A Missouri man accused of domestic violence strapped his ex into a wheelchair and forced her to watch him and his new girlfriend dig her grave before killing her, investigators said.

Tony Charboneau, 36, has been charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend Amy Hogue, 43, and other crimes related to her death after she disappeared on June 20, Washington County District Attorney John Jones announced last week.

According to the arrest affidavit, Charboneau allegedly got into an argument with Hogue that resulted in him hitting her and stomping on her as she left his home on the day of her disappearance.

Charboneau and his current girlfriend Brandi Luffy then allegedly forced Hogue into a manual wheelchair and bound her arms and feet with ratchet straps, police said.

Luffy, 40, and Charboneau left Hogue strapped to a wheelchair while they gathered “shovels, tarps, pickaxes and a firearm,” police said.

With the items and Hogue in the back seat of Charboneau’s car, the couple then allegedly drove from Charboneau’s home in Sullivan into a wooded area.

When the couple found a secluded spot, Hogue had to watch as Charboneau dug a shallow grave, authorities said.

Charboneau then allegedly took Hogue out of her wheelchair and shot her.

He “spent the rest of the day burying her in the grave and covering her with large rocks and branches,” the affidavit states.

Apparently, Luffy stayed by the car and looked out for passersby.

After leaving Hogue’s body in the makeshift grave, Charboneau and Luffy burned the straps and tarp.

They also disposed of the victim’s purse in a river in nearby Jefferson County, police said.

Hogue – the three are not related to Charboneau – was reported missing by her family around the time of the attack.

She appeared to be trying to leave Charnoneau’s residence when she was attacked, Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“She was just about to leave the apartment when the brutal attack occurred,” he explained.

Hogue’s purse was found by authorities in mid-July, and that’s when “we realized she was probably dead,” Jacobsen added.

Charboneau was immediately suspected of the crime because he had allegedly abused Hogue in the past, including an incident in May 2023 in which he allegedly hit her from behind so hard that she passed out, Jacobsen said.

Another case from October 2023 was also pending at the time of Hogue’s disappearance, Law & Crime reported.

After police found Hogue’s purse, they obtained an arrest warrant based on the May 2023 incident and took Charboneau into custody on suspicion of murder.

Although the main suspect was in custody, the investigation initially made no progress due to restrictions in the rural area, Jacobsen told the Post-Dispatch.

“We’re trying to reconstruct the situation without cell reception, so it’s difficult to ping phones,” Jacobsen said.

“So it’s old-school policing: knocking on doors, questioning everyone we meet, executing search warrants. They’re literally boots on the ground. There’s no technology in God’s country. And without cellphones, you leave no digital trace.”

On August 2, Luffy admitted to helping Charboneau kill Hogue and dispose of her remains, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Investigators excavated Hogue’s remains, which were “partially decomposed and showed an obvious gunshot wound” to the head, the document said.

In addition to premeditated murder, Charboneau is charged with domestic violence, kidnapping, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, prosecutors said.

Luffy was charged with premeditated murder, first degree kidnapping, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Both remain behind bars on bail of one million dollars in cash.

“This crime is heinous and senseless,” Jacobsen told KDSK about Hogue’s killing.

“That makes it even worse, the fact that she finally had enough and was ready to leave and escape that situation, and she was killed for it.”

The remote location makes it even more difficult for Hogue and other victims of domestic violence to seek help, he added.

“There is hardly any cell reception here, so if you need help, it is quite difficult to get help. A lot of things could have changed in this situation,” he said.

Washington County District Attorney John I. Jones IV said in a statement that his office “will not rest” until the suspects are brought to justice.

Her family remembered Hogue as a loving mother and new grandmother.

Hogue disappeared just four days after the birth of her first grandchild, her daughter-in-law wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page.

Because her son and his family live in Louisiana, Hogue never met the baby before his murder, the grieving relative added.

“She was a mother and my best friend. She did not deserve this,” Hogue’s son Corbin Crider wrote in a Facebook post.

“There really are monsters in the world we live in,” he added.

As of Tuesday, GoFundMe had raised $2,500 of its $5,000 goal.