A nail salon owner in Kansas City’s old Northeast deliberately started a fire in her shop earlier this month that killed two Kansas City firefighters battling the blaze, investigators alleged Tuesday.
Prosecutors charged Thu Hong Nguyen, 43, of Kansas City, with first-degree arson and two counts of second-degree murder, or felony murder because the deaths happened as a result of the arson. Arrested Monday, Nguyen was being held Tuesday with bond set at $2 million. Kansas City firefighters Larry Leggio and John Mesh died fighting the Oct. 12 blaze in a building at 2608 Independence Ave. when a wall collapsed on the structure’s east side, spewing bricks and other debris into the alley where the firefighters stood. Two other firefighters were injured.
Leggio, 43, and Mesh, 39, were both veteran firefighters. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said their families wished for everyone to respect their privacy.