After seeing footage (on TV yesterday) of the fistfight between J.C. Waller III and Matt Marshall, outside the courthouse in Jackson, Mo., I wondered what crazy, pent-up emotions were behind the brawl, to cause such a public ruckus? The younger and older man were going after it like Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston (February 25, 1964)!
The lead story on a popular (HLN) talk show quickly projected the image of an attractive woman, who I seem to ‘ave remembered from somewhere before. The bottom caption of the television screen read: Jacque Sue Waller! “Hum,” I thought. I began thumbing through a labyrinthian memory index in search of a match!
“Alright brain-dead dufus-head,” I thought again, “I don’t have Alzheimer’s quite yet!” I had written a story on Jacque Waller’s disappearance a little over a year ago. Well, Jacque vanished on June 1, 2011, when she went to pick up her boy of three, at her estranged husband’s (Clay Waller) temporary living quarters, in Jackson, Missouri.
Suspicions were strong at the time that Clay Waller had probably killed his wife, Jacque Waller, but someone would have to confirm it with some hard, tangible (verifiable) evidence. Hell, a motive to kill her was obvious to almost everyone from around those parts of Missouri!
Well, after writing my piece on Jacque Waller, I totally forgot about her; just drifted off on other projects, since no news regarding her case was forthcoming. “Another obstinate example of improvable domestic murder,” I thought to myself. “We know who did it, but we just can’t we prove it!” The line echoes once again in my (wanna-be) detective-like mind.
To my utter astonishment, when reading two well-researched and crafted articles (an AP piece by Jim Salter and one by Joe Gamm in the Southeast Missourian) this morning, I realized how skilled a prosecuting team (headed up by Morley Swingle), there in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., is, and just how hard working they are.
It looks like they are piecing together a nearly airtight case against Clay Waller, that will keep him behind bars for the remainder of his days. The ingredients: eye-witness testimony, forensic blood spatter evidence, blood-soaked cut-carpet squares, and a financially strapped, obviously, jealous husband oozing with rage!
Joe Gamm’s article (Clay Waller trial decision now in judge’s hands) is helping me catch up with the massive amount of incriminating evidence gathered by the prosecution, that will nail Clay Waller for the murder his wife. Boy is it impressive, in spite of the fact they never have been able to locate Jacque Waller’s body!
Much of what they have was presented in a preliminary hearing just two days ago. After some cogitation, I can better understand now, how and why this fistfight broke out outside the courtroom. Hell, a corpulent Matt Marshall had actually heard Clay say he was going to kill Jacque, as mad as he was over her seeing another man.
And as far as the day it happened (June 1, 2011) goes, you would think the prosecution has a video of the actual deed. I’m not attempting to be humorous, but they have so many peripheral items (short of a filming), relevant to the crime, that a minute by minute re-enactment is conceivable.
One example, would be the testimony of Dr. Scott Gibbs, who saw Clay on the porch of his guest house (on 6/01/’12), and Clay was very much out of breath. Oddly enough, it was close to 10 at night. Clay claims he was returning from a bicycle ride, which would seem to be the truth. But where was he coming from on this evening bike ride, and was it a one way bicycle trip?
While quite a lot of detail is provided in Joe Gamm’s article, still I wonder, just when did it dawn on Dr. Scott Gibbs that a horrific crime had occurred in his house, which he’d been kind enough to offer for free to Mr. Waller?
And what else is in those 10 five-inch binders of Morley Swingle? News says the trial will begin in about 6 months; we’re biting our nails, and sitting on the edge of our seats with anticipation! The thorough work of the prosecution team shows how much respect they have for a mother of triplets, Jacque Sue Waller, who’s badly in need of redress.
seMissourian.com: Local News: Clay Waller trial decision now in judge’s hands (07/26/12)
