Investigator says person of interest in case of missing woman no longer cooperating

A tense scene unfolded at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday when the family of Jacque Sue Waller came face to face with her estranged husband, who on Monday was named a person of interest in the mother of three's June 1 disappearance. A family member and Clay Waller were separated by courthouse security after a brief but heated exchange.

Inside the courtroom, a judge decided Jacque Waller's sister and brother-in-law, Cheryl and Bob Brenneke, would continue to have custody of her three 5-year-old triplets. They were granted initial custody Friday.

Jacque Waller, 39, was last seen around 4 p.m. June 1 in the area of Woodland Drive and North Neal Street. Investigators have also said they suspect foul play in her disappearance.

While court was in session Tuesday, an investigator with the Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad said Clay Waller was no longer cooperating with authorities and has only given a brief interview following his wife's disappearance last week. No new developments were announced Tuesday by the case squad, which assigned several investigators to be at the hearing for security purposes.

Clay Waller declined several times Tuesday to be interviewed by the Southeast Missourian.

Brenneke said she and the family will now wait for a July 19 hearing in which a judge will decide whether to grant Clay Waller supervised visitation.

"They're good children, and the whole family will pull together to make sure they're OK," Brenneke said.

The case squad is still seeking the public's help in discovering more about Jacque Waller's whereabouts the afternoon of June 1. They're also asking anyone who may have seen Jacque Waller's blue Honda Pilot -- found abandoned on Interstate 55 with a flat tire -- to call authorities.

"At the point of her last known contact with other family members, that's where we lose contact and he can't provide any details other than the fact they argued over the divorce situation and she left on foot from the address on Woodland," major case squad deputy commander Lt. David James said Monday. She left 1121 Woodland Drive around 4 p.m., he added.

James said Clay Waller then left the residence and returned around 6 p.m. to find Jacque Waller's vehicle gone. Other witnesses interviewed told the case squad they saw her vehicle at his home as late as 8:30 p.m.

Last week, Clay Waller's red GMC Sierra and a boat were seized by the case squad and processed for evidence. They believe his red truck was at one time pulling the boat and anyone who saw the two should report that information to police.

"We don't have a crime established yet. We've got a missing person, and Mr. Waller's the one who saw her last," James said. "Without enough information to determine her whereabouts, we're needing some help from the public."

Jacque Waller's family said she was in town to finalize paperwork at her job, meet with her attorney to finalize divorce proceedings and pick up her son who was staying with Clay Waller. The other two children were in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., with the Brennekes.

Family members say Jacque Waller was a proud mother of three -- one boy and two girls -- and was always talking about her triplets.

In the last hour her sister saw her, Waller was excited to relay the news that one of her daughters had lost a tooth.

Brenneke said she reminded her younger sister to not forget to have the tooth fairy pay a visit.

"She said 'OK,' I went back to get ready for work and she left to go to work. If I'd known then what I know now, I sure would have stopped and hugged her," Brenneke said Tuesday following the custody hearing.

She added that while they're keeping the children busy, they began to start asking questions recently about where their mother is.

"It's hard; they don't understand," she said.

Stan and Ruby Rawson, Jacque Waller's parents, said their daughter would never leave her children. Leaving would be completely unlike her, they said.

"The out-of-character part is that she would not come home because she loved to come home," Stan Rawson said.

She was prepared to be a parent the day she found out she was pregnant, they added.

Brenneke said her sister was a relaxed mother.

"I remember when they were little, it made me so nervous for her to take them to the mall, but she was relaxed," Brenneke said. "I was just so impressed with her from the day they were born how she could just laugh at all of it. ... It just didn't get to her."

The family believes an arrest will be made in connection to Jacque Waller's disappearance, but they're not expecting to see their loved one alive again, they agreed Tuesday.

"I've got extreme confidence in the police in this," Stan Rawson said. "I don't have any confidence at all she's coming back."

The public is welcome to attend a prayer service for Jacque Waller at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Farmington High School, where she graduated.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Woodland Drive and North Neal Street, Jackson, MO

44 N. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, MO