Jacque Waller Update: Husband pleads guilty in murder of Mo. mom
(CBS/AP) JACKSON, Mo. - Clay Waller, a southeast Missouri man, pleaded guilty Thursday to killing his estranged wife, Jacque, a mother of triplets who was missing for almost two years before her body was found last week on an island in the Mississippi River.
PICTURES: Jacque Waller's husband pleads guilty to murder
Clay Waller, of Jackson, entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder. She had been missing since June 1, 2011, the same day the couple met with a divorce lawyer and argued over money after living apart for the previous three months.
Clay Waller was originally charged with first-degree murder in his wife's death last year even though her body wasn't found until May 29, 2013 in Alexander County, Ill. He had faced a September trial in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court.
His plea to the lesser charge Thursday was conditional on him leading investigators to his wife's body and his confession in court. The plea deal, agreed to by prosecutors, calls for a 20-year prison sentence.
Jacque Waller's sister, Cheryl Brenneke, has custody of their 7-year-old triplets. Clay Waller is serving a five-year term in federal prison for threatening Brenneke over the Internet. His sentence in the murder case will run concurrent with the federal case, officials said.
Courtroom security at Waller's hearing was heavy, and both his public defender and Cape Girardeau prosecutors declined before the hearing to discuss whether Waller led police to his wife's body or any particulars about possible plea bargains, including whether he admitted guilt to avoid the death penalty.
Jacque Waller's Honda Pilot was found along Interstate 55 a day after she disappeared. Several searches since then turned up sporadic leads, including the discovery of her purse near where the car was found.
The FBI said last year that Clay Waller suggested to his father that he had broken Jacque Waller's neck and buried her in a hole that he had dug in advance. But Clay Waller has not made any confession to police, and his father died before he could testify.
A funeral for Jacque Waller is scheduled for Saturday in Park Hills, Mo.
Complete coverage of Jacque Waller on Crimesider
