Suspect Allegedly Hid Ex’s Body With New Girlfriend’s Assistance

Tony Lawrence Charboneau and his girlfriend, Brandi Luffy, were charged with a number of felonies, including murder and kidnapping, in the death of Charboneau’s ex-girlfriend Amy Hogue, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. Amy Hogue, 43, “leaves behind a family that loved her dearly,” her daughter-in-law said. GoFundMe Washington County authorities said Charboneau and Luffy had gotten into a verbal argument with Houge on June 20, which eventually escalated to Charboneau “punching and stomping” the victim, according to a warrant application. Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that “she was trying to leave.” Advertisement “She was just ready to leave the residence, and that’s when the brutal assault took place,” Jacobsen said. According to the warrant application, the couple placed Houge into a wheelchair and restrained her hands and feet with ratchet straps. Authorities said the two placed shovels, tarps, a pickax and a gun into Charboneau’s vehicle before driving Houge to a wooded area near his home. Charboneau began digging a shallow grave down a wooded hill in the area before taking Houge out of the wheelchair and shooting her, according to the warrant. He then burned Houge’s remains and covered the grave with large rocks and tree limbs while his girlfriend remained in his car, keeping watch, authorities said. Charboneau was initially arrested on domestic assault charges on July 18 after police obtained an arrest warrant accusing him of physically assaulting Houge in May 2023, according to the Post-Dispatch. Advertisement During an interview with police, Luffy allegedly confessed that she had acted as a lookout while Charboneau killed and buried Houge and gave detectives the location of the grave, according to the warrant. “This case is horrifying in every respect, and my office will not rest until the victim’s killers are brought to justice,” prosecuting attorney John Jones said in the press release. Charboneau has now been charged with first-degree murder, domestic assault, kidnapping, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Taylor Crider, Houge’s daughter-in-law, said in a GoFundMe launched to offset cremation expenses that Houge “in no way deserved what happened to her.” Crider said Houge was taken away from her family too soon. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/man-accused-of-enlisting-girlfriends-help-to-hide-exs-body-after-kidnapping_n_66b5312ae4b044cc5e992d40