Two charged with murder in deadly St. Louis home explosion caused by shady fireworks

Two men accused of making and selling unlicensed fireworks have been charged with second-degree murder after their makeshift pyrotechnics caused a St. Louis home explosion that killed four people.

Terrell Cooks, 37, and Seneca Mahan, 43, each face three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and weapons charges in the Friday explosion that left a man and three teenagers dead, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

One of the victims died after charges were filed and an additional murder charge is expected to be added, but a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately return a request for updates from the Daily News Monday morning.

Cooks and Mahan allegedly manufactured the shaky explosives in the garage, then taught the teenagers in the house how to load the canisters and attach a fuse for lighting. The explosive charge on each firework was “far in excess” of Missouri’s legal limits, according to the charging documents.

Seneca Mahan (left) and Terrell Cooks

Around 1:30 a.m. Friday, the fireworks went off, leveling the garage and the four-bedroom brick home, killing Damario Cooks, the 18-year-old nephew of Terrell Cooks, and his cousin Travell Eason, 16, who both lived at the house, and two of their friends, Christopher Jones, 17, and William Jones, 21.

Damario Cooks’ 12-year-old brother was injured by a falling brick, family members told the Post-Dispatch.

Hours before the explosion, the family had been at the gun range to celebrate Damario’s 18th birthday.

Diamonte Cooks, 19, Damario’s older brother, leaped into action when he first heard the explosion and tried to pull everyone out of danger, including Damario.

“I held his hand and told him to hold on,” he told the newspaper. “I just wiped his tears and watched him breathe his last breath, and I had to get out then.”

Cooks and Martin are both being held on a $350,000 cash bail.