Document: State anticipates murder charge against Clay Waller

Cape Girardeau County's prosecuting attorney hopes to depose Clay Waller's ailing father in anticipation of filing murder charges in connection with Jacque Waller's disappearance.

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle submitted an application Sept. 22 to preserve testimony from James Clay Waller Sr. that alleges Clay Waller confessed to breaking Jacque Waller's neck during a fight and burying her body.

An Oct. 14 hearing before Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis will decide whether the testimony will be admissible in court.

Swingle anticipates a murder charge but acknowledges Clay Waller is still part of a federal investigation and that Jacque Waller's body has not been found, according to the application.

Swingle submitted the application to ensure James Waller's testimony could be used even if he dies before a trial could start. The elder Waller is bedridden and in poor health, according to the application. If the application is accepted, the state would like James Waller to be deposed at his nursing home with Clay Waller and federal marshals present. Federal marshals have indicated they would make Clay Waller available for the deposition, according to the application. He is in the marshals' custody in Pemiscot County.

"His testimony establishes an element of the felony of murder, specifically that James Clay Waller, II, is the person who killed Jacque Sue Waller, which element cannot be proven in any other manner at this time," Swingle said in the application.

Swingle declined to comment on the case directly.

Clay Waller allegedly told his father he killed Jacque Waller by breaking her neck during a fight and buried her body in a hole, according to the application.

Jacque Waller has been missing since June 1, and Swingle called Clay Waller the primary suspect in her disappearance in the application.

Clay Waller's attorney for the state charges, Scott Reynolds, will be provided with copies of police reports before the deposition to prepare. Reynolds declined to comment.

Jacque Waller told friends and family members she was going to Clay Waller's home to pick up her son June 1. Since then, she has not contacted her family, used her cellphone or accessed her bank account, according to the application.

"It does not appear that she disappeared voluntarily," Swingle said in the application.

Meanwhile, the search still continues for Jacque Waller. The Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department is still following leads, taking interviews and looking for her, said Lt. David James. James declined to comment on recent locations his department has searched.

Voluntary search efforts have been suspended due to hunting season. Organizers feared searchers would be at risk of being shot at in wooded areas, said Laura Helbig, one of Jacque Waller's family friends.

Stan Rawson, Jacque Waller's father, remains confident in the search efforts.

"I just hope they find our girl," Rawson said.

Jacque Waller supporters will hold a vigil Saturday at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., to commemorate the four-month anniversary of her disappearance.

Rawson said he thinks Swingle will get a guilty verdict if Clay Waller is charged with murder.

"I'm sure Mr. Swingle is doing everything right," he said. "There's definitely enough evidence to convict."

Clay Waller currently faces state theft and harassment charges unrelated to Jacque Waller's disappearance. Probable-cause statements say he accepted a check for $55,000 from the Delta Cos. in April 2010 for construction work he never did. The harassment charge stems from a complaint made the week before his Sept. 2 arrest by a former friend, Gary Hill, who told police that Waller threatened to kill him.

Waller's next court date for those charges is Nov. 22 but may be postponed because he is in federal custody. He faces an Internet harassment charge in federal court. Federal prosecutors allege he threatened Jacque Waller's sister Cheryl Brenneke, who has custody of Clay Waller's children, on an online discussion board. Clay Waller originally pleaded not guilty but entered a motion to change his plea Tuesday. He will change his plea Monday.

During pretrial motions, federal prosecutor Larry Ferrell filed an affidavit with Clay Waller's confession to his father. Ferrell also presented blood evidence found at Clay Waller's Jackson home that is a DNA match for Jacque Waller. The DNA evidence was not mentioned in Swingle's application.

psullivan@semissourian.com

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