Prosecutor: Without deal, Jacque Waller wouldn't have been found

Without a plea deal that will see Clay Waller serve at least 85 percent of his 20-year prison sentence, his wife Jacque Waller's body never would have been found, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh, speaking at a news conference Thursday after a hearing in which Clay Waller pleaded guilty to killing Jacque Waller on June 1, 2011, said his office consulted with the family before making the deal. He also said Clay Waller will likely serve the entire sentence.

Limbaugh said the terms of the plea bargain predated his involvement in the case.

Limbaugh replaced Morley Swingle as Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney in November 2012, when Swingle took a position as a federal prosecutor.

Swingle talked to Jacque Waller's family at the time and asked which was more important: finding her body or seeing her husband sentenced to life in prison, Limbaugh said.

They determined finding the body was more important, so prosecutors offered a deal: If Clay Waller would lead authorities to the body and plead guilty to second-degree murder, he would receive a 20-year prison sentence.

"Obviously it was something we weighed -- is it more important to give him what he deserves or to give Jacque what she deserves? -- and ultimately, Jacque won out," said Angel Woodruff, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County.

Woodruff said regardless of the deal, prosecutors had an "incredibly good case" against Clay Waller. The plea deal didn't preclude further prosecution in Illinois, where her body was taken and disposed of, or by the federal government, she said.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said none of the investigators or prosecutors believed 20 years was enough time for Clay Waller to serve for the crime, but he hoped the killer would receive justice in this world or in the afterlife.

Jordan said Jacque Waller was buried on private property near, but not on, Devil's Island in Alexander County, Ill., in sand. Investigators found her body May 29.

Clay Waller killed Jacque Waller the afternoon of June 1, 2011, and buried her that evening. Investigators believe she was strangled to death, but after two years, her body was badly decomposed.

Investigators from the Major Case Squad was right on top of the body but couldn't find it, Jordan said. Volunteer searchers also combed the area with dogs without finding Jacque Waller.

The depth and soil conditions confounded cadaver dogs, he said.

"Sand is very acidic," Jordan said.

Authorities said Jacque Waller was placed in a trash can for transport and taken by boat from the Red Star Mississippi River access in Cape Girardeau.

Sheriff's department Lt. David James said Clay Waller had flown over the area where Jacque Waller was buried ahead of time and told friends it was a good place to hide things.

James said Waller told authorities he had dug multiple holes in the past but changed his mind before using them.

A combination of anger, the threat of bankruptcy, fear of losing his children and his impending divorce finally drove him to go through with his plans, James said.

Although Clay Waller avoided a heavier sentence by pleading guilty to second-degree murder -- which generally applies to murders that occur on the spur of the moment, without premeditation -- several officials at the news conference said he clearly planned the killing in advance.

"Digging a hole a day ahead of time is absolutely premeditated," Jordan said.

Clay Waller sent his wife text messages that seemed geared to get her to lower her guard, Woodruff said.

He then lured her to the house with a lie, Jordan said.

"He had tricked Jacque into coming there by telling her that Maddox was at the house, and Maddox was not at the house when Jacque came to pick him up," Jordan said, referring to one of the couple's now 7-year-old triplets.

Lies were part and parcel of Clay Waller's behavior, authorities said.

"Anyone that's ever dealt with him over the years would say he's a liar, and the truth doesn't live within him," Jordan said.

Woodruff said Clay Waller was less than honest when he met with prosecutors to disclose the location of his wife's body and explain how he killed her -- two of the conditions of the plea agreement.

"I would have to say that Clay Waller's primary motivation is Clay Waller, so anything he told us on Monday was geared toward protecting himself," Woodruff said. " ... I have no doubt he lied to us all day on Monday. It was a frustrating process."

She said she suspected Waller's meek demeanor in court Thursday was an act.

"I don't know, and thankfully, I don't understand someone like Clay Waller," Woodruff said.

Jacque Waller's father gave emotional remarks as the last speaker at the news conference.

"I don't know what in the world we're going to do without her now that we know for absolute positive fact that she ain't coming back," Stan Rawson said.

He said the family knew as soon as Jacque Waller disappeared that her husband was responsible, and within a day, they knew she wasn't coming home alive.

He also took responsibility for her death, saying he failed to take Clay Waller's threats against her seriously.

"It was my fault she's dead today," Rawson said.

"I honestly didn't believe he would do it."

epriddy@semissourian.com

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