Her Injuries Were Posted On FB! Aubrey’s Nurse Mother & Boyfriend Arrested For Her Murder!
Arrests have now been made in connection with the suspicious death of a 5-year-old girl. She died in June in Greenup County, and half a year later, Kentucky State Police say these two—the girl’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend—have been arrested on murder charges. News Channel 3’s Andrew Colgrove talked with Kentucky State Police about this investigation.
“It is very sad to see a young child lose her life at such a young age.”
Kentucky State Police say Aubrey was found dead in June at her home on Oak Street in Wurtland on June 17th. Aubrey’s mother, Rachel Waddell, and her boyfriend, Christopher Stiltner, were arrested Thursday. The indictments for both are worded the same, saying they committed murder by engaging in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person and thereby caused the death of a 5-year-old child due to multiple blunt force injuries. Troopers say the pair was taken into custody at their home Thursday without incident.
“It’s hard on the victim’s family, and it’s also hard on the perpetrators’ families. You know, a lot of people have been affected by this case.”
Both the mother and boyfriend are scheduled to appear in court next week; their arraignment is set for Thursday morning. Wurtland, Kentucky is a small town bordering Ohio, situated on the southern banks of the Ohio River. It’s where Rachel Waddell, a single mom, and her four children lived a seemingly normal life in this modest home. Rachel had graduated from nursing school in 2012 and was currently employed as a nurse at St. Mary’s ER across the river in Ironton, Ohio.
Rachel was previously married to Michael Dean Stowers, who was the father of all four of her children. It’s unclear when they parted ways. I’m wondering if their split was amicable or tumultuous. It would be interesting to know Rachel’s mindset after the split. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything on the details of their split. It’s also unclear what the custody arrangement was for the children, but it looks to me, after searching through Rachel’s social media, that she was the primary caregiver.
As I was scrolling through Rachel’s Facebook, which we all know is technically “fake book”—everyone portrays who they want the world to see, and most times it’s not who they truly are—but with that said, Rachel seemed to be a normal, loving mother to her children prior to meeting Clay. In her earlier posts, her children looked well-dressed, clean, and seemed happy. I found this comment under one of Rachel’s Facebook posts from what appears to be Rachel’s sister or someone close to her, talking about the day Rachel’s youngest daughter, Aubrey, was born. This comment makes it seem that Aubrey was a blessing to the family. So how on earth did Rachel end up burying her 5-year-old daughter and standing before a judge charged with murder?
While researching her Facebook page, I noticed changes in Rachel’s posts. I noticed changes in Aubrey. Horrific changes. Something obviously went terribly wrong.
Aubrey Marie Stowers was a beautiful blue-eyed angel born April 18th, 2018 in Portsmouth, Ohio. Her eyes were bursting with life, and her smile warmed anyone’s heart that was lucky enough to receive it. She loved riding her bike. She loved dancing to music. She never met a stranger; she would walk right up to you and start a conversation, and before leaving, she would tell you she loved you. Aubrey looked up to her brother and sisters, and they loved their little sister immensely. Her best friend, though, was her Bulldog, Diesel. She loved to cuddle with him. She found comfort in him. I’m so glad Aubrey had Diesel. I hope for even brief moments she felt safe when he was near. I wonder if he knew. I wonder what he saw. It breaks my heart to think about where he is now without Aubrey. She was looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall, but that would never happen. Her little life and little dreams were violently ripped away June 17th, 2023.
Rachel’s first Facebook post with her partner Clay Stiltner was December 24th, 2021, so I’m assuming they started dating in 2021. It’s unclear since neither of them have relationship statuses in their profiles. Side note: the news articles state his name is Christopher, but according to Facebook, he goes by Clay. I did some digging on Clay and found that he has a daughter that seems to be about the same age as Rachel’s oldest. It doesn’t look like he had full custody of her, but his Facebook page has him and his daughter as the profile picture and the cover photo. Most of his posts are crass, at best. He posts a lot of memes and jokes that, yeah, maybe some are funny, but there are a few that are just gross and possibly offensive to women, which says a lot to me about the kind of guy he probably is.
What’s interesting is he has no pictures of him and Rachel anywhere on his Facebook. I scanned through every post, and God help me, I needed a drink after that, and I didn’t find any likes from Rachel or comments, which I find interesting. On Rachel’s Facebook page, she has quite a few photos of her and Clay. I noticed Clay never liked or commented on any of those posts. Being a woman myself who has in the past been single and dating, that’s a red flag. When your partner hasn’t shared photos of you or the two of you together on his social media and never likes or comments on any of your posts, it may sound trifling, but it shows a lack of interest. I mean, he has plenty of time to post jokes about women’s body parts, and it’s not like Clay wasn’t active on his social media. He was posting once or twice a week. What I glean from comparing their social medias within the context of this case is that Clay seemed nowhere near as much into the relationship as at least Rachel portrayed to be.
Clay’s last post on Facebook was dated June 15th, 2023, two days before Aubrey’s death. After that post, he would not post again until November 6th of 2023. That is very telling to me, especially when comparing the context of his usual posts to this one nearly four months after Aubrey’s death. Do you think he posted a tribute to Aubrey, condolences to her family, or mentioned her at all? No, it’s about himself, of course: “Praying a lot. Staying strong. Clearest I’ve had my head in a while.” What are you praying for, Clay? Are you praying law enforcement doesn’t find out what you did? “Clearest you’ve had your head in a while.” What does that mean? Were you on drugs? Addicted to alcohol? “Staying strong.” What does that mean? Because obviously, you’re a coward who hurts little girls. I digress.
His next post is about a week later. Of course, not a mention of Aubrey. It’s about himself again: “I know they make medicine and God is an amazing source, but my little buddy has been a rock the size of a glacier for me. It’s absolutely incredible what they can do for you. I’d be lost without him. Thank you, Duke, and thank you God for helping us find each other. 13 years strong.” This post made me want to come through my phone. This piece of human garbage is talking about his struggles, how he leans on his dog for comfort. What about Aubrey, Clay? She leaned on her dog. That’s about all she had to lean on, since the adults in her life who she should have been able to lean on for comfort and safety were slowly killing her.
Then, as if it can’t get any worse, his next four posts are ridiculous memes up until a week before he was arrested. If your intimate partner lost her 5-year-old daughter, you would think there would be some sort of mention of condolences. If you are dating a child’s mother, posing for photos with that child as if you were a supportive, caring figure in her life, you would think there would be some mention of her or her grieving mother in your posts. But no, you post about yourself and then go right back to your crass, unintelligent, caveman-style rhetoric. Very telling, Clay.
Here is a comment I found under one of Rachel’s Facebook posts that seems to back up what I’m thinking about this so-called relationship: “I’ve known Rachel many years and I can honestly say I never thought she could do this. And I also know Clay and many details and stories about him, and honestly, this didn’t surprise me at all. I just wish someone would have gotten her away from him before he turned her into this monster. But now the only thing everyone should be focused on is the truth coming out and justice for this baby.” Very telling.
Let’s dive into Rachel’s Facebook. It definitely tells a cryptic story. You have to read between the lines and dig a bit, for sure, but there are blatant indicators something was terribly wrong with Aubrey. Going back to 2019, photos of Aubrey seemed to show a healthy, happy little girl. I don’t notice anything out of place in any of these photos. What’s interesting is there aren’t a lot of public posts or photos prior to Rachel intertwining herself with Clay. I wonder why she’s starting to share so much after she started dating him. I can only speculate here, but I have a few theories I’d like to lay out for you to ponder, and hopefully, as more information is released in this case, things will become more clear.
My first theory is she was in a controlling relationship. Often in those types of unhealthy relationships, the controlling partner demands you splash them all over your social media for the public to see, even if they don’t do the same. In their mind, it’s a way of showing the world you are together, sort of marking their territory. Another theory I have is Rachel knew her life was in shambles after Clay’s mask came off and she saw who he really was. And by posting photos that clearly show Aubrey and even possibly herself with suspect injuries, that maybe it was a cry for help. There is also a sadistic element I contemplated. Once you see the photos I’m about to show you, you may agree why it made me ponder if Rachel wasn’t getting some sort of sick pleasure posting photos of an injured Aubrey.
With such little information available, it’s really hard to say what was going on in Rachel’s head. I don’t want to believe the wrong relationship could turn a mother into a monster, but she was indicted for the same crimes as Clay, which is quite telling. And gut-wrenching to think she participated in the torture of beautiful Aubrey for years.
In this photo here, I have a red circle around Aubrey’s arms, and you can see in the crease of her arms, it looks like there is bruising. I don’t know if it’s from being tied up or what, but it’s very obviously there. And you can also see if you look closely at her wrist, it looks like something had been binding her wrist. There is definitely a mark there that looks bruised. This photo here shows it close up, her wrist. You can see in the red circle there’s definitely some bruising and some redness on her wrist.
In this photo here, she’s got stitches on her eye. Now mind you, children get injured, sometimes they need stitches. But as you will see going forward, there are just so many photos, it’s obvious these weren’t just accidents happening every once in a while. And in this picture, which I find very, very difficult to look at because Clay is in it and posing with her, but you can see on Aubrey… first of all, I have to say in a lot of photos on Rachel’s Facebook, I noticed that Aubrey wears sunglasses often. I am concerned that she was wearing sunglasses to conceal injuries on her eyes. You can see on this close-up here, bruising on her inner arm in the same spot we saw when she was in the car seat, and another bruise on her outer arm pointed out by the red arrows here.
On this photo, you see a lot of bruising on her legs, and again, we all know kids fall, but this is extreme in my opinion. All of the bruising being pointed out by these red arrows, and it’s just heartbreaking to see this. And this photo of Aubrey with her best friend, Diesel, you might notice a little discoloration on her nose here. You can see a close-up of her nose. It looks like scraping on her nose. In her nostril, it looks like dried blood, and then here, pointed at that yellow area, looks like some sort of bruising.
In this photo here, pointed out by the white arrows, definitely on her head there where her hairline is, there is an injury surrounded by a lot of bruising. Same came with over her eye; it looks like another bruise that actually looks swollen to me. And then her nose looks like there is crusted blood around her little nostril. Her lips look very, very dry and chapped, and it does look like there might possibly be some markings around her lips as pointed in this red arrow here. And then I’ve also gotten more close-up on that bruise that is around her hairline.
In this photo here, you can see that the stitches were removed, and that injury is still healing. And it looks to me like her eyes are very tired. She’s got bags under her eyes and discoloration. And again, her lips look very dry and chapped, which to me is indicative of maybe some dehydration. Also on her hand, pointed out by an arrow, there is a bruise on her hand as well.
This photo here, her under-eyes again are very discolored. I’m not sure what is going on above her lips there; it may be some punch she drank, it could possibly just be from that, I’m not really sure. Again, if you look down on her arm, it seems to be some bruising around her wrist area like I showed you in another photo. And then I don’t know why her finger looks so discolored to me. I’m not sure if there’s an injury or something healing, it just her finger doesn’t look right, and it looks concerning to me.
In this photo here, she has for sure a black eye. There is no doubt in my mind that is not what that is. And Rachel has her posing, smiling in Christmas photos. It is just horrific and unreal to me why she’s posting these photos. In this photo here at New Year’s, you can see she’s got a bruise above her eye, healing of a black eye, in my opinion. So incredibly sad. In this photo here, it looks like she has two black eyes, or they are very, very discolored. On her arm there, the one that’s reaching up, it looks like there’s more bruising there. And then she’s got horrific bruising on her legs, as we saw in the other photo where she was in the bunny ears.
In this photo here, you can see a bruise on her arm. I went in for a close-up there because I wasn’t sure if it was her hair, but it’s definitely not her hair. There is a pretty dark bruise there on her arm. This photo here is of Rachel; one of her legs that could be indicative of some sort of abuse. It could be an accident, I’m not really sure, but that’s a lot of bruising on her leg there that I just thought I would point out to you guys.
All of the photos I just showed you were publicly posted on Rachel’s Facebook. You’re probably wondering how did all of the injuries on little Aubrey go unnoticed? And if anyone did notice all of the injuries, why were they not reported? Because the arrest of Rachel and Clay just happened a few weeks ago, there is very, very little information available as to the details of what went on. So my only option for insight is their social media pages.
We dug through the comments on every post in Rachel and Clay’s Facebook pages and I found a few nuggets. Comments on a Facebook page obviously need to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s hardly verifiable information, but I thought we should take a look at what some people have to say anyway. These comments paint an interesting picture of some possible information that may come out at trial. This is merely speculation but very interesting.
This comment here was under a birthday post for Rachel’s son. It stated by two different people that her son did tell what was happening to Aubrey. A lot of comments are from people furious no one reported what was happening to Aubrey, but there are a few comments like these that are saying people were reporting the abuse, including her own brother. This one here says he reported that Mommy and her boyfriend beat his sister then go shopping. Can you imagine if her brother was telling people about Aubrey and no one was listening? I can’t imagine the heavy burden her siblings must carry. If they were not being physically hurt, I’m sure they heard or witnessed it happening to their baby sister, Aubrey. It must have been absolutely terrifying, and it makes me shudder to think how helpless they must have felt to try to save her.
These comments here are stating that CPS was involved, but Rachel kept flying under the radar because she was a nurse. Yes, as I mentioned earlier in the video, Rachel was an ER nurse working at St. Mary’s ER in Ironton, Ohio, across the river from where they were living in Wurtland. So that means she was a mandated reporter. This comment from a woman states her husband was in the ER where Rachel was working and she remembers there was a nurse there that had lost her child. Someone else comments that the ER allowed Rachel to still work there even though she had an open case with CPS. How can a mother who is a nurse, whose life’s work is to heal and comfort the sick and injured, hurt her own child and allow a subhuman piece of garbage like Clay to come in and terrorize their entire household? And here we are again with CPS possibly dropping the ball, this time allegedly giving special treatment in this case because Rachel was a nurse. Now, this is all speculation, as I mentioned, but I would be willing to bet there is truth to some of this. We’ll just have to wait until more details are released.
Here is a comment I found stating Clay was a monster. It also states in one of the articles I read that he had a previous conviction for abuse of a minor. Come on, Rachel, did you not do any due diligence before bringing Clay around your children? A simple background check would have shown that. Abusive boyfriend syndrome is a thing. Scholars note there is a statistically greater potential for instability in homes where adults and children who have no biological connection reside. Their primary interest is really the adult partner, and they may find themselves more irritated when there’s a problem with the children.
In an article, “Child Abuse and Other Risks of Not Living With Both Parents,” published in Ethology and Sociobiology, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson note, “If their parents find new partners, children are 40 times more likely than those who live with biological parents to be assaulted or physically abused.” According to a Missouri-based study of children living in homes with unrelated adults, children are nearly 50 times as likely to die of inflicted injuries as children living with two biological parents.
These are worrying statistics, both disturbing and scary. Parents have got to be more cognizant of the dangers of bringing someone you are dating around your children, men and women alike. As we found in one of my previous videos about Iris, the girlfriend of Iris’s father plotted her death for months before she succeeded. If you haven’t already, go watch Iris’s video; I’ll link it in the description. So it’s not just bringing unrelated men around children; it’s unrelated women just the same. As parents, our babies have to come first, not who we might be dating at the time.
This next comment, if true, is absolutely disgusting. This comment is stating that Rachel was telling people that Aubrey collapsed and no one knows why. “It’s still under investigation.” And right below it, the same commenter states that Rachel was heavily hinting, but didn’t outright say, her son had something to do with it. I’m wondering, is that going to be Rachel’s defense in this case? Would she really stoop so low as to blame her own son? That would be about as low as you can go as a mother. I really hope she doesn’t go there. If she doesn’t blame her son, I could see her blaming it all on Clay and use some sort of battered woman’s defense. But there is zero defense for what happened to Aubrey.
Rachel, being a nurse, knows there is help out there for women and children to get out of an abusive situation. I’m sure she was trained on recognizing signs of abuse and has probably handed many women pamphlets full of information on how to seek help. Regardless of what she may or may not use as her defense, she is charged equally as Clay, so law enforcement must have found evidence that she participated in Aubrey’s demise.
Here are two posts from Rachel I also found interesting. This one says, “One of the most underrated ingredients for having a good life is a clear conscience. To know you’re not out here doing people dirty, hiding who you are, or screwing people over lets you sleep peaceful at night.” Well, well, well. If we put this post in context with this case, it seems to me a guilty conscience is indeed what she may have had and is posting this to make herself look and feel better. Just my opinion.
And then there is this post: “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the mind, soul, heart, and body of our patients. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” That is so twisted to me, knowing what was going on in her home with Aubrey. This was definitely not a match made in heaven, more like one made in hell. And because of this, Aubrey is gone, and her siblings will carry the weight of all of this for the rest of their lives.
I want to talk about the home they were living in. I went on Zillow and found that it is now up for auction. I tried to find deed information on the home and did find it showed the last owner was Rachel Waddell. It’s unclear if Clay was living there with them or not. If he wasn’t living there full-time, I’m assuming he was there often. But what struck me was how small the home is. According to Zillow, it’s a three-bedroom, one-bath home just under 1,200 square feet. They only have a photo of the front of the home posted. I was hoping to find photos of the inside to get more perspective on their living situation, but all I could find was the front of the home. In this size of a home, there was no way the other children did not at least hear what was happening to Aubrey. I imagine Aubrey and all of the children feeling trapped and terrified in such a small space with such rage and anger.
So to recap what Clay and Rachel are facing, let’s read through this article real quick:
“A Greenup County couple implicated in the murder of a 5-year-old was granted bond on Thursday morning. Rachel Waddell, 36, and live-in partner Christopher Clay Stiltner, 38, were booked into Greenup County Detention Center last week, each charged with a sole count of murder. Their murder charges stem from a lengthy investigation into the suspicious death of Waddell’s daughter, Aubrey Stowers, who died June 17th, 2023, at the couple’s Wurtland home. According to Kentucky State Police, Stiltner and Waddell were arrested without incident after a Greenup County grand jury found probable cause to charge both parties separately with Aubrey’s murder.
Authorities have not released details about the pair’s specific alleged actions to protect the integrity of the legal process, but the couple’s separate indictments suggest the two equally wantonly engaged in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person. On Thursday, Stiltner and Waddell made their first Circuit Court appearance for arraignment before Greenup Circuit Judge Brian McCloud. Prior to the court’s commencement, the couple fell into line with other inmates transported from the jail and filed into the jury box, with Waddell seated in the far left of the front row and Stiltner blending into the top right.
In addition to their separated seating arrangement, Waddell and Stiltner’s emotions also appeared to be divided. Stiltner, dressed in a blazing orange jumpsuit, sat idle and aloof and stared straight ahead throughout the proceedings before his case was called. Waddell, however, appeared anxious and emotional before the hearing, as she mostly gazed at her shackled feet, fidgeted with her hands, and sniffled, mimicking a quiet sob.
Just after 10:40 a.m., the two were called before Judge McCloud. As defense attorney Sebastian Joy officially stated he would be duly representing Stiltner and Waddell, Joy waived formal arraignment, meaning Waddell and Stiltner’s issued indictments were not read aloud to the near-capacity courtroom, and not guilty pleas were entered on the pair’s behalf. Joy also requested McCloud to take up the issue of bond, as both were originally booked into custody without. Based on Waddell’s lack of criminal history and her previous punctuality in family court, Joy requested a $50,000 bond. As far as Stiltner, Joy pitched $100,000, as he said he was familiar with the case and believed the murder of Aubrey was not an intentional act.
After reviewing the medical examiner and coroner reports, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Merkel brought up Stiltner’s previous conviction, which Merkel said involved the abuse of a minor victim. Joy clarified it was previously amended to a misdemeanor. Merkel said the bond should reflect the seriousness of the charge and requested $500,000 for each. Judge McCloud ruled a $200,000 cash or property bond for each, Stiltner and Waddell. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 18th, 2024. The two were also tentatively scheduled to stand trial in August of this year. If convicted by a jury, the couple faces life in prison.”
This case not only ripped my heart to shreds, it infuriated me. How could a mother, who was also a nurse of all things, not only allow this monster into her home but participate in the brutal torture of Aubrey that she had to endure for years—posting photo after photo of a smiling Aubrey online, exposing the injuries on her little body? Precious little Aubrey still smiling even though her body was enduring horrendous pain. How was CPS and law enforcement not being flooded with calls and demands for an investigation by friends and family who had to have noticed these injuries on Aubrey? This beautiful baby girl couldn’t endure one more beating. Her broken little body finally gave up, and that’s what it took for anyone to listen after it was too late.
It’s unbelievable and heartbreaking how many cases like this haunt our headlines. Beautiful little Aubrey needs justice. I hope these two never see the light of day again. Fly high, little Aubrey. I’m glad you’re not in any more pain, sweet girl. We will be your voice and demand the justice you deserve.
