Auxvasse man pleads guilty to killing wife

COLUMBIA — A mid-Missouri man pleaded guilty to killing his wife and burying her in a shallow grave near the Missouri River.

Forty-four-year-old David L. Corn, of Auxvasse, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in the death of 35-year-old Melissa Corn. David Corn was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The body of Melissa Corn, who used a wheelchair, was found in April. But she wasn't identified until a Columbia man told police that David Corn offered to sell him an electric wheelchair.

Marlene Ballard, a woman living with the Corns and identifying herself as David Corn's fiancee, told reporters that the three got into a heated argument. Ballard said the Corns left and Melissa Corn never returned.