KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Attorneys for two of the five people convicted of arson in a 1988 explosion that killed six firefighters announced Thursday that there is new evidence in the case that needs to be examined.
On Nov. 29, 1988, Kansas City Missouri firefighters responded to an early-morning fire at a construction site near 71 Highway in south Kansas City. One of the construction trailers – which contained tens of thousands of pounds of industrial explosives – blew up, instantly killing firefighters Thomas Fry, Gerald Halloran, Luther Hurd, James Kilventon Jr., Robert D. McKarnin and Michael Oldham.
The blast was heard and felt over much of the metro area. An investigation determined the fire was intentionally set.
Darlene Edwards, Bryan Sheppard, Frank Sheppard, Richard Brown, Earl Sheppard (now deceased) were convicted of arson, but have maintained their innocence.
Attorneys for the defendants assert that the new evidence points away from the defendants and toward others who they say were not adequately investigated.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that none of the information presented by the defendant’s attorneys to their office, “indicates that the defendants in the Firefighters case were wrongly convicted.”
“One of the conclusions reached was that newly-developed information, not previously known to the prosecution, suggested that other persons may have been involved in the arsons in addition to – and not to the exclusion of – the convicted defendants. The Department of Justice review team also concluded that this newly-developed information did not call into question the guilt of the defendants who were charged and convicted,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the statement.
The attorneys will hold an afternoon news conference on Friday to provide more details. FOX 4 will be there and provide updates as available.
