[8], Prosecutors alleged that on the Friday before the explosion, Leonard and his brother Bob spoke with a neighbor who was a Citizens Energy employee, asking that person about the differences between natural gas and propane. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. Richmond Hill explosion: 'It's the toughest thing I've ever done in my career', Richmond Hill explosion: 7 keys that solved the case, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. She said they should be punished, Carter testified. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. JDK-8141210 : Very slow loading of JavaScript file with recent JDK Thompson said he'd been pulled over by a cop so he couldn't get to the house. She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. Her house exploded on their third attempt of trying to claim insurance money. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. "I thought it was crazy," she told a jury, "but I went along with him." At the center of the case, Mark Leonard, a womanizer with gambling debts who preyed on divorcees, hatched an arson plot for money with his girlfriend, Monserrate Shirley. Man Gets Murder Conviction in Deadly Indiana House Blast Fraud Case "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. I had seen it used in a couple of games, but I never knew it was the name of a real person. [16][17] The alleged motive for the arson was to collect insurance money to ease financial strain. Should I have accepted that stipulation? The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. When they arrived, Mark told her the fire would happen Saturday night so she needed to ask to keep their room a second night (Saturday night). He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't working, and he wondered whether a gas leak ignited the blast. Mark Leonard first mentioned trying to burn the house down in February 2012, according to Shirley. . I worked from the smaller charges to the larger ones to say, Of course its clear he did this, this and this, but heres how you get to here, Robinson said. Monserrate Shirley and her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, who lived in the home, along with Leonard's brother, Robert Leonard, were arrested Friday on 48 charges, including murder and arson. I thought it was crazy, that cannot be done, and I asked Mark, Thats not what you told me, theres an explosion in there, (theres) people, my neighbors, that cannot be real, Shirley said. Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. Her earliest possible release date is December 19, 2037when she will be 72 years old. He was working in Fishers on the night of the explosion. PREVIOUS | Full testimony: Monserrate Shirley takes the stand. Monserrate Shirley, Indianapolis Homeowner Whose House Exploded, Bereft Leonard died around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at an Indianapolis hospital,according to an Indiana Department of Correction spokesman. The sentence accounts for time served and good. From confusion to conviction, Richmond Hill blast recapped. Woman pleads guilty in deadly Indianapolis explosion - CBS News And I understand it, because of their feelings about her. Sgt. Home owner, Monserrate Shirley; her boyfriend, Mark Leonard; and his brother, Bob Leonard, were arrested Friday and charged with murder and arson Prosecutors may seek the death penalty Fire. Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. Shirley says Monserrate's sister moved out of the neighborhood around the same time they moved in. The Richmond Hill neighbors had been waiting long enough without a trial. [38], Gary Thompson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Shirley says he was paying Monserrate $1,000 a month in child support and mortgage payments. Heappears to have died of natural causes. Instead, on Dec. 20, 2016 - after a two-day sentencing hearing that would be the closest her former neighbors would get to seeing her on trial - Shirley was sentenced to the maximum term of 50 years in prison. The couple says their neighbor Bob Leonard was led away for questioning. "I don't understand it," Shircliff said of the judge's ruling. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. Mark Leonard, the man considered the mastermind behind the 2012 Richmond Hill neighborhood explosion that killed two peopleand wounded at least adozen others, is dead. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. We again offer our condolences to the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth and to those who suffered injury and loss. FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. Shirley's next-door neighbors, John and Jennifer Longworth, died in the blast. She was inspired by the way Chef Alberto Marinovich put on this dish and it was a joy to serve. You were a nurse. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. Authorities blamed a natural gas explosion inside the home of Monserrate Shirley, who was away at the time of the explosion. A second home was reduced to rubble as well, and other houses were half-collapsed. For one thing, the trial team deputy prosecutors Denise Robinson and Mark Hollingsworth, plus two junior deputies would have to wade through an entire subdivision-worth of evidence to build, arguably, the largest criminal prosecution in Indiana history. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. During the course of this lengthy process, we have sincerely appreciated the cooperation and patience of these families. Monserrate Shirley, 47, her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, 43, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr., 54, are accused of intentionally leaking natural gas into the house and then using the kitchen's. If that timeline holds, final jury instructions would be given Monday, July 13 then deliberation would begin. Shirley said after he and his wife's divorce was finalized in July 2011, the last time he was at the home at 8349 Fieldfare Way was August of that year. I had to know I could make this case based on the evidence I had.. "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs," he said. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. After speaking with detectives, they went to Mark's sister's home, where they spent the night. And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. At sentencing, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha said Leonard demonstrated a sheer indifference for the safety of others., The motivation here is greed, Marnocha said. But Im not allowed to say that. Should we not use all those witnesses? When she got home, Mark told her he and Bob had gone to the library to research other similar homes that had been set on fire without anyone getting hurt. West's Mortuary, Inc. It was never no for an answer. I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. It would have shortened the trial a week. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. "No one.". The courtroom was crowded Monday as the proceedings began, as those who were hurt or lost their homes, plus the parents of Dion and Jennifer Longworth wait to learn Shirley's . I dont believe in vengeance and I know that my son is not a person that would accept vengeance and such things, he didnt live that way., I look at Monserrate Shirley and I see a wasted life, said Tony Burnett, who lived across the street from Shirley. [25] Leonard allegedly asked another inmate at the Marion County jail if he could put him in contact with a hitman, according to the probable cause affidavit. [9], Investigators discovered a number of allegations of insurance fraud and other scams by Leonard prior to the blast, particularly involving stolen or wrecked automobiles. Ultimately, she could end up serving 21 years if she maintains good behavior in prison. Im thankful for my trial team for sticking with me. Indiana Man Convicted of Murder in Home Explosion Case - Insurance Journal Richmond Hill Explosion - indyencyclopedia.org They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. Shirley: "Yes. At the time her friends called her, Monserrate was at a casino with Mark Leonard. He says he "was very surprised" to learn Snowball had been boarded on the night of the explosion. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. After the second failed attempt to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she went to the home of Glenn Hults to pick up her daughter. The Retaking Of Richmond Hill - Indianapolis Monthly I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. She wanted to put it on her plate. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. The explosion leveled 8349 Fieldfare Way, the home at the center of the explosion, and severely damaged a number of other residences, including several (on either side) which were damaged by the ensuing fire. She was able to take that to the prosecutor and get a protective order against me. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. Mark Leonard was convicted in 2015 of two counts of murder as well as a litany of other charges, including multiple counts of arson and conspiracy to commit arson. After her 12 hour shift, she planned to see her daughter at the Holts' house and change there. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. I said I think theres ($10,000) or $12,000 in there, and he said, That was not enough, I want $300,000, Shirley said. After demands for a vote on the bill, we finally received one. Leonardwas placed under "imminent death watch" earlier this week. It's been hard for me and my daughter. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. But the majority supported us.. In November 2014, Glenn Olvey who was trapped with his family in his collapsing house finally gave up on rebuilding his home in the neighborhood. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. Federal grand jury indicts man on hate crime charges after he allegedly shot 2 Jewishmen in Los Angelesin February, Pot vote has Oklahoma hungry to rake in green from Texas, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18, over dozen missing, Fishers firefighters assist car flipped NB over I-69. News, information &. You may have noticed that the name monserrate has been replaced with the word shirley, which is used in both a variety of other games and in the game of death. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. [6] Prosecutors also allege that he offered the hit man a $5,000 bonus if he made the murder look like a suicide. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? Its very difficult sentencing hearing weve been through for two days. One year of his sentences wassuspended, and the rest was to be split between jail and work release. Their challenge was to distill two-and-a-half years of research and investigation into a six week trial without losing the jury in the process. In fact, they said that at the time she raised her insurance policy to $300,000, she was roughly $300,000 in debt (more than $200K between her two mortgages on top of the bankruptcy settlement left over from her divorce). They should go to jail. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000.
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