KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — A man already serving a life sentence for the 2024 murder of Danishka Mejia has been sentenced to an additional 100 years in prison on a series of related convictions, according to the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office.
Deputy District Attorney Sean McDermott announced that Marquis Ellis was sentenced on August 5, 2026, to life in prison plus 100 years for numerous offenses connected to the case.
The additional convictions include:
- Aggravated burglary in concert
- Aggravated burglary
- Two counts of attempted first-degree murder
- Attempted second-degree murder
- Employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony
- Especially aggravated kidnapping
- Robbery
- Delivery of fentanyl
- Setting fire to personal property
- Tampering with evidence
Ellis had previously been sentenced on March 16, 2026, to life imprisonment for first-degree murder in the death of Danishka Mejia.
According to investigators, Mejia was killed at a South Knoxville home in April 2024, just one day after reporting a sexual assault to authorities.
The man Mejia identified in that assault investigation, Latawyne Osborne, later pleaded guilty in connection with her death and received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors argued for enhanced and consecutive sentencing for Ellis based on the circumstances of the crimes and his criminal history.
“The DA’s Office successfully argued for both consecutive sentences and enhanced sentences because the defendant is a dangerous offender with a prior criminal history who treated the victim with exceptional cruelty,” McDermott said in a statement.
Authorities said Ellis was among several people charged following the homicide investigation.
Two co-defendants, Edward Wilson and Angela Greenburg, are still awaiting trial. Wilson faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder. Greenburg, identified as Osborne’s mother, has been charged with tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact.
The prosecution says the additional 100-year sentence ensures Ellis will remain incarcerated beyond the life sentence already imposed for Mejia’s murder.
