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A Missouri man is accused of tying his ex-girlfriend to a wheelchair, stomping on her and making her watch as he dug her grave before shooting her in the head and enlisting his new girlfriend to bury her.
Tony Charboneau and Brandi Luffy, both of Sullivan, were arrested and charged with murder in the June 20 death of Charboneau’s ex-girlfriend, according to Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Jones.
The victim was not named by Jones, but was identified by Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen as 43-year-old Amy Hogue. Her family confirmed Hogue’s death in a GoFundMe campaign.
Hogue went missing in mid-June near the community of Redwoods, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Seven weeks later, on August 2, authorities found Hogue’s body in a shallow grave near Charboneau’s home, the prosecuting attorney said in the release. She had a bullet hole in her skull.
Both Charboneau and Luffy were taken into custody and Luffy laid out for law enforcement officials what allegedly happened leading up to Hogue’s death.
Charboneau allegedly “punched and stomped the victim, a former girlfriend of Charboneau, on June 20, 2024, following a verbal argument,” according to probable cause statements filed with the Associate Circuit Court of Washington County.
Luffy then told investigators that she helped Charboneau put Hogue in a wheelchair and tied her to the wheelchair using ratchet straps.
Charboneau and Luffy left Hogue in the wheelchair while they gathered shovels, a tarp, a pickax and a gun, according to the probable cause statement.
“According to Luffy, she and Charboneau moved the victim to a spot in the woods where Charboneau shot the victim in the head, then buried her,” the prosecutor alleges in the release.
Charboneau “spent the rest of the day burying her in the grave, covering her with large rocks and tree limbs. Brandi stayed at the vehicle and was a lookout for any persons that may come.”
“Luffy confessed to acting as lookout while Charboneau shot and buried the victim, then helping Charboneau to destroy the ratchet straps and a tarp used in the crime and dispose of the victim’s purse.”
Charboneau is charged with first-degree murder, domestic assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
He was previously charged with two instances of domestic assault against the victim, and the charges remain pending in the Washington County Associate Circuit Court, according to the release.
Luffy is charged with felony murder, kidnapping in the first degree, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Both Charboneau and Luffy are being held at the Washington County Jail on a $1m bond each.
A GoFundMe has been created to help Hogue’s family, who were left devastated by her tragic death.
Taylor Crider, Hogue’s daughter-in-law wrote that they are hoping to raise enough money to have her cremated, and to hold a celebration of life in her honor.
“We want to give Amy the memorial she deserves, to honor her memory and say our last goodbyes,” she wrote.
“As you can imagine, we were not prepared for this at all,” she added.
“We are all devastated. Amy in no way deserved what happened to her.”
