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KSHB 41 By: Andres Gutierrez , Casey Murray Posted at 2:34 PM, Feb 01, 2022 and last updated 11:38 PM, Feb 01, 2022

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A report released by the U.S. Department of Justice after a records request lawsuit indicated that there may be more suspects in the 1988 explosion that killed six Kansas City firefighters than the five individuals who were ultimately convicted.

The lawsuit was brought by Bryan Sheppard, one of those convicted for the explosion who has maintained his innocence.

Over the years, the case against Sheppard and the four others convicted for the explosion has brought scrutiny. Some witnesses alleged that police pressured them to name those convicted in the crime and have recanted their testimony. There was no physical evidence in the case, so the five individuals were convicted on testimony from others. However, other witnesses have maintained their testimony.

The report, based on the DOJ's investigation into the case, appeared to indicate that two security guards could have been implicated in the crime.

However, U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said that does not exonerate the former five defendants.

For Immediate Release Jackson County Prosecutor's Office
Feb. 1, 2022

In response to news reports today regarding information related to the Kansas City firefighters' case, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office is issuing this statement:

"Our office was asked to review this new evidence for possible charges against two additional suspects. We believe a review is warranted given that no statute of limitations exists for murder. "

Kansas City Star By Luke Nozicka and Bill Lukitsch Updated February 01, 2022 3:02 PM

A look back at the explosion that killed six firefighters in 1988 This is a file video from 2008 that gives an overview of the events that led to the deaths of six firefighters, and the convictions of five people in the case. The youngest defendant in the case, Bryan Sheppard, who was 17 at the time of the explo By Todd Feeback, Mike McGraw and David Helling

Jackson County prosecutors believe a review of new evidence in the 1988 explosion that killed six Kansas City firefighters is “warranted” following reports that two additional suspects may have been involved.

In a two-sentence statement Tuesday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it was asked to review recently released evidence in the case for charges against other potential suspects.

“We believe a review is warranted given that no statute of limitations exists for murder,” the office said.

Kansas City Star By Bill Lukitsch and Luke Nozicka Updated February 01, 2022 12:20 PM

Records recently released by the Justice Department through court order show investigators found new information more than 10 years ago to suggest that two security guards may have been involved in a 1988 arson-fueled explosion at a construction site that killed six Kansas City firefighters.

In its report, finalized in 2011 but never publicly disclosed in its entirety, Justice Department investigators tasked with reviewing the case concluded that security guards Debbie Riggs and Donna Costanza “may have been involved in the arsons” as part of an attempted insurance fraud. However, the DOJ found that the new information did not exonerate the five Kansas Citians who had been sentenced to life in prison.

The DOJ’s identification of Riggs and Costanza as additional suspects comes more than 10 years after the department released a two-and-a-half page summary of its findings at the close of its investigation. In the earlier release, Justice officials redacted their names and those of the witnesses interviewed.

The conclusion by the DOJ bolsters long standing suspicions about Riggs and Costanza that were raised by the defendants at trial. It also complicates the theory presented by investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and federal prosecutors that the five convicted — all small-time criminals from Kansas City’s Marlborough neighborhood — were the sole perpetrators and set the Nov. 29, 1988 fires to divert the attention of those security guards and to cover up a burglary gone wrong.

Dana and Parks Podcast KMBZ 98.1FM Feb. 1st, 2022

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Mike McGraw thought about the 1988 deaths of six Kansas City firefighters almost every day. Michelle T. Johnson (left) and director Jennifer Welch staged the play “Justice in the Embers” in 2016 about his work on the case. SUSAN PFANNMULLER Special to the Star

Kansas City Star Feb 1st, 2022 By Derek Donovan

Mike McGraw, “Mick” to his friends, never believed he got the full story about the explosion that killed six firefighters at a south Kansas City construction site early one morning in 1988. But with the release of a long-hidden report from the Department of Justice, we might finally be closer to the truth.

When Mick first started looking into the case in 2006 as an investigative reporter for The Star, I was director of research for the newsroom. Mick loved public documents, and it was part of my job to help him find and organize them. We filed federal Freedom of Information Act, Missouri Sunshine Law and Kansas Open Records Act requests for paperwork and emails pertaining to almost every story he latched onto. He was relentless in tracking down documents, and was passionate when he explained why: Records generated by the government belong to the people, not the bureaucrats who all too often guard them like personal property. It’s your right to see them.

Mick gathered as much information as he could get his hands on about the arson that caused the deadly blast — court transcripts, police reports, attorneys’ files. Along with extensive original reporting, he put together a June 29, 2008, front-page investigation questioning prosecutors’ case that led to the 1997 convictions of five residents of the south Kansas City Marlborough neighborhood for the firefighters’ deaths. Among the story’s revelations: Witnesses claimed Debbie Riggs or her roommate Donna Costanza, who both worked as security guards at the construction site, had implicated themselves in the crime.