JACKSON, Missouri (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) -- James "Clay" Waller, the estranged husband of missing Missouri mom of 5-year-old triplets, Jacque Sue Waller, claimed his innocence Thursday saying he had nothing to do with Jacque's disappearance - the general public is apparently not buying it.
He also claims that police and the community are on a witch hunt and that they're not looking for Jacque.
Clay, ex-cop from Jackson, Missouri, is complaining that police are following his every move and that they even have helicopters following him, CBS News reports.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I got a helicopter following me every day, police are following me,” he told the Southeast Missourian newspaper Tuesday. “I’ll tell you what’s not happening is that the cops are not searching for my wife.”
How does Clay know what police, the FBI, and other local, state, and federal agencies are doing to find Jacque? Just because they are following him doesn't mean they're not also searching for Jacque.
There’s a reason police are tracking him and using helicopters to follow him. With budget cuts happening across the board, it's not likely that law enforcement would spend the time or resources following Clay if they didn't believe he is somehow involved in Jacque's disapperance. They also wouldn't name him the only person of interest in the case.
“I think that anything law enforcement can legally do is being done," Laura H. posted on the Find Jacque S Waller Facebook page Thursday afternoon.
"I can’t speak directly to what they’re doing," she said, "but I can faithfully promise that there is an army of professionals from Jackson PD, Missouri Highway Patrol, Cape County Sheriff Dept, and the FBI are working to get the perpetrator and bring Jacque home. There will be justice for Jacque.”
Her family says Jacque and Clay had met with their attorneys on June 1, the day she went missing, to finalize their divorce.
Jacque’s family says Clay lied to her, telling her that their son Maddox, one of the triplets, was at his house and that she would need to pick him up there. They believe he coerced her there so he could be alone with her. Their son was at a babysitter’s house at the time.
According to Stan Rawson, Jacque's father, she was talking to a friend as she was arriving at Clay's house. She told him she was picking Maddox up and would hurry home. "That was the last conversation she had according to cell phone records (per the MCS)," Stan said.
According to Clay his estranged wife stormed out of the house on foot after they had an argument. Her car was found shortly after she vanished on a nearby highway with a flat tire. The hole in the tire, Stan said during a Fox News interview, was done with a knife.
That fact, Stan said, has been verified.
[View slideshow, left side-bar, that includes a photo of Jacque's Honda Pilot, and Fox News interview.]
Police have said repeatedly that they don’t believe Jacque was abducted on the side of the highway, as Clay claims.
According to her dad, once their divorce was final Jacque planned to move to a nice house in Farmington.
She had been living with her sister in St. Genevieve County and was going to move to the Farmington house in a few days. She never got the chance. She wanted to be closer to family and start a new life with her children. That, her father said, is what likely pushed Clay over the edge.
Jacque's sister, Cheryl Brenneke, said that Jacque was deeply afraid of Clay and that she fears the worst for her sister. Jacque had told her, "You don't know what he's capable of. I just don't want to be dead."
"He'd been threatening her for a solid year," Cheryl said. "He told her divorcing him would be a death sentence." Those are comments a sister can't forget.
Last week Stan posted on Facebook, "Don’t underestimate him [Clay]! He is a bit nutso, but is not stupid at all. I underestimated him and my little girl got killed because of it. Jacque’s Dad."
Community members say they believe Clay is reading everything posted on Facebook. And still, Clay wonders why police are following his every move. He also wonders why the community is helping police.
For people in the community the answer is simple - they believe Clay is responsible for Jacque's disappearance, and likely her death, and they want "J4J", Justice for Jacque. They want her home. They want answers for her three innocent children who wonder where their mommy is.
One of Jacque's little girls, Avery, brought an envelope to her grandpa, Stan, and asked for a stamp. She then asked if he could give it to her mommy.
The envelope said "Jacque Waller" on the outside "in her little handwriting," Stan said. "She said, 'Grandpa, I want you to give this to mommy.' I told her, 'I would honey, but I don't know exactly where mommy's at.' Avery said, 'Oh, she's in Heaven.' Like it was next door. I said, 'Avery, I will give this to your mom the first chance I get. Someday I will hand this to her."
Stan says he is determined to find out what happened to his little girl.
He posted on the Find Jacque S Waller Facebook page last week, “Hey Clay I know you read this page all the time! I just wanted to mention that you’re not fooling anybody at all. I understand the sheriff has a [siq] orange jumpsuit picked out for you, and a fine room at the Cross Bar Hotel. I doubt the view is good, but it will be free …
"You will regret hurting my little girl and the Tripps [triplets] – I promise you you will!!!”
Stan has been very vocal for his daughter and "The Tripps [triplets]" and says he stands by his every word.
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Twitter:
Follow Jacque’s story on Twitter: @FindJacqueWalle.
Facebook:
Follow Jacque’s story on Facebook: Find Jacque S Waller page
Jacque Waller Search Party Page
Description:
Name: Jacque Sue Waller
Date missing: June 1, 2011, approx. 4 p.m.
Classification: Missing endangered
Missing from: Woodland Drive and N. Neal St. in Jackson, MO
Age: 39
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 135 lbs.
Eye color: Blonde
Hair color: Blue
Details: Jacque's blue 2006 Honda Pilot, MO plates NA5D5J was found in I-55 near the 105-mile marker (near Jackson/Fruitland) abandoned. The police are interested in a Red 2009 GMC Sierra pickup truck with 4 doors during this same time frame. The truck may have been pulling an aluminum V-bottom boat with an 8-horse Johnson motor on the black trailer.
Contact police:
Police ask if you see Jacque or have any information to call Jackson Police (573) 243-3151.
Would you like to donate to the triplets or the reward fund?
Two funds have been set up with US Bank:
- The “Jacque Waller Family Fund” for care of the triplets; and
- The “Justice for Jacque Fund” which offers a reward for the information leading to Jacque
Find a US Bank location here: www.usbank.com.
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