CALDWELL, Idaho (Court TV) — Defense attorneys representing a man accused of kidnapping and killing a missing 7-year-old asked a judge for help, saying the victim’s family is harassing them.
Stacey Wondra appears in court at a hearing on Oct. 7, 2026. (Court TV)
Stacey Wondra, 33, appeared in court Wednesday alongside his attorneys for a motions hearing in which his team asked the judge to take action to protect them from online bullying. Anthony Geddes, one of Wondra’s attorneys, told Judge Brent Whiting that people who support the victim’s family had followed him and his team to their cars, taking pictures that were later posted online. “I don’t know what the point of that is other than to intentionally put it out online that ‘This is Mr. Geddes, this is that evil defense attorney and this is the car that he drives. Nothing good can come from that.”
Wondra has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder charges in the presumed death of Michael Vaughan, who disappeared on July 27, 2021, from his home in Fruitland, Idaho. In interviews with investigators, Wondra said that his wife and their roommates abducted the 7-year-old, duct-taped the child and then put him into a duffel bag, where he died. The defendant told police that Michael’s body was buried on his property, but no remains were found despite extensive searches.
“The Vaughan family is entitled to their grief and rage, and I believe that to this day. It is not my intention to muzzle anyone,” Geddes said. “There has been a definite ramp-up of behavior that is clearly intended to intimidate, to bully, to harass,” he added. Geddes said Brandi Neal, Vaughan’s mother, called him a liar in the media after a court hearing. “I’ve been called worse; that doesn’t bother me,” he said. “[Neal] can have any opinion of me she wants. I don’t believe it’s appropriate for her to broadcast on the airwaves that I’m a liar. That’s inappropriate. And it’s inappropriate because it directly impacts my client’s ability to receive a fair trial.”
Prosecutor Michael Duke agreed that it was inappropriate for any attorneys to be followed to their vehicle or for their cars to be photographed, but bristled at the idea of curbing anyone’s speech. Duke said that Wondra has been in daily contact with a podcaster who frequently goes online to share her communications with the defendant, many of which mock Neal. “While I was preparing the response to the motion, yesterday, this particular YouTuber went live and referred to Brandi as a liar,” Duke said.
Whiting agreed that any harassment or bullying was inappropriate, but questioned his ability to control the behavior. “What legal basis do I have to order people who are not subject to the jurisdiction of this court by being part of this case, to prohibit their conduct?”
“Well, frankly, Your Honor, I don’t think this court has that authority,” Duke answered.
FILE – Michael Vaughan (Fruitland Police Department)
“I’m not asking you to come down on anyone. I’m asking for the conduct to end, that’s all I want,” Geddes said. “I think an admonition from the court about appropriate conduct would be sufficient for defense purposes. I just want it to end, for our client to have a fair trial and have a fair and impartial jury and I want the Vaughan family to be able to express their opinions. I’m not asking you to come down on anybody.”
Whiting granted the defense’s request. “The harassment of the participants in this case, the harassment of the families of the victim and also the supporters of the defendant is not helpful to this process of finding and determining justice, and that is the ultimate goal of this court,” he said. “For the rest of the public out there, again, I am giving the strongest admonition: Please allow this proceeding to go as it needs to without being influenced or interrupted in ways that would make it difficult for justice to be determined in this matter.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, Whiting said he would consider a defense motion to suppress a letter allegedly written by the defendant, which attorneys have called the “Thanksgiving letter.” The message, addressed to the Vaughan family, was found in Wondra’s cell in 2022 during a search of his belongings following a suicide attempt and appeared to be a “work in progress,” investigators said. Wondra’s defense has said the jury should not hear about the letter because it was taken from Wondra’s cell in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
Duke argued that Wondra had no reasonable expectation of privacy while in jail and that officers found the letter during a routine, lawful search.
