Sullivan Man and Woman Charged with Kidnapping and Murder of Missing Woman

Washington, Co. (KFMO) - Tony Lawrence Charboneau, of Sullivan, Missouri has been charged by Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Jones 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. Brandi L. Luffy, also of Sullivan, has also been charged by Jones’s office 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.

These charges were filed following the discovery of a shallow grave near Charboneau’s residence containing the corpse of a missing woman. The victim’s identity is not being disclosed at this time out of consideration for the victim’s family. Probable cause statements filed with the Associate Circuit Court of Washington County recount Luffy’s disclosure to law enforcement that Charboneau punched and stomped the victim, a former girlfriend of Charboneau, on June 20, 2024, following a verbal argument. Luffy stated that following this assault, she assisted Charboneau in placing the victim in a wheelchair and tying the victim in the wheelchair using ratchet straps. 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. 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. 

Following Luffy’s confession, Washington County Sheriff’s Office personnel located the grave described by Luffy, which contained the remains of the victim with a bullet hole through the skull. Charboneau was previously charged with two instances of domestic assault against the victim, which charges remain pending in the Washington County Associate Circuit Court.

“This case is horrifying in every respect, and my office will not rest until the victim’s killers are brought to justice,” said Jones. “I thank the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for its tireless work investigating the victim’s disappearance and death, as well as the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the Potosi Police Department, and Washington County Coroner Steve Hatfield for their attention to detail in finding and documenting 
the grave site. Cooperation between the agencies and individuals that took part in this investigation was vital to determining what happened here and will be crucial in the prosecutions that follow.”

If you have any additional information about this case, please contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office or the Washington County Prosecutor's Office.