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Trial begins for man charged in St. Charles woman's death

Joseph Dejoie was charged with murder and multiple other crimes in the death of Jacquelyn "Jacque" Elizabeth Mitchell.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A jury was selected Monday evening in the case of a St. Charles woman found murdered more than a year ago in St. Louis County.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

Joseph Dejoie was arrested in connection with the death of Jacquelyn "Jacque" Elizabeth Mitchell.

The 39-year-old St. Charles County woman went missing in March 2023, after leaving work in Sunset Hills and heading to a nearby bar. 

After days of searching, police discovered Mitchell's body, nearly one week later, in the bedroom of Dejoie's Maryland Heights apartment on Palestra Drive. 

According to the Maryland Heights Police Department, Dejoie murdered Mitchell in his apartment between March 15 and March 20. 

Prosecutors accused Dejoie of keeping Mitchell's body in his home for several days and wiping down her body and his own car to conceal evidence.

According to charging documents, two new victims came forward in the months after his arrest, accusing Dejoie of sexual assault. 

The victims told police one incident took place on May 8, 2022, and the second on March 11, 2023, just four days before Mitchell went missing.

According to the charging documents, one of the victims was "incapacitated or lacked the capacity to consent" and Dejoie used "forcible compulsion" on the other.

He was charged with one count of each first-degree rape or attempted rape, first-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault in the May 8, 2022, case. 

In the March 11 incident, he was charged with one count of each first-degree sodomy, first-degree kidnapping and tampering with a witness.

He now faces a total of 11 felony charges including second-degree murder, kidnapping, assault, rape, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

Dejoie's $1 million bond was ordered to remain in place. 

Mitchell's family told 5 On Your Side they plan to be in court Tuesday.

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