CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of a Missouri man convicted of threatening his missing wife's sister.
The Southeast Missourian reports (http://bit.ly/Rl6ypb) that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed the five-year federal sentence imposed on Clay Waller in Oct. 2011. Waller was sentenced for making threats over the Internet to his sister-in-law.
Waller also faces a state charge of first-degree murder in the death of Jacque Waller, who disappeared June 1. Her body hasn't been found.
The federal appeals panel agreed with the lower court's decision to give Waller the maximum sentence on the threatening charge.
Clay Waller's attorney, Scott Tilsen, argued the court miscalculated sentencing guidelines, erroneously alleged Waller killed his wife and used the alleged murder to impose a maximum sentence.