PAYETTE COUNTY, Idaho (Scripps News Boise) — An Idaho man was in court Monday to face charges in the murder and kidnapping of a missing 5-year-old boy.
On Monday, Stacey Wondra was arraigned and appointed a public defender in the death of Michael Vaughan, who went missing in Fruitland in July of 2021.
FILE – Michael Vaughan (Fruitland Police Department)
Justice John Meienhofer of the Third Judicial District of Idaho ruled that he will be held without bond.
Wondra, who was previously being held in a federal prison in Arizona on unrelated weapons charges, waived his right to an extradition hearing on Oct. 31 and was later transported back to Idaho to face charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, and being a persistent violator.
In 2022, Sarah Wondra — the wife of Stacey Wondra — was arrested for failing to report Vaughan’s death. Investigators searched their yard after receiving a credible tip but found no evidence. The charges against her were dropped in April 2023.
In 2025, police released bodycam footage showing Stacey Wondra on a video call with investigators during the 2022 excavation of his yard. In the footage, he directs officers to where he believed Vaughan was buried and says his wife was responsible. “Sarah could have done something with the body when I wasn’t home, knowing that she knew I had seen where she was digging,” Stacey is heard saying.
Authorities were unable to find any human remains after digging up the yard.
According to an affidavit, Stacey told investigators in Nov. 2022 that Vaughan was kidnapped so the child could be sold, an idea allegedly introduced by Adrien Lucienne. He allegedly told investigators that he witnessed his wife carrying Vaughan into their home on the night of his disappearance. Stacey allegedly said the boy suffocated after he was placed in a duffel bag with duct tape across his mouth.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Boise, an E.W. Scripps Company.
