MURDER CHARGES FILED IN AMMONIA BLAST CASE

Months after an Ozark man died from exposure to anhydrous ammonia, the man
driving the car when the tank of chemical gas exploded has been charged
with murder.

Authorities served Christopher Clark, 29, of Springfield, with the Jasper
County second-degree murder charge this week as he sat in the Greene County
Jail on unrelated charges. Prosecutors say that because Clark was illegally
carrying the anhydrous ammonia for the purpose of making methamphetamine -
both acts are crimes - he's responsible in the November death of Brandon
Riffell, 24.

When someone dies while a crime is being carried out, the person committing
the crime can be charged with felony murder.

Authorities hope the stiff charge, which carries up to a life sentence in
prison, sends a strong message.

"We hope (methamphetamine users and cooks) do know we are serious about
this," said Sgt. Kent Casey of the Missouri Highway Patrol office in
Carthage, which investigated the explosion. "But we want them to be serious
about it, too."

Authorities said Clark had the ingredients of a full meth lab in his
Pontiac Firebird Nov. 26 as he and Riffell traveled down U.S. 71 outside
Carthage. The equipment included three propane tanks of anhydrous ammonia;
the largest tank exploded in the back seat and sent a deadly dose of gas
into the small car.

Riffell "was killed by an exploding container of anhydrous ammonia as a
result of the perpetration of the class D felony of unlawful use of drug
paraphernalia," a court affidavit read.

As the white cloud of gas filled the car, Clark veered to the side of the
road and the two men jumped out, their skin burning. When anhydrous ammonia
- - legally used as a fertilizer - hits the skin, it inflicts a painful,
freezing burn.

A third of Riffell's body was burned. The moisture-eating gas burned his
throat, lungs and eyes. The burns on his left arm and back were the most
severe, said his doctor, Dr. Kenneth Larson of the St. John's Burn Unit.
They penetrated all the way through his skin.

Riffell lived a week and underwent several surgeries to remove burned skin.
He died Dec. 3.

Clark recovered from burns to his legs. After his release from the
hospital, he was arrested and taken to the Greene County Jail on unrelated
charges from other counties.

Riffell's death devastated his family and friends, most of whom hadn't
heard about anhydrous ammonia and its dangers.

Authorities say Riffell's injuries were the worst-case scenario they've
preached about for years. They are applauding the decision to charge Clark
with second-degree murder.

"This is what we've been trying to educate judges and the public about -
that this is dangerous stuff," Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore said.
"Defense attorneys have been saying there's never been a case proven where
the stuff blew. Well, here we are, and it's unfortunate."

Some say second-degree murder will be hard to prove because Clark couldn't
know that day that the tank would explode. Manslaughter, maybe, but not
second-degree murder.

Experts, however, say Jasper County prosecutors only have to prove Clark
was committing a crime when Riffell was exposed to ammonia that ultimately
killed him.

"Anytime a crime is being carried out, you can be charged with that," said
Barton County Sheriff Bill Griffitt, whose department is a state leader in
busting anhydrous ammonia thieves. "That" is felony murder, which carries
the second-degree charge.

"It'll be fairly easy if you can prove he was in the process of making meth
and in that process the thing blew and killed (Riffell)," Moore said.

As the accusations play out in court, many hope they have an impact on
cooks and users who continue to keep Missouri in the national spotlight for
meth. The state led the nation for the number of meth labs seized in 2001,
after years of ranking second or third.

Griffitt said Clark's charges might turn some heads on the dangers of
anhydrous ammonia. He and deputies have had to keep diligent watch over
anhydrous tanks in farm fields because of thieves. He's watched on
surveillance video as thieves broke into tanks, releasing the toxic gas
into the air or into their eyes.