What Would Susan Say: Where's Stacy?

Is it ironic that on October 28, 2007 Stacy Peterson was never heard from again, silenced in the prime of her life, most likely at the hands of her husband Drew because of the secrets she held so long?

On October 28, 2012, another Sunday morning, exactly 5 years later, another voice, Susan Murphy Milano, was silenced in the prime of her life, taken by the hands of an abusive disease, because of the secrets she held so long that caused pain and stress in her life and contributed to her disease.

What would Susan say?

After a week of being in the fog zone, with time being insignificant, you can almost hear Susan shouting,

"Ok, enough about me already! You all have work to do! It's not about me, you know where I am, but, how are you going to find Stacy?"

From the beginning days of the Stacy Peterson case Susan was deeply affected, not only because she recognized the fact that Stacy most likely wasn't coming back, but because she saw similarities between Drew Peterson and her police officer father, the smug attitude and the fact that each of them thought they could get away with what they had done behind closed doors.

Immediately Susan picked up on the nuances of the case, before national media attention, and made no bones about what she wrote, sympathetic to the family members, but calling out what she saw from first hand experience living with an abusive cop. She saw through Peterson and his "Legal Marshmallow Roaster" attorney and knew exactly what they were up to, doing everything to divert attention away from Stacy.

In the midst of the circus of media, online forums, and news reports was a young mother, Stacy, who held within her being a secret she hoped would be more of an insurance policy. Stacy confided this secret and most likely lost her life because of it.

Because of Stacy, Susan was inspired to create the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit. Had Kathleen Savio had the opportunity to create her own EAA, perhaps Stacy would still be around. Had Stacy done the EAA, the public would not have been subjected to the years of buffoonery created by Drew Peterson and his campfire team of attorneys and public relations ringmasters.

Peterson’s pattern of conduct and actions are important as it relates to Stacy Peterson. She can be placed in the marital home the morning she disappeared, so we know she and Peterson were in that house. From Sunday morning until the following day, there is a window of opportunity for Peterson, and when the coast is clear, in my opinion, he takes her out of the house. How far is he really going to drive? Does he go to one of two camp grounds with which he is familiar within an hour’s drive of the house? Does he go to a more obvious and public location, perhaps in plain site and one that is familiar to him? We do not know because Stacy Peterson is still out there someplace waiting to be found.......Stacy Peterson's Tragedy: Saving the Lives of Others, October 27, 2011

Now that Drew has been convicted of the murder of his previous wife, Kathleen Savio, and we see the latest news about appeals and possibly a second circus act, Susan would want us to remember the most important fact:

STACY PETERSON IS STILL MISSING.

Whatever the significance of the October 28 date may be, it's no coincidence in the universal order. It's a date that both Susan and Stacy will be remembered in the future, somehow still connected to each other.

The world has the opportunity to change the way intimate partner violence and homicide is handled, something Susan vowed she would do in 1989.  The challenge is: "Who Can Fill Her Shoes?"

On October 28, 2012, Susan Murphy Milano lost her battle with cancer. 

Her latest book, a "true crime memoir" based on the experiences of her life, HOLDING MY HAND THROUGH HELL, was released earlier in the month. 

To order a copy go directly to the publisher, Ice Cube Press (http://icecubepress.com) or Amazon and Barnes&Noble, or ask your local book stores to order it.

Related articles

• Susan Murphy Milano: Gone But NEVER Forgotten
• The Roth Show: Pastor Neil Schori: the Peterson Verdict and Document the Abuse
• Susan Murphy-Milano, Nationally Known Advocate and Author Has Been Called Home...
• Time's Up | Susan Murphy Milano Soars with Angels (and Likely Still Kicks Butt)
• The Budding Blogger

Jacque Waller: Missing Mother and Hero

by Susan Murphy-Milano

In the early afternoon of June 1, 2011, Jacque Sue Waller, 39, met with her attorney to finalize the divorce from her estranged and abusive husband, Clay Waller, 40, in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.  Clay Waller was a former police officer turned contractor and his wife, Jacque, was employed for several years with Blue Cross Blue Shield. According to family members, after years of abuse, she gained the courage to end the relationship with him, packed up her triplets and moved into her sister’s home the previous year.  

After the meeting with her attorney, Jacque drove to Clay Waller’s rental home to pick up the couple’s 5-year old son, Maddox. What she didn’t know was that her son wasn’t there, but was at the home of her soon to be ex-husband’s new girlfriend.  Jacque made a call to her sister at 4:00 pm and left a message to let her know she arrived safely at Clay Waller’s home and would return soon.  This was the last call she would make. 

Clay Waller lured her to his home for, what police now believe, was the sole purpose of killing her. When police interviewed Clay Waller, he claimed the couple got into a fight and Jacque stormed out of the house, on foot, around 4:00 pm. He told investigators that he left the home soon afterwards and when he returned, around 6:00 pm, Jacque’s car was gone from the driveway.  Jacque’s abandoned car was found the next day off I-55 (near Jackson/Fruitland, Missouri) disabled with a flat tire. According to law enforcement, the flat tire was staged and had been punctured with a sharp object.  Her laptop was still in the back seat and police subsequently took it into evidence, and later discovered Jacque’s journal on the computer containing dates and times of conversations and threats Clay Waller made against her life. 

On June 3, 2011, a judge signed the warrant to search Clay’s home and investigators uncovered important evidence.  Five days later, when they attempted to question Clay, he hired an attorney and refused to cooperate with the investigation. 

On July 29^th, 2011, police charged Waller with stealing and harassment. Clay Waller had accepted payment as a contractor in the amount of $55,000 for work never completed.  A judge set bail at $65,000 cash bond. (Waller’s arrest has nothing to do with Jacque disappearance) At the end of August he’s able to make bail and is released. He is arrested again, this time for Internet  against Jacque’s sister, this time facing Federal charges.

Within the first month of Jacque Waller’s disappearance there was very little media coverage about the case, locally or nationally. I spoke with her parents, Stan and Ruby Rawson, and they, along with Monica Caison from CUE Center for Missing Persons, appeared on my weekly radio show, Time’s Up.  We also  booked appearances on The Roth Show and Crime Wire exposing to listeners the abuse Jacque endured during her marriage.  Soon afterwards national media outlets picked up the story and the spotlight was finally turned on the case. Major searches for Jacque were planned in the coming weeks afterwards. 

The family registered the case with CUE Center for Missing persons in North Carolina, and the Scott County Missouri Search and Rescue K-9 Team, both non-profit organizations aiding families of the missing. They began to map out areas and began searching for Jacque.  According to searchers on the ground, during one of the large scale searches, Clay Waller drove by the 150 volunteers, honked his car horn, blew them kisses and flipped them his middle finger.

In September, 2011, another break in the missing mother’s case occurred when Clay Waller’s father related to police hisson’s confession to him that he broke her neck during an argument. Waller’s father was ill and in a nursing home when the interview was conducted by law enforcement. Prosecutors were unable to obtain a video affidavit in time and Waller’s father died in the nursing home on December 20^th, 2011, taking his information to the grave.

The first holiday without Jacque proved difficult for the family.  The triplets, now six years old and living with Jacque’s sister, know their mom is gone and made a special Christmas wish for Jacque to be found so they can visit her and place flowers on her gravesite.

On January 3, 2012, Clay Waller received a five year sentence in federal prison for threatening the legal guardian of his children, and his wife’s sister, online. 

During the last of week of April I was invited to Cape Girardeau by the Scott County Search and Rescue K-9 Team for a series of events to train law enforcement and lecture, bringing them awareness about intimate partner homicide and to highlight Jacque’s case. Just days before my arrival in Missouri, Clay Waller was charged with first-degree murder, as well as tampering charges included by the prosecutor. If convicted, he may spend the rest of his life in jail.  Clay Waller appeared on the murder charges in court today, with another hearing date set for the end of July..

                                             Jacque's Parents Stan and Ruby Rawson

Jacque Waller was, in my opinion, a very brave woman.  To endure the hell of abuse on a daily basis, and then figure out a way to leave with her three kids is remarkable, something many women aren’t able to do before they are murdered.  But, she did.  What Jacque Waller also does was set the tone for her kids, and no matter what happened to her she conveyed to them, by her actions, as only a mother can, that they will be safe. 

This should be a wake-up call for anyone involved in an abusive relationship.  Before you announce the marriage or relationship is over, have a solid game plan. Prepare the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and video.  Follow the information in thebook Time’s Up, and never, under any circumstances, agree to meet with the abuser alone.

 Document The Abuse Website

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases. She is the creator of the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit.

Crime Wire: Surviving Abusive Relationships Live 9:00 PM Eastern Time

Crime Wire: Surviving Abusive Relationships

FILED UNDER  CRIME WIRE, DENNY GRIFFIN, DOCUMENT THE ABUSE, EVIDENTIARY ABUSE AFFIDAVIT, SURVIVING ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, SUSAN MURPHY MILANO

You can hear Crime Wire Investigates beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Please visit our Crime Wire Website.

Together we can make a difference.

LISTEN LIVE:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/insidelenz

If you’re living in an abusive hell with a person who is emotionally and physically violent, this is a show you will want to make a point to listen.

BEFORE you announce to your abuser that it’s over, you are leaving, or you are filing for divorce, there are specific steps you must take to manage your safety. If you do not take precautions, you could end up on a missing persons report or worse yet, your name engraved on a cold cemetery headstone.

Joining the show for the hour are two women who are alive today because they planned ahead for safety from their abuse, Barbara Fiorucciand Tracey Murphy will discuss and share the importance of surviving violence in the relationship and by using the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit each of them is out of the abuse and into making plans for the future.

By listening to this show you will hear about, not only the violent relationships of these two brave women, but, how each of them did the work twice! Yes, that’s right, they each started doing the exercises included in the Time’s Up book by show co-host, Susan Murphy-Milano, but each of them stopped, went back into the relationship and learned the hard way that some things just do not change. Starting from step one, each of them then completed everything lined out in the book and escaped unharmed.

You will learn about the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and Document the Abuse.Com and how you can become certified to assist victims to use the tools they need. Please visit the site for the information.

Each week Crime Wire Co-hosts, Dennis Griffin and Susan Murphy-Milano, bring listeners information, experts and cases to examine.  Tune in each week for something new and different!

www.imaginepublicity.com

A Lesson for The World: Susan Cox Powell and Her Children

Susan Cox Powell's murder, along with her children's premeditated killings at the hands of their father, is a front row seat to missing persons cases, inadequate children and family services, criminal investigations, family court and a community who stood in silence.

The Huffington Post is now reporting on, after two innocent children are blown-up, and releasing numerous emails Susan sent to co-works, friends and family.

Nine emails were provided to the newspaper after Susan Powell disappeared in December 2009, but at the request of the provider, the newspaper held back on publishing them until now.

"Every moment I step back and take stock of what I'm dealing with, it feels like a never ending cycle but I'm too afraid of the consequences (sic) losing my kids, him kidnapping, divorce or actions worse on his part, if I take a stand on one of his ultimatums like spending $20 on the counseling co-pay or cutting off access to my pay check," she wrote.

When Susan Cox Powell vanished, it was disclosed by the oldest of the boys, "mommy went on a camping trip with us but she didn't come back." West Valley city police, for unknown reasons, decided to sit on evidence; blood, child's disclosure, a letter found in Susan's drawer at work stating "if something happens to me." There was enough within weeks to prevent Josh Powell from leaving the state of Utah and making an arrest. What in God's name were they waiting for?

Why are these emails just now surfacing? If Huffington Post thinks this is a "hot news story," they are mistaken. This is pure ignorance to the seriousness of the crime immediately after Susan was reported missing. They had an opportunity and an obligation to either turn those emails over to law enforcement and or report on them in a timely fashion.

Has anyone from a church in the State of Utah taken any pro-active action pertaining to the importance of what to do if a member of their congregation is in an abusive relationship ? They remain as hushed as the victims whose lives are erased. Why? Because intimate violence remains behind closed doors. Susan Cox Powell lived and breathed a crime scene in her own home each time verbal and physical threats were made to her safety. There are others like Susan, sitting in those church pews on Sundays, are we making an effort to help them? The answer is no!

I'm not here to win friends or influence public opinion. Unless you have lived and breathed your childhood and teen years wondering whether you will live or die, you have no room to be upset with anything done to change how the world does not see these crimes of intimate partner violence and homicide.

Pastor Neil Schori wrote on his blog in February:

Churches MUST become safe for #DV Victims


I’ve spoken with many domestic violence activists and also with victims of abuse. One of the most common things they say is that they have not found churches to be supportive of them. Activists tell me that it is almost as if pastors and church leaders don’t actually even hear what they are saying. Victims have told me that pastors have condescendingly told them that they are involved in active sin by attempting to divorce their violent abusers and that they needed to go home and submit and “suffer for Jesus.”

This should make you angry and sad. AND ready to stand up and say NO MORE! The church should be a refuge for victims of abuse. Abusers should look at the church as a dangerous place for them to pull out their false-piety and sugary sweet manipulation.

Jesus came so that we would have overflowing, beautiful life. That certainly includes victims of domestic violence. Will you help us?

Please ask your pastor to talk about domestic violence at your church. Tell your pastor that 5 families in your church can be a part of rescuing the 1.3 million victims of domestic violence in the US each year. Tell your pastor about this incredible resource: http://documenttheabuse.com

I’d love to add you to our growing list of safe families for victims of domestic violence. Send me a message if you are interested in learning how.

Since the disappearance of Stacy Peterson on October 28, 2007, Pastor Schori is working to get the faith based communities across the counrty on board with the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit located on the Document The Abuse. com site.

Maybe the Huffington Post can write about what is actually working to save lives. Printing these emails now is a crime all by itself!

*****  

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

 A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host onCrime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writes providing commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime Susan is also the daughter of a Chicago Violent Crimes detective who murdered her mother before committing suicide. 

The Latest on Forbes: Global Terrorism And The World Conference Of Women In Washington, D.C.

It’s already Monday in other places like Hong Hong and Sidney, Australia. Wherever you live, you can bet someone is weeping and saying prayers over their recently buried loved one, kneeling on cold, hard ground over one who was murdered and silenced by intimate partner violence.


One out of every three women around the globe has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, and the person who is controlling and violent toward her is either a former, current or newly severed relationship. Yet, when we read about a bride being burned or a woman stoned to death in a third-world country, we gloss over the information provided in the news story, often dismissing those killings as uncivilized, excusing the inhumane murders as if to say, “That’s halfway across the globe.”  To read the rest of the article click the link below:

Crime, She Writes

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/crime/2012/02/26/global-terrorism-and-the-world-conference-of-women-in-washington-d-c/

Television Show Pilot "MURPHY'S JUSTICE" Watch Now!

This is HOT…This is NOW…It’s here and it’s HAPPENING!

ImaginePublicity has just received the rough pilot for a new television show, MURPHY’S JUSTICE and we need you to take a look!  We are in important negotiations to make this show a reality. We value and need your immediate feedback!

PLEASE GO TO YOUTUBE “LIKE” AND LEAVE COMMENTS!

• Tell us what you think!  
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The Roth Show with Susan Murphy Milano and Statement Analysis Expert Peter Hyatt Tonight Live at 7:00 PM EST- Missing Mothers Murders and IPV

The Roth Show : Statement Analyst Peter Hyatt Returns

POSTED BY ADMINISTRATOR ⋅ 02/19/2012 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

FILED UNDER  DR. LAURIE ROTH, PETER HYATT, STATEMENT ANALYIST, STATEMENT ANALYSIS, SUSAN MURPHY MILANO,  ROTH SHOW,TRUE CRIME, Susan Cox Powell, Michelle Parker, renee Pernice, Stacy Peterson, Lisa stebic,

 Listen LIVE: http://therothshow.com

Join Dr. Laurie Roth and Susan Murphy Milano each 

Wednesday from 7-8ET

Never boring, always a surprise or two, hitting the air with passion for justice and making things right!

Peter Hyatt

The central theme of Peter Hyatt’s personal blog is “Statement Analysis“, a method of linguistic polygraphy which seeks to discern truth from deception found within speech. Many of these cases are discussed on “The Peter Hyatt Show” on Blog Talk Radio, or on the shows of others which invite Peter Hyatt to appear.

Peter Hyatt works with law enforcement, private citizens, attorneys, and other organizations, particularly on missing persons cases.  Peter frequently works consulting with law enforcement throughout the country.

“Although Statement Analysis is of great value to an investigator, it is also a great tool for counselors, therapists, human resources, educators, and all those interested in truth.  Equally valuable for private life, the ability to discern truth from deception is something that can be learned, practiced, and excelled at.  In fact, everyone from junior high principals to parents need to learn to discern truth from fiction.” Peter Hyatt

Peter and his wife Heather write timely articles analyzing high profile crimes, often showing readers areas of deception within television and newspaper interviews.  Check out the blog:  Statement Analysis and get to know the Hyatts and the fascinating science of analyzing words and how they are used.

Peter Hyatt is a civil investigator who has conducted more than 2,500 interviews including children’s interviews.  He uses Statement Analysis is his work, and teaches Statement Analysis in Interviewing.  
He also works part-time as an analyst for law enforcement and private companies.  He is the host of “The Peter Hyatt Show” while appearing on various other programs as a guest analyst, including on the forum of “Crime Wire.”  He has authored many articles, some of which can be found here. He does pro bono work for families in “cold cases”; doing analysis of prior interviews.  Tonight we discuss missing intimate partner homicides and those who appear to get away with murder!

www.imaginepublicity.com

Ignorance is the Leading Cause of Murder in Intimate Partner Violence

I receive quite a few private emails blasting me for writing the truth after a victim is found dead or murdered and the boyfriend or husband ends their lives in suicide.  People that write or leave comments appearing on the blog, often defending the actions of a killer, is out of pure ignorance of the nature of the crime.  Making excuses such as mental illness, they served in the military, grew up in an abusive household, post traumatic stress syndrome, to a drug and alcoholic problems, the list of excuses is endless.

The mindset of the general public seemingly looks everywhere around a tragedy, except the obvious.  If a man or a woman murders someone with whom they had or have a relationship, it is calculated and premeditated from a state of escalation.  But, to those who profess to know the killers of intimate partner homicide, the reactions to the crime are not realistic from my viewpoint.  Having a bad day, saying the individual was driven to do it, or there is so much chaos in that persons' life is often a justification for the criminal act by those who knew them.  When you make these types of remarks you are defending a cold blooded murderer, whether it be your friend or family member. I do not intend to demean your grief or loss, only to put the crime, and the criminal, in the proper perspective.

Calling out someone, such as myself, tearing them down personally for trying to keep victims and their families alive, is a crime in and of itself.  The pattern of conduct by my police officer father, likely from the moment I came into the world, is no different than those I write about each day.  My father's pattern of conduct was the predictor to her murder and his suicide.  Unless you live behind the walls of daily terror and the unknown, you haven't a clue what it's like to know if you will wake up the following morning.  Intimate partner homicide took away the lives of not only my parents, but my brother, kid sister and me.

Writing about those victims who did not reach out to someone such as myself in time, who did not know to read the information prescribed in the book Time's Up, or were unable to prepare the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, is my way to shout to the world that the victims mattered, even in their untimely deaths. My hope is the world will stop closing it's eyes  when innocent children like Charlie and Braden Powell die, whose mother Susan Cox is still missing, and be forced to watch that no more children are blown up out of rage from this world into the next.


I have lost everything to the epidemic of intimate partner violence. Personally, I have nothing left to lose by calling out the bloody truth.

When you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. So, instead of chastising my writing, make it part of your life to prevent the next incident of homicide in your own backyard.


Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

 A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writes providing commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime. Her new book Holding My Hand Through Hell published by Ice Cube Press will be in book stores in September.