Idaho suspect Stacey Wondra claimed he left abducted 5-year-old Michael Vaughan crying: ‘wanted nothing to do with it’

An Idaho resident faces felony murder and kidnapping charges in connection with the 2021 disappearance of a 5-year-old boy, according to court documents.

Stacey Wondra, 33, lived in Fruitland, Idaho, only a few blocks from the home of the missing child.

The defendant faces counts of first-degree felony murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence, court records show.

Prosecutors accuse Wondra of playing a direct role in what happened to the child. His defense attorneys argue he was essentially a bystander who did not personally carry out the alleged murder, according to court documents.

On July 27, 2021, 5-year-old Michael “Monkey” Vaughan disappeared from his family’s home in Fruitland, police said.

The boy vanished after what began as an ordinary evening with his father, court records show.

Michael’s mother, Brandi, was working at a local grocery store that evening, according to the documents.

His father, Tyler, remained at home with the 5-year-old boy and a 2-year-old daughter, records state.

The father had been playing monster trucks with his son before stepping away, according to the account detailed in court documents.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., the father stepped away to wake Michael’s younger sister, change her diaper and order pizza, records show. By approximately 7 p.m., Tyler realized his son was gone, according to court documents.

Brandi rushed home from work as an enormous search began, police said.

Michael’s family, law enforcement officers and community members joined the search effort, according to authorities.

Investigators came to believe the 5-year-old may have wandered outside looking for other children to play with, records show.

One potential clue in the investigation involved a pink “Big Flyer” tricycle, police said.

A neighbor reportedly saw Michael riding a pink tricycle near the home of Stacey and Sarah Wondra around the time he disappeared, according to court documents.

Another witness later told investigators that a similar tricycle had previously been seen inside the Wondras’ garage during a yard sale, records state.

Authorities eventually discovered the tricycle abandoned down a nearby bluff, according to court documents.

Police dogs tracking the area reportedly led authorities toward the Wondra residence near Meadowlark and Redwing, records show.

That property sat only a few blocks from the home where Michael lived, according to authorities.

Years later, prosecutors brought formal criminal charges accusing Stacey Wondra of involvement in the boy’s disappearance and alleged murder, court records show.

According to unsealed court documents, the defendant reportedly gave detectives his own detailed account of the evening.

The accused claimed his wife, Sarah Wondra, and two associates, Adrien Lucien and Brandon Schurtliff, brought Michael into the Wondra home that evening, records state.

Stacey allegedly claimed their intention was to “sell him for money,” according to the documents.

The defendant reportedly told detectives he could hear the 5-year-old crying and asking for his mother, records show. Yet the accused allegedly claimed he returned to his bedroom because he “wanted nothing to do with it,” according to court documents.

The husband further alleged that he later saw Michael restrained with duct tape and placed inside a zipped duffel bag, the records state.

Michael was subsequently taken to a spare bedroom in Kuna, Idaho, according to allegations in the case.

Investigators believe the child died inside the bag while at the Kuna residence, court records show.

The defendant allegedly told detectives that he later saw Sarah digging a hole in their Fruitland backyard, according to court documents. He told investigators he assumed Michael had been buried there, records show.

Authorities extensively searched the Wondra property in 2022 after cadaver dogs reportedly alerted investigators to areas around the grounds, police said.

Investigators did not find Michael during that search, according to court documents.

Authorities have considered the possibility that the child’s remains were initially buried at the property and subsequently moved, records show.

Sarah Wondra, Adrien Lucien and Brandon Schurtliff have all been identified as suspects in the ongoing investigation, according to authorities.

Sarah was charged in 2022 with failing to report a death, records show. That charge was later dismissed, according to court documents.

The defendant currently remains the only person charged with the alleged murder of the 5-year-old child, records state.

Michael has never been found, police said.

His family has spent nearly five years without their child and without the opportunity to bring him home, records show.

A trial for the defendant is currently expected to take place in 2027, according to court documents.