Clay Waller pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife, Jacque Waller, in Cape Girardeau Court on Thursday, bringing a bittersweet end to one of the most high-profile murder cases in recent Cape Girardeau history.
Clay Waller confessed to beating and choking his wife in his home on June 1, 2011. He then buried her six-feet deep on a Mississippi River beach in southern Illinois, about two miles upstream from Cape Girardeau’s boat ramp.
Waller was charged with second degree murder and will receive a sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors agreed to the plea deal in exchange for Clay Waller providing the location of Jacque’s body and an account of her murder.
Jacque and Clay Waller had triplets who were 5-years old at the time of murder.
During an emotional victim impact statement, Jacque Waller’s sister Cheryl Brenneke, scolded Waller and said she did not want the plea deal.
“My mother and father and those children deserved to bury her, though. Jacque was in heaven the second you killed her. I personally did not need that. I needed you to suffer the rest of your life. But I love all of them enough to let them have what they need.”
Prosecutors say Waller will serve 85% of the sentence at a minimum. Since Waller moved his wife’s body across state lines, he could face additional federal charges.
Jacque Waller’s body was found last week.
