Laying out the evidence in the Waller case

Before Jacque Waller's body was found last week, prosecutors were relying on largely circumstantial evidence in their case against her estranged husband, Clay Waller, who is expected to plead guilty Thursday to first-degree murder and two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with her June 1, 2011, disappearance.

A look at some of the evidence and witnesses reveals the potential importance of details that may, at first glance, seem insignificant in a homicide case.

Jacque Waller's journal

Jacque Waller kept a diary on her work computer, documenting the threats she said her husband had made against her and her children. Among the entries:

* "I told him that I was going to file for divorce. … He asked me if I had someone lined out to raise our kids. He also said that he had a feeling that one of us would not be around to watch our kids grow up."

* "On Saturday, December 4th, Clay threatened me again. He asked me why I didn't just take his gun out of my car, put it in my mouth and end myself so he could raise the kids."

* "Wednesday, February 16th: Clay told me that he thought many times over the summer about killing himself and our kids so that I could start my new life. … He stated that he is starting to hate me and he will get me."

* "Friday, March 18th: Clay told me that I didn't deserve to live and he wishes he had a gun so he could blow my head off that day. He told me that a divorce would be my death sentence."

* "Wednesday, March 23rd: Clay called me at 7 AM. He was threatening me and yelling at me. … He told me that divorcing him was a death sentence. … He told me that I know too much about the things he has done in the past and he can't take a chance on me divorcing him because I would be able to testify against him."

* "July 17, 2010: Clay took the kids camping. … He later told me that he … planned to kill them that weekend because he knows that would be the way to hurt me the most."

* "October 27, 2010: … He said he would kill me, the kids and himself."

Blood

A handwritten list of evidence in the case file mentions photographs of a child's play mat and bloodstained carpet taken from the house where Clay Waller lived. When investigators initially searched the house June 2, 2011, the carpet in the darkened hallway was covered with toys and play mats, and the lights did not work, according to court records. Officers did not remove the mats or examine the carpet at that time, but according to a probable-cause statement in the case, the owner of the house later reported the carpet was missing, and authorities found it -- soaked with blood -- in a crawl space under the house. Blood spatters also were found on walls in the house. DNA tests determined the blood was Jacque Waller's. According to the statement, Clay Waller told investigators the blood came from an accidental injury that had caused Jacque Waller's nose to bleed profusely and that he had hidden the carpet in the crawl space to keep the owner of the house from thinking "something bad had happened."

Cellphone records

The custodians of records from AT&T and Verizon Wireless are listed in the prosecution's motion to endorse witnesses. Jacque Waller's sister and boyfriend told investigators she called them from her cellphone the day she disappeared to tell them she was picking up her son from his father's house and would be home after that. The probable-cause statement also indicates Jacque Waller carried two phones, both of which were stationary from 6:15 p.m. that evening until they stopped transmitting signals between 9:12 and 9:21 p.m. Cellphone records could confirm the times she placed calls and the time the phones stopped transmitting signals.

Red truck and boat

According to the probable-cause statement, about two hours after Jacque Waller's last phone call, two witnesses told police they saw Clay Waller standing in his back driveway next to a red pickup truck with a boat behind it. His whereabouts were unaccounted for during those two hours. A photograph of the truck and boat is mentioned on the list of evidence in the case file. Authorities have not confirmed where Jacque Waller's body was found, but at least twice volunteers have searched Devil's Island near McClure, Ill. The thickly wooded island is accessible only by boat.

Flat tire

Photographs showing a tire on Jacque Waller's Honda Pilot and a lack of markings on a road are among the evidence mentioned in the case file. The Pilot was found June 2, 2011, on the northbound shoulder of Interstate 55 near Exit 105, according to the probable-cause statement, which also indicates a passenger's-side tire on the vehicle was flat and had been punctured multiple times but had not been driven since it was punctured. Had the tire gone flat while Jacque Waller was driving, she would have had to drive on it for at least a short distance to pull off the highway, and a sudden blowout likely would have resulted in skid marks on the pavement as she brought the vehicle to a stop.

Bicycle

The list of evidence in the case file includes a photograph showing that a bicycle similar to Clay Waller's fits in Jacque Waller's SUV. According to Google Maps, it would take about 40 minutes to bicycle from Exit 105, near where Jacque Waller's SUV was found, to 1121 Woodland Drive in Jackson, where Clay Waller was staying -- a distance of between 7 and 8 miles. According to the probable-cause statement, the owner of the house in Jackson found Waller on the patio floor, out of breath, at 9:45 p.m., and Waller explained he had just completed a bike ride.

Camera

According to the probable-cause statement, Clay Waller had asked his girlfriend to watch his son Maddox that evening. Clay Waller's girlfriend told police he met her on the parking lot of a business in Cape Girardeau to tell her he would not be having dinner with them and to ask her to watch Maddox for a while longer, according to the probable-cause statement, which also reports he was captured on surveillance video at the business at 6:47 p.m. The statement does not give the name of the business where they met, but the evidence list includes a camera from the Toys R Us parking lot, and a store employee is listed in the prosecution's motion to endorse witnesses in the case.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1121 Woodland Drive, Jackson, Mo.

McClure, Ill.