Monster forced ex-girlfriend to watch her own grave being dug before shooting her in head, prosecutors say

A rural Missouri man has been accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and forcing her to watch as he dug her grave, before fatally shooting her in the head.

Police say Tony L. Charboneau, 36, punched, kicked and even stomped on his ex-girlfriend Amy Hogue, 43, during an argument on his property on June 20.

He and his current girlfriend, Brandi L Luffy, 40, then allegedly put the victim in a manual wheelchair and 'bound [Hogue's'] hands and feet to the wheelchair with ratchet straps, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say the couple then collected shovels, tarp, a pickaxe and a gun, which they loaded in the back of Charboneau's vehicle, and threw Hogue - still bound to the wheelchair - in the back seat.

They then drove to a wooded area in Sullivan - about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis - where police say the couple unloaded Hogue from the vehicle and brought her to a wooded hill, where Charboneau buried a shallow grave while Hogue watched.

Tony Charboneau, 36, (left) is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Amy Hogue, 43, (right) and forcing her to watch as he dug her shallow grave

Once the grave was complete, prosecutors say Charboneau took Hogue out of the wheelchair and shot her in the head.

He then spent the rest of the day burying Hogue and covering her with large rocks and tree limbs, while Luffy stayed at the vehicle and acted as lookout, the probable cause affidavit says.

After they fled the scene, Charboneau and Luffy allegedly burnt the ratchet straps and tarp, and drove to a river access point in Jefferson County, where they tossed Hogue's purse in the water. 

Meanwhile, Hogue's family started to worry about her, and reported her missing around the time of the attack, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Her sister in Franklin County and other out-of-state relatives then waited weeks for word of her whereabouts as cops circulated a missing-persons flyer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. 

Finally, in mid-July, investigators recovered Hogue's purse.

'That's the day we realized she was probably dead,' Sheriff Zach Jacobson said.

Hogue's family reported her missing around the time of the June 20 attack

He noted that the investigation was hindered by the rural setting.

'We are trying to piece this together with no cell service, so it's hard to ping phones,' Jacobson explained.

'So it's old-school police work, knocking on doors, interviewing everybody that we encounter, executing search warrants.

'They are literally boots on the ground. No technology in God's country,' he continued. 'And with no cell service, you're not leaving a digital footprint.'

Finally on August 2, Luffy admitted to helping Charboneau commit the heinous murder and led investigators to Hogue's body, police said.

Police remain unsure what Hogue may have been doing at her ex's house that day, with Jacobson saying, 'All we know is that she was trying to leave.

'She was just ready to leave the residence, and that's when the brutal assault took place,' he said. 

Charboneau (left) and his current girlfriend, Brandi Luffy, 40, (right) are being held on $1million cash-only bonds in connection to the heinous murder

Hogue had previously been abused by Charboneau, Jacobson said, including in May 2023. He said police took that case to prosecutors, but no arrest warrant was ever issued.

But he had been charged twice with domestic violence against Hogue, the Kansas City Star reports. 

He is now also facing charges of first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault, first-degree kidnapping, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Charboneau remains in custody on a $1million cash-only bond, and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on August 28.

Luffy is also charged with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit a felony.

She, too, remains jailed on a $1million cash-only bond, and is set to appear for a bond-reduction hearing on Tuesday. 

Hogue's family remembers her as a caring mother of three, who was murdered just four days after she became a grandmother for the first time

Meanwhile, Hogue's family remembers her as a caring mother of three, who was murdered just four days after she became a grandmother for the first time, according to an online fundraiser.

'She was a mother and my best friend,' her son, Corbin Crider, wrote on Facebook. 'She did not deserve this.'

'There are truly monsters in this world we live in,' he continued.

'To the friends and family that knew my mother, she loved each and every single one of you so deeply and so fiercely. 

'And to my mom, momma, I love you so very much. I know you will forever watch over us and guide us to a life you've always wanted for your kids.' 

The online fundraiser, hoping to raise money for Hogue's cremation and a celebration of life ceremony, also says Hogue 'never got to meet her first grandchild' and 'was taken from them way too soon.'