CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Brandon Shurtliff, the former roommate of the man accused of kidnapping and murdering Michael "Monkey" Vaughan, was released from Canyon County custody early on Wednesday morning.
A spokesperson for the Canyon County Sheriff's Office indicated that Shurtliff was held for 30 days after "failing to comply with alternative sentencing/sheriff's inmate labor detail, related to two cases from 2020 and 2021."
According to a Probable Cause Affidavit (PCA) obtained by Idaho News 6, Brandon Shurtliff was living with Stacey Wondra and Sarah Wondra at their Fruitland residence on July 27, 2021, the same day 5-year-old Michael "Monkey" Vaughan disappeared.
Stacey Wondra is currently charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and destruction of evidence in connection with the disappearance of Michael Vaughan.
In the PCA, Stacey Wondra makes several claims implicating all four residents of his home in the murder and disappearance of Michael Vaughan. The four residents include his wife, Sarah Wondra, as well as roommates Brandon Shurtliff and Adrien Lucienne.
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In December 2022, Fruitland Police initially named all four as suspects in the disappearance of Michael Vaughan.
While Shurtliff has not been charged or convicted of any crimes related to Michael's disappearance, surveillance images show an adult male walking through the neighborhood between 6:08 p.m. and 6:28 p.m. on the night Michael vanished.
In 2022, investigators identified the man as Shurtliff, who later told detectives that the footage shows him searching for the missing child.
Stacey Wondra alleges that Shurtliff supplied a duffel bag used to transport Michael Vaughan. Stacey went on to claim that Shurtliff helped place Michael in the duffel bag in an effort to transport the kidnapped child to Shurtliff's mother's home in Kuna. By the time they reached Kuna, where Brandon's mother lived, Stacey said Michael had fallen silent inside the duffel bag
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According to the PCA, Stacey Wondra claimed that Shurtliff left the duffel bag with the boy inside in a spare room at that home. Stacey went on to say that Shurtliff returned the next day with Sarah Wondra and Adrien Lucienne to retrieve the child's remains.
Stacey Wondra also claims that the idea to abduct the child for money came from Adrien, who said the other three would each get a "$10,000 cut" of the profits.
During a 2022 interview with the Fruitland Police while incarcerated in the Washington County Jail, Stacey Wondra told investigators that Sarah Wondra buried Michael's body. After a week of searching, authorities could not locate Michael's remains, and Stacey indicated that his wife, Sarah, may have moved the body.
"Like I said, Sarah could have done something with [the body] when I wasn't home. Knowing that she knew that I had seen where she was digging," said Stacey Wondra during the interview. "I'm distraught. I want this done and over with. This family has suffered way too long."
After the interview, Stacey Wondra wrote an apology letter to Michael's parents before attempting suicide in his jail cell. Jail staff ultimately thwarted Stacey's suicide attempt.
Sarah Wondra remains in Idaho Department of Corrections custody on weapons charges. Adrien Lucienne was released from custody in Indiana back in October for a traffic-related misdemeanor.
It remains unclear whether charges will be forthcoming against Sarah Wondra, Adrien Lucienne, or Brandon Shurtliff.
