New allegations uncovered in blast that killed 6 Kansas City firefighters

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A yearlong newspaper investigation of an explosion that killed six Kansas City firefighters in 1988 has uncovered new allegations about who was responsible for setting the fires that led to the fatal blast.

In a copyrighted story in Sunday's Kansas City Star, an ex-convict who worked at the highway construction site where the explosion occurred says he knows who set the fires -- and it wasn't any of the five people who were convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison.

Howard Ed Massey II, a former woodcutter at the construction site, told federal agents in January that he saw a security guard running from a burning truck on the night of the explosion.

On Nov. 29, 1988, Kansas City firefighters were called to a blaze at a southeast Kansas City highway construction site. They arrived to find a burning, 40-foot trailer that held 25,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

The trailer exploded, killing firefighters Thomas Fry, Gerald Halloran, Luther Hurd, James Kilventon Jr., Robert D. McKarnin and Michael Oldham.

A jury in 1997 convicted brothers Frank and Skip Sheppard; their nephew, Bryan Sheppard; Richard Brown, who was a friend of the nephew; and Darlene Edwards, who was Frank Sheppard's girlfriend.

The five were believed to have burned an explosives trailer and a security guard's pickup at the site to cover up a botched burglary. All five still deny any involvement.

Federal prosecutors have told defense attorneys about Massey's claims, which surfaced during an ongoing, yearlong investigation by The Star. One defense lawyer says she will use the information to try and free the defendants.

"I think his statement raises troubling questions, and regardless of whether you believe Massey's allegations, they certainly suggest the need for further investigating," said defense attorney Cheryl Pilate.

Some of the new allegations are supported by evidence found during the Star's investigation, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper also raised questions about alleged admissions by a site security guard who talked of setting a truck on fire that night with a fellow guard, false testimony by one defendant's daughter and recanted testimony by prosecution witnesses.

Massey told federal agents he saw a woman he believed to be security guard Donna Costanza running from a burning truck. Massey said that was after an encounter he had with Costanza's roommate and fellow guard, Debbie Riggs, who he says offered him money to set fire to her truck to collect insurance.

Both Costanza and Riggs have denied the allegations.

Massey went to federal agents after talking to The Star, which interviewed him extensively and conducted a polygraph examination that found his information to be credible.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker, who prosecuted the five defendants, told The Star that his office doesn't believe Massey's statements and has no plans to open a new investigation.

"If the defense attorneys want to do something with (Massey's allegations), then it is their job to do so," Becker said.

Becker said Massey has changed his story about the explosions over time, even claiming in the past that he didn't know who was responsible.

Massey told The Star he did not admit what he knew then because he was a felon with a pending warrant, and he didn't want to be charged as an accessory.

"Nobody was supposed to get killed in this," Massey said, "but it got out of hand, and six firefighters died, and I have carried around a lot of guilt for 17 years because I still wonder if I could have stopped it."

There was little physical evidence in case, and no witnesses placed the defendants at the scene. Jailhouse informants provided most of government's evidence in getting the convictions.

Since the trial a decade ago, four prosecution witnesses have recanted their testimony and allege that federal agents threatened or manipulated them. One of those witnesses was Becky Edwards, daughter of Darlene Edwards.