trauma bonded in a narcissistic cycle of abuse. It is difficult to understand, and difficult to escape.
This case really broke my heart . I come from an asian country moved to europe after getting married to my husband who is european. From time to time my parents would come visit and stay for months at a time. My husband loves and respects my parents just as his own, and he knows how much i love them. This poor poor woman deserved way better than this monster. RIP Mengqi. Hope her parents find peace and wish her child a happy future.
I want to ask respectfully, why do many Asian women go for white men when they come to the US/UK? There are plenty of successful and cultured Asian men here that they can choose from. I see so many stories like hers, it made me wonder why. Of course, this can happen with any race, but Asians are already seen as sub-humans and Asian women are stereotyped as submissive and "Easy", so why not marry someone who can understand them better?
@@PurpleFlowerwork I’m Asian. In my opinion it is about the politics and support from government. In my country, even you pay taxes or work your whole life, you wouldn’t get enough pension or support when you get older or getting sick. So it kinda like an opportunity to work somewhere else and married to foreigners are the good chance. Just my opinion.
@@PurpleFlowerwork thanks for asking respectfully, i will answer as honest as possible, but this is me, i cant speak for everyone. From my experience, asian men have impossible beauty standards that i cannot meet. Im not light skinned nor skinny nor pretty enough for them. I was 28 when i started outsourcing lol (never had a boyfriend before) because i wanted to get married and start a family so bad. I got introduced to my husband whom i found out later on felt the same way about women from his country. We clicked right away because we share the same values, morals, standards, visions. We work on cultural differences quite easily, it shoule be easy when you respect and love each other Weve been married for 12 years now.
nobody loves their in-laws like their own 😂 stop it
@@hawj1212 i do love my mother in law as my own because she treats me like her own daughter. Just because you never experience love like that doesnt mean its the same for everyone you silly😁😁😁
I'm so livid. Joe's mother saying that it was out of character for him to do the things he did to Mengqi?!! Woman, were you not there where he proceeded to verbally abuse both his mother-in-law and wife? It got so bad, Mengqi had to call her down 2 hours away for mediation. Where he talked down to them and had the mother-in-law go on her knees before him and apologize to him for something she doesn't even know what for. We all know he was just picking a petty fight with her to get her out of the home. That sort of behavior doesn't come from no where. She had to have witnessed this despicable behavior as he was growing up. She can't pretend that it doesn't exist. And now she has Mengqi's daughter in her custody?! I'm just speechless.
My abusive ex boyfriend mother is this way she swears she just can't for the life of her understand why he's that way Ohhhh BS!!! Literally enables him by running to his saving grace even after he has beaten a helpless woman she bails him out, sends him money etc and somehow can't fathom why he always wants his way These mothers of narcs are FULL OF IT 🤬
The fact she'd go on TV to say these things as well...Even if I thought that, I would come on TV and be nothing but apologetic.
I'm very concerned for the child. 😢
A sign of a mother who sees her little prince being perfect and not the reality of what he is.
@@brkctrlA mother without an ounce of integrity.
Thank you, I thought I was going mad. Her pacifying and enabling him is part of the reason he is how he is. Let’s give them the child as they did such a great job with the father. 🙄
Such a beautiful lady. It was unfortunate that she lost her life prematurely.
How do you accidentally break someones ribs.. I hope the daughter gets away from this side of this sick family unharmed physically and mentally
The Jury was spineless. That fool deserved the max.
and at the very least... 40 years minimum. he should've got Elwopped (LWOP)
95 years for all that he done!
@@keith6032 Yes, at least 1 year for every year he deprived Menqqi Ji of. At least 50 years behind bars.
Kudos to the prosecutor for fighting all the way through. We lost a good man when he died.
28 years and his mother gets to raise the child? What a great country we live in.
So after getting caught on a recording emotionally abusing and threatening her, lying about her running off, lying about having no clue where she is, and then getting caught red handed at the burial site where she was found--suddenly he thinks people will believe his claims that actually she attacked him and he was the victim? That seems extremely farfetched, bro.
He is an extremely violent man. Pretty sure his mom knows it as well. He doesn't respect women. You can tell by how he treats the females in his life. Abused even his daughter. I hope he never gets "his greencard" out of prison.
As someone who has been around people like Joe, it is clear in his mother's pulled back tone and agreement with him as he is ranting about Mengqi Ji, that his mom is use to those kinds of outbursts. People try to agree in hopes the yelling will stop and the angry person will find another focus.
That is what I noticed. Her reaction was so chill while he was saying terrible things. She just said “you don’t want to go there”
It's disgusting. His mom definitely knows. I can't believe his mom said she would stay neutral during the argument. Sickening that she gets to raise the child.
@@juliaalexandria3352I said the same thing!!! It's not fair for her to gain this beautiful child
@@Negresse.La. Exactly! It's completely unfair and very scary that it was even an option.
She was way too good for this loser. He is just another misogynistic little man who couldn’t handle the fact that she was a much better person in all aspects of life. And I agree that his parents’ influence on the daughter is likely to be negative as clearly they did a really bad job with Jo. What a sad and unnecessary death. RIP beautiful girl xx
She wasn't a great person morally though. She used him for a greencard and then cheated on him! That's not moral or good behaviour. She's not a Saint.
So.... falling in love with a citizen and marrying him for love is equivalent to using him for a green card?
@@Lotsielots better then him thats for sure
The jury should’ve given a sentence of how many more years that poor woman would’ve been alive which would’ve been much more than 28 years. It’s not enough time. I hope he drops the soap several times a day in prison.
A lawyer who defend a criminal have a speciall place in hell
Rip Dan Knight 🙏 you went above and beyond and made sure justice was served! Rip to the mother who lost her live tragically in the hands of the monster who was suppose to protect her!
very sad that he took his own life.
@Elaine-br4lw omg did he? Bless him! He must have gone through a lot to get to that level of ending his live! Thanks so much for sharing this. X
@@Elaine-br4lwOh my god 😢. So sad to hear this…
How long after this case did he die? I would imagine that seeing everything that people do to others in his line of work could take a toll. You never know what a person may be going through. He got justice for this beautiful, smart woman. I only wish the jury would have given the murderer more time.
So sad for a man who sees that justice is served to all wrong doers.... Yet no one can help him with his own turmoils. R. I. P Dan.
That monster wanted a wife that he could abuse and isolate. His wife was an amazing woman and mother who stood up for herself until the very end. RIP sweet angel.
My heart goes out to her family. A bright future ahead of her, and if her husband had a hand in taking her life, he is where he belongs. He treated his mother in law horrible and he had a darkness in him that couldn't be hidden in the eyes. His eyes had no light in them.
My deepest sympathies to all of the loved ones. So sad and unfortunate. 🤲🏾💔
I know everyone’s entitled to a defense, but defense lawyers truly are the worst. Knowing that these people are murderers and defending them anyway. I could never.
There are different ways to do it. Defense attorneys can do their jobs competently by raising doubt and questioning the sufficiency of the evidence, but they don’t have to smugly parrot every transparent line of BS their client says. In fact, they’re not supposed to.
Defense attorneys aren’t the worst. Defense attorneys like THIS one are the worst. He needs to get off his high horse and stop blowing smoke.
Agreed! But regardless even murders have rights
You may think that, because of the job they have to do. I'm a former paralegal, and the defense attorneys I worked with (and had to hire one once) were among the most decent guys in the legal profession. Every citizen in the U.S. is entitled to a vigorous defense, and if you or I were wrongly accused/convicted of a crime, we'd be entitled to the best legal representation there is. While we may hate what they do, it's there for us too. (Also, it's no secret that the suicide rate in this profession is disturbingly high.)
Defense attorneys are such a necessity no matter how much you dislike their purpose. We all know that many individuals are falsely accused and ultimately tried for crimes they did not commit. If not for the defense, who is supposed to bring light to the truth? They must go through the process, all while understanding that many of their clients are guilty. They are also well aware that many are innocent, too. This unfortunate scenario is the reason you will see prosecutors step to the "dark side" and change their entire purpose. They've had to try cases where defendants were completely innocent. Vice versa, this also occurs. The undeniable truth in this is that both positions are a necessity in society.
What happened to the old adage doctors & lawyers should not be lied to! So, evidently, lawyers who defend the guilty know they're guilty. Treacherous liars!
RIP Mr. Daniel Knight. you did a great job in giving justice to this beautiful and amazing Mother whose life was cut short by her evil husband. she didn't deserve any of this. what a sad story
😢 Prayers and peace to her & her family
Wow very touching story, I love this episode
Insecure little man. Just wanted her to pay his bills.
His frog voice is so whiny. He had plenty more reasons to be insecure. A face and miserable disposition only his mother could love.
@@moniqueloomis9772 Lmao exactly my thoughts
If he only wanted her to pay his bills how come he went back to work and made her stay home
@@davidwoermansr Oh god, one of them
@@underratedunity1528 what logical questions
I really admire law enforcement for thinking about getting DNA from the trees!
I am glad the grandparents were able to come to a custody agreement. The son deserves more than 28 years.