ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The family of one of the victims of the deadly house explosion in north St. Louis County is sharing their story and pleading with investigators to look at all possibilities in this case.
Heather Seaman said just before 1:30 Friday morning, she locked the front door and went upstairs to get ready for bed while her kids, family and friends were all hanging out in the garage. Suddenly her home exploded.
“The bricks came in and hit me and the roof was falling down and it threw me across the bathroom to the end of the doorway in my bedroom,” Seaman said.
Seaman said she rushed out of her room with another one of her sons to try and get the rest of the people out of the house but the fire was just too hot.
“My son ran out and he's like, ‘Mama he's gone. He's gone. We gotta go. We gotta go because the house is going to blow. Mama, we got to go.’ He's like ‘He took his last breath in my arms we got to go,'” Seaman said.
The blast killed Seaman's 18-year-old-son Damario Cooks.
“I'm supposed to be planning my son's graduation party not his funeral,” Seaman said.
The other victims, 16-year-old Travell Easton, 17-year-old Christopher Jones and 21-year-old William Jones are also remembered here at this memorial that stands in front of the rubble.
“I don't want anybody to think of them as anything but their loving, caring, helpful selves. They would help anybody,” Seaman said.
Seaman wants investigators to look at all possible causes including if a gas leak may have contributed to this.
Officials tell 5 On Your Side they believe the blast was not caused by a gas leak but by materials from an illegal fireworks operation in the home.
“The chemical compositions inside are so unstable that static electricity could set them off, heat can set them off, certainly friction sets them off. And it takes just a very, very small amount of these powders to have absolutely deadly consequences,” ATF Spokesman John Ham said.
Investigators charged Terell Cooks and Seneca Mahan with multiple counts of second-degree murder, endangering children and unlawful possession of an illegal weapon.
The probable cause statement alleges they were making a firework called ground salutes.
“Those would rise to the level of an improvised explosive device. And so these turned into, quite frankly, bombing investigations for us, we handle up the same way,” Ham said.
The probable cause statement goes on to say Terell Cooks was seen by law enforcement moving boxes of chemicals used to manufacture explosives into a car and after searching vehicles and his home found lots of what they call ‘completed explosive weapons and components to manufacture them.’
The St. Louis County Police Department said right now the suspects are charged with three counts of second-degree murder but a fourth victim died after the original charges were filed so prosecutors will be adding additional charges, soon.
There is a GoFundMe set up to help all of the families that lost loved ones in the tragedy. You can donate here.