ST. CHARLES, Mo. – In an interview with the police after his arrest, 49-year-old Joseph Dejoie admitted to killing Jacquelyn “Jacque” Elizabeth Mitchell.
Police confirmed the two knew each other and even exchanged text messages on March 14, when Mitchell went missing. Dejoie was arrested Monday evening after police used the city’s Real Time Crime Center surveillance videos.
“We actually got a pretty significant break in this case when we were able to obtain surveillance video of (Dejoie) driving Jacque’s car after she had disappeared,” said Chief Bill Carson with the Maryland Heights Police Department.
Carson said Mitchell, 39, was found inside Dejoie’s apartment in the 2200 block of Palestra Drive.
Dejoie is being charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and the abandonment of a corpse.
Dejoie has a criminal record with past charges of burglary, rape, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
“It’s been one of those cases that you hope you get an end to, and we worked it to the end that we’ve come to now,” said Chief Ray Juengst with the St. Charles Police Department.
Dejoie is being held on a $1,000,000 cash bond.
A cause of death has not been released.