Clay Waller moved to Louisiana prison

Clay Waller has been moved to a low-security federal penitentiary in Louisiana, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Waller is starting a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of threatening his sister-in-law and guardian of his three children, Cheryl Brenneke, on the Internet message board Topix.

Waller had been housed in the Pemiscot County Jail before being transported to a federal transfer center in Oklahoma City. He moved to Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, La., on Tuesday. Phone calls to the prison went unanswered Wednesday.

Waller threatened to kill Brenneke if she hurt his three children. Brenneke gained custody of the children after her sister, Jacque Waller, went missing June 1 and Clay Waller was taken into custody on state charges for theft and harassment. Jacque Waller is Clay Waller's wife.

Clay Waller is appealing the maximum five-year sentence. His attorney, Scott Tilsen, has until Feb. 7 to file a brief in the appeal.

Clay Waller was reportedly the last person to see his wife before she disappeared, and Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle has said in court filings that he expected to file a murder charge against him. Clay Waller has denied involvement in his wife's disappearance.

In sentencing him on his federal charges, Judge Stephen Limbaugh said that, based on preponderance of evidence, Clay Waller is guilty of murdering Jacque Waller. Limbaugh said after sentencing Waller that he would recommend he be housed in a federal prison near Southeast Missouri.

Oakdale is in central Louisiana, 35 miles south of Alexandria and 58 miles north of Lake Charles. It is roughly 557 miles from Cape Girardeau.

Laura Helbig, who serves as a spokeswoman for Jacque Waller's family, said Brenneke has full custody of Waller's children and has no plans to take them to Louisiana to see their father.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

1507 East Whatley Road, Oakdale, LA