AUTHORITIES CHARGE MAN IN DEATH RELATED TO AMMONIA BLAST OUTSIDE CARTHAGE

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A Springfield man was charged with murder in the
death of another man who was killed when a tank of chemical gas used to
make methamphetamine exploded in their car.

Prosecutors alleged that because Christopher Clark, 29, was illegally
carrying anhydrous ammonia to make meth, he is responsible for the death of
Brandon Riffell, 24. When someone dies while a crime is being carried out,
prosecutors said the person committing the crime can be charged with felony
murder.

He was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday while in the Greene
County Jail.

Clark had the ingredients for a full meth lab in his Pontiac Firebird on
Nov. 26 as he and Riffell traveled down U.S. 71 outside Carthage,
authorities said. 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.

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, authorities said. When
anhydrous ammonia 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 Dr. Kenneth Larson of the St. John's Burn Unit. They
penetrated all the way through his skin. Riffell underwent several
surgeries to remove burned skin before 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 injuries were the worst-case scenario that authorities have
preached about for years. Many in law enforcement are applauding the
decision to charge Clark with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum
punishment of life in prison. ""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."