Expert: Authorities have reason to keep quiet about Waller case

While Judge Benjamin Lewis has not issued a gag order in the Jacque Waller homicide case, legal experts say authorities have good reasons to be tight-lipped in the wake of the discovery of Waller's body last week.

Waller disappeared June 1, 2011, after saying she was going to the home of her estranged husband, Clay Waller, to pick up one of her children.

Clay Waller was charged with first-degree murder in 2012 in connection with the death of his wife, whose body was found Wednesday at an undisclosed location.

The Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office confirmed Thursday the discovery of the body but declined to release any additional information.

Bar Association rules forbid prosecutors from discussing the details of a pending case, said William Schroeder, professor of law at the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Ill.

"You're very limited to what you can say about a pending case," Schroeder said. "Attorneys are barred from saying anything that they know or reasonably should know has a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicated proceeding. ... That's the governing principle."

Violating that rule could create unfair bias against a defendant before the case is tried, Schroeder said.

"It's possible that you could create a situation where the defendant could make a solid claim that he was simply unable to get a fair trial," he said. "Why take a chance on prejudicing the process and causing the accused conceivably to walk? ... In a worst-case scenario, that's a remote possibility."

Pretrial publicity already prompted Lewis to accept a stipulation by prosecutors and Clay Waller's attorney, District Defender Chris Davis with the public defender's office, that a jury be summoned from Cole County. Davis said his office will not comment on the case.

Police also have to be careful not to reveal too much.

Officers typically try to protect information that could lead to false confessions, Schroeder said.

"They always keep some facts private," he said.

By withholding some information, "they're better able to tell a real confession from a false one. They're better able to tell a real suspect from someone who's not involved in the case," Schroeder said.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan, whose department has been involved in the Waller investigation, said prison inmates sometimes study media reports about old homicides and confess to crimes they did not commit to get attention or earn themselves a trip to court.

"When you have information that possibly only you or the suspect knows, those are things you guard very closely," he said. "People who might want to confess to a crime can get that information and really cause you a lot of grief."

Schroeder said it is possible to get a murder conviction without a body, but prosecutors face an uphill battle in doing so, because they have to convince the jury that the victim actually died.

For more than a year, the possibility of a trial against Clay Waller without a body was very real after he was charged with murder.

"Jurors don't like the absence of a body. There's always the remote possibility going through people's mind that she ran off somewhere and wanted to start a new life," he said. "In an otherwise close case, that might tip the balance."

In addition to proving the victim's death and possibly yielding information about the circumstances of that death, the discovery of a body could precipitate a plea bargain if the defendant "suddenly realizes his chances -- they're not what they were," Schroeder said.

Court records show the Wallers met with a divorce lawyer and argued about financial issues the day Jacque Waller disappeared.

According to a probable-cause statement by Jackson Police Chief James Humphreys, Jacque Waller's blood later was found spattered on walls and woodwork in her husband's house and in carpet investigators discovered in a crawl space under the house.

Clay Waller's whereabouts were unknown for several hours on the day his wife disappeared, and he gave conflicting responses to investigators when questioned about the events of the day, according to the statement.

Family, friends and law-enforcement officers searched large areas of Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri, hoping to find her body, but came up empty for nearly two years.

While authorities would not say where the body was found, several law-enforcement officials were seen Wednesday at the Red Star boat access area next to the Mississippi River, and volunteers twice had searched Devil's Island, a heavily wooded wildlife conservation area near McClure, Ill.

A boater also reported seeing a law-enforcement officer near the island Tuesday.

Devil's Island currently is accessible only by boat.

A Jackson Police Department news release from June 2, 2011, indicated officers were looking for a 14-foot boat in connection with Jacque Waller's disappearance, and a photograph of Clay Waller's truck and boat was listed as evidence in the case file.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said on Thursday he did not know who was performing an autopsy on Jacque Waller's body or when the results would be back, but he said autopsy results typically take several weeks.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

McClure, Ill.