Wives & Knives - Live discussion of Shar’s choice - Jacque Waller.
Last night’s meeting went really well, a good point raised by Shar in her choosing of Jacque’s case in that it’s nice to have a solved case for a change as the unsolved ones can be so frustrating for all involved, there is often no complete resolution or closure; especially for the victims’ families.
Let’s start at the beginning - and begin with a quick explanation of how a meeting works. I can’t speak for all the members in regards to how we do our research, we all do things differently, but the first thing for me is to seek out any good quality podcasts I can listen to whilst I operate in my none wives & knives role, i struggled with this case because the majority of source material was documentaries, articles, snippets of news reports & cctv about the case, so perhaps it would be a good case for us to record when the podcast gets up and running.
For variety of source information I read and research as much as I can on the key players and the case, I personally go for quantity to decipher the quality. Once all the information is collated we then prepare it for presentation at the meeting.
The time line is paramount for me, I like to know when things happened and where, with as much context as possible, Dani describes my mind and thought process as a scatter diagram, 🙄 make of that what you will; it works for me.
Whoever’s week/case choice it is leads the discussion and we all interject with extra information, corrections or other interesting things we’ve found.
The first part of the meeting is usually spent checking in and catching up, we are in constant contact throughout the week but it’s nice to discuss things face to face when we can all be focussed-ish.
Last night’s Meeting was super-hot, Shar joined late wearing her gym gear! Just to amp up the heat a little - I mean all credit for effort but it was hotter than hades yesterday so I’m glad she didn’t share her sweat stains with the group entirely.
Luce had many mothering duties crop up but as the consummate professional she managed to contribute whilst painting nails and corralling her new Kitten. There has been an awesome request for an Eiffel tower out of sausage rolls (later amended to a pyramid) and a watermelon shark, for an impending celebration and I can’t wait to see both.
Dani was feeling the heat and the responsibility of being mama to pupper J who is terrified of thunder. This has led to all night pupper support sessions, interviewing on no sleep, a broken air con and the threatened delivery of a huge pointless ladder. She’s had a week bless her.
As have I and was struggling to find the energy for last night, but there’s nothing like slagging off a smug narcissist to get you in the mood and bolster up those reserves. We also had a divisive conversation about accidentally running people over, specifically teenagers when they cross the road without looking. Shar blames wireless headphones and I don’t think it’s a driver’s responsibility to check for head phone wires.
If you’ve got an opinion or want to weigh in on that discussion why not join our Facebook group? (Nice little segue there...)
You should be able to find us on Facebook by searching for Wives & Knives Podcast – True Crime Community.
We’ve also been busy as part of our ‘Make this happen’ plan setting up all the other social media platforms as well.
You can now find us on Twitter @KnivesWives & Instagram wivesandknivesthepod - as well as being able to email us or leaving a comment directly through this blog.
We may not get back to you straight away but we will get back to you.
And with that, time to get back to the case…
Jacque Waller.
In June 2011 Jacque Waller a 39 year old mother of triplets went missing, Jacque a successful manager of an insurance company in Missouri USA, was in the process of finalising her divorce from her husband and father of her children, Clay Waller.
In fact on the 1st of June 2011, she had attended the attorney’s office to sign papers for the divorce, another step to get things finalised.
Clay had eventually agreed to the divorce, had a girlfriend in Illinois and was moving on with his life, and Jacque was on the cusp of having the life she had been living even when she was married to Clay, the life she wanted; she was going to independently support and provide for her children, officially draw a line under the marriage and be happy.
For me a picture can say so much more than words, and during our meeting we raised how Jacque appears to ‘GLOW UP’ (see the sequence we posted in the Facebook page) Jacque, naturally beautiful anyway, seems to shine as we go through the pictures; she gets fit and appears more toned and confident as the children grow alongside her, noticeably without Clay.
After leaving the attorneys office Jacque called her sister Cheryl Brenneke and told her that she was going to Clay’s house to collect their son Maddox, she told Cheryl that she would be going home after that to the house she now shared with Cheryl and her husband, she had moved in there when she had advised Clay of the divorce.
Cheryl tried to call Jacque when she didn’t arrive home and by approx 7pm she was frantic, she had called Clay to check where Jacque was but he couldn’t tell her and told her that he would call her if she showed up.
Cheryl, Oh my days I love Cheryl – I don’t have a sister but If I did I would love to have one just like Cheryl; we should all be so lucky.
Cheryl wasn’t having it and just knew that something wasn’t right so she got into her car and drove the hour’s journey to Clay’s house, in Jackson. Cheryl made a stop on the way and that was to drop into the police station and advise them that she knew that Clay Waller had killed her sister.
Baller move Cheryl! Massive respect, I mean consider the fact that she had spoken to her sister mere hours before and Jacque hadn’t been officially reported missing by anyone at this point. I’m not making light of the situation but I have this image in my head of Cheryl storming in there and raising hell with them.
Cheryl didn’t like Clay and nor did her and Jacque’s parents, Stan and Ruby Rawson. As we mentioned earlier Jacque was independently capable of looking after her and the kids. From their birth she had filled the primary carer role for the triplets, she had also held down her job which she reportedly put in 40 hour weeks As well as running the home too.
Now Clay on the other hand didn’t, he couldn’t hold down a job, he moved from one to another with regularity and didn’t support them consistently financially or in any other way; he didn’t help much with the childcare etc.
From the outset it looks like he loved his children, there are pictures of them together looking happy and on days out etc. but to me that’s not a good father and I understand why her parents wouldn’t like him because of that alone, mine wouldn’t like that for me either.
The dislike definitely go’s deeper though because it is reported that Clay had affairs whilst married to Jacque and also abused her, physically and emotionally.
Clay’s behaviour finally prompted Jacque to action, she’d finally had enough and thought that the children would have a happier life if she divorced him. Clay did not take this well, he began to threaten Jacque and the children and she was afraid. Jacque was clever and she kept a diary of all the incidents and abuse he subjected her to, death threats and threats to kill the children.
As I mentioned earlier Jacque was living with Cheryl at this time with Cheryl’s husband Bob and their children. This was clearly a safe space for Jacque and the kids that Cheryl and Bob created for them; They enjoyed living there and they started to enjoy a slice of normality. The Clay situation calmed a little and he seemed to start to accept the Divorce was happening.
Now credit where credit is due here To the police - So often in research and I’m sure you guy’s hear it all the time when listening to podcasts but they can be so dismissive and generally shit that it makes me so Grrr.. The Cape Giradeau Police however took Cheryl at her word and moved.
They sent an officer over to Clay’s house and Clay told them that he had been with Jacque that day, they had met at approx 11am at Walgreens (for the brits I’m thinking it’s like a huge Holland & Barrett combined with a pharmacy? clarification please? )
They had some lunch and then separated to run errands around town, they met up again at 3pm at the attorney’s office to sign papers and then Jacque wanted to go back to his house to discuss the divorce further.
Clay told the officer that he and Jacque had argued but it was nothing physical and she had just walked off, he had looked for her but when he returned to the house her car was gone, so he had assumed she had just left.
The Police found Jacques car and at first glance it looked like the tire had blown out whilst she had been driving, they wondered if she had been abducted from the site or had accepted a lift with someone? However when they checked the car further and the tire, they found it
had been punctured after the car had stopped rather than the puncture stopping the car.
They looked at the time frame that Clay had supplied and CCTV mostly confirmed his account, they had met at Walgreens at 11am and then they spotted Jacque at 2pm at a drive through, they couldn’t find any further footage of Jacque and that video is the last sighting of her alive.
Clay pops up however, he is spotted at a toy store wearing different clothes from earlier and then a later video of him; very calmly washing his boat.
Sadly though they didn’t find anything else, specifically they didn’t find Jacque.
They were pretty sure he did it, he had form and he had the aggressive abusive personality not to mention the motive.
If you hadn’t twigged already, Clay is not a nice person but I do believe you get what you give and he gave a lot.
Clay it seems just couldn’t help himself you see, the former deputy sheriff taunted the police and Jacque’s family, he would go around town giving them unsavoury hand gestures; like a teenager boy who’s had two cans of fosters on the park and is feeling cocky. He told the police that they would never find anything, he was vindictive and arrogant. And then he fucked with Cheryl, again. I bloody love Cheryl.
Four months after Jacque went missing the courtsmade Cheryl the appointed guardian of the triplets. Clay didn’t like that and began attacking Cheryl on line, he made a death threat and it opened the door for the police to get inside. He was arrested on a federal charge of threating Cheryl’s life and plead guilty receiving 5 years in prison.
This gave them time to build a solid case against him without having to worry about him egging their houses or worse escalating and hurting someone else - what a prick!
They still hadn’t found Jacque and with no body it would be purely based on circumstantial evidence; despite being strong evidence there is no guarantee it would Secure a guilty verdict without a body.
Now I found something interesting here, and it relates to a gentleman called Cedric Dean. it is worth a read to know what part he played in Clay Wallers comeuppance; he is a very interesting man and I look forward to reading his book.
I‘ll link the article here - https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article194397684.html
Two years later they charged Clay with 1st degree murder and tampering of evidence.
When they eventually searched his house they found quite a bit, carpet was missing from the hall and there was blood on the walls there too. The carpet had been cut into strips but the blood found on it was a match to Jacque’s.
Clay was offered a plea deal, Jacques parents agreed to it.
https://youtu.be/VwxJL8F4hKc You can watch an excerpt from the trial here, no one looks happy about the sentence and the judge in particular isn’t impressed. He clearly tells Clay that it isn’t what he deserves but it will have to do.
How do you all feel about plea deals? I personally can fully understand and appreciate where Jacque’s parents are coming from here. They want to bring their daughter home, they know she is dead but it’s important for them and for the kids too; that they have her back.
What if they had found Jacque two months later without the deal? Let us know what you think.
Clay’s plea deal was that he would plead guilty to 2nd degree murder and serve a maximum of 20 years in prison if he told them what happened that night, what he did to Jacque and where her body was.
Clay took the deal and took them to Devils island. When they arrived there Clay said he couldn’t remember exactly where her body was buried. Clay advised he’d used fertiliser when burying her and so thanks to a police officer with some plant knowledge, he knew that fertiliser would kill the roots of a tree, he pointed out a dead tree and as a result they found Jacque.
Clay told them that Jacque had wanted to call over to have sex one last time before the divorce was final. Unlikely. – he’s still trying to fuck her over isn’t he? sully her honour in some way? Prick!
I know that does happen for some people but I just don’t think Jacque wanted to sleep with him, okay she had loved him once but not any more and she had a boyfriend of a year called Rich who Cheryl says felt to Jacque like home, he loved, cherished and respected her. So why would she go back there Clay?.
He says that they were in the kitchen when they accidentally bumped heads causing Jacque’s nose to bleed, she moved into the hallway which is why her blood was found there. He then said that Jacque began to threaten him, saying he would never see the children again and that she planned to tell the police that he had abused her. This had caused him to fly into a rage and he had beaten her, punching her once in the nose and then pressin his forearm against her neck until she stopped moving. He claimed that it wasn’t a pre planned decision to kill Jacque, it was spur of the moment.
I just want to slap him (Putting it mildly)
Clay is trying to imply that he was forced into killing Jacque. I’m no expert but he exhibits clear traits and behaviours of a Narcissist.
if you listen to his phone calls and conversations with his father, he dismisses advice to behave more considerately and at one point makes a comment along the lines of
"Why should I care what they’re going through if they don’t care what i’m going through"
Yep, poor you Clay!
Narcissistic personality disorder involves a pattern of self-centered, arrogant thinking and behaviour, a lack of empathy and consideration for other people, and an excessive need for admiration. Others often describe people with NPD as cocky, manipulative, selfish, patronizing, and demanding.
Clay thought he was being clever, he didn‘t appear to care or be concerned by the prison time just in creating this narrative of Jacque forcing his hand that day.
But Clay isn’t clever and he revealed a piece of information during his confession that he didn’t fully think through.
He told police that the day before, he had dug a hole for Jacque's body; not the type of thing you do as a random unrelated event to murdering your wife of 17 years the very next day.
But far more serious for Clay was the fact that by digging that hole, he had crossed state lines into Illinois and then returned to Missouri with the intention-of killing Jacque.
Meaning he could be charged under the interstate domestic violence act which carries a sentence of 35 years, and that sentence only begins after the original 20 years has finished.
Boom!
The police were just so refreshingly "on it" with this case, and sadly we do often hear of them being somewhat dismissive or unhurried when it comes to missing persons cases. They also worked hard to gather all the evidence and had what feels like a determined aim to put Clay away for life.
something that we raised this week was that we we’re surprised yet thankful that Clay didn’t hurt anyone else apart from our Jacque. I do feel like Clay could have gone down the Chris Watts route and become a family annihilator and hurt the kids, he had threatened to take them out on a boat and drown them, or at least try to harm Cheryl. The police clearly shared the view that he presented a threat to others and the community at large.
Clay would not change, he would come out of prison the same manipulative, abusive man he went in as and this no doubt powered their momento on what wasn’t an easy case.
In Court, Maddox's victim impact statement was read out . The triplets were just 5 years old when their father murdered their mother. Even at such a young age they knew the impact of what their Dad had done and that their pain was a result of his actions.
it’s quite an uncomfortable watch, and I know Shar and I disagreed as to if it was a good thing for Maddox to do, from my research It’s clear that Maddox wanted to tell his father what he thought of him and what he had done, no one forced him to read it. And in the crime watch episode linked below, you can see that he maintains that it was what he wanted. When his sister Avery found out what had happened she was quoted as saying that her father "should stay in prison forever because her mommy would be dead her whole life"
what’s more telling for me is Clay’s reaction to any of these statements, stood there in his orange jumpsuit not looking that smug for a change but still nothing more than a clenched jaw and looking at his feet.
to quote Maddox "You Big Fat Jerk!"
Jacque's funeral was held on the day of her parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary and it’s clear to see that she was well loved and sadly missed by her family and friends as well as her whole community.
Cheryl who you can see in glorious action in the earlier linked video, officially adopted the triplets with Bob, the promises that are shouted like daggers to Clay in the court room are just the most wholesome and powerful; they got me right in feels.
The triplets are well adjusted articulate teenagers now and I think it’s a nice positive to take away from such a sad case.
Thanks for sticking with us through the case, we would love to hear what you think about Jacque’s case and that Prick Clay.
if you have a case you’d like to suggest we research/cover then again, get in touch.
Please remember that we mean no disrespect to anyone mentioned in the blog or across any of our Wives & Knives platforms. We have an interest in true crime and related topics and whilst we may offer our own personal views on certain items it is meant to be educational & as light hearted as possible. The information we present is collated from research gathered from the internet and we reference & credit our sources wherever possible.
Sources not mentioned above.
The Blog below provided a really clear breakdown of the case for us, I’ll definitely be giving it a more in-depth look in future And would recommend it.
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