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Of the dozens and dozens of homes damaged by the blast, 33 were affected so severely they had to be demolished. [28] The defense said that what became the Richmond Hill explosion was only supposed to be a "stupid and selfish insurance fraud that went horribly wrong", adding, "Precautions were taken to ensure people weren't harmed." They are charged with. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. Shirley met Mark Leonard. . One small job. He asked whose name the house was under, and she said it was entirely in her name after the divorce. [22], On January 16, 2015, Shirley agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. "You can't even do a fire. An offhand comment would change that. [14] In April 2015, a fifth man, Glenn Hults, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson. The girlwas already out of the house while they cleared it of the sentimental items. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. The man he called was actually an undercover agent. In a deposition before the trial, though, she reported saying, "I'm not doing this. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. The co-conspirators include Shirleys boyfriend at the time, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. Leonard and Shirley went to the casino on Saturday, October 27, expecting Shirley's best friend and neighbor to call when the house caught fire. I was scared for my life and the life of my daughter., Forgive me for my poor choices in life, she continued. Somebody knew that I was out of town. Should we not use all those witnesses? This time, Mark and Bob talked alone while Monserrate left to pick up her daughter. It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. . He also told Bob to go get Gary Thompson. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. She asked Mark and Bob what happened that made it be an explosion instead of a fire. I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? While questioning potential jurors, one of Leonards attorneys, Diane Black, brought up out of the blue that her client had tried to hire a hitman from jail to kill his friend, and potential witness against him, Mark Duckworth. Prosecutors started by addressing her plea agreement. It was never no for an answer. Did you see her on TV a few days later? She has already been behind bars for four years. Mark and Bob stayed in the garage while they talked about what Bob's part would be, while Shirley stayed inside. (WISH) Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. On November 19, it was announced that the investigation had become a criminal investigation. He occasionally worked on those cars at Shirley's home so she saw he had a wide array of tools. They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. I cant give back what was taken from them on November 10. And in each of those categories, you betrayed your trust.. Monserrate Shirley was given the house after her divorce. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. [7], An investigation involving the Indianapolis Division of Homeland Security, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Indianapolis Fire Department was begun. As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. The men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. She told them she didn't want anything to do with them anymore. Shirley says he was worried Brook's cat Snowball was in the house and might have been killed. Many people may remember Shirley giving an interview to the media, including WISH-TV, after the explosion. [7] Shirley told the police she never smelled any natural gas, but that her daughter had thought she did recently. Bob Leonard said, "Well, you're in it. To the uninitiated, it seems to be a reference to a nickname used by the family of the deceased who are being called Shirley by their name. But I dont feel bad for the deceased.. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. At one point, after one of the failed attempts to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she offered Mark Leonard her 401k instead. She remained in the house as the sole owner until the explosion. Much of the attention since the explosion has centered on Monserrate Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard, who lived at the house in the center of the blast area. Yes, I didnt think it would be possible, Monserrate Shirley said.HUGE EXPLOSION. They said they didn't know. Their funeral was held earlier today. 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. "I am a nurse. Powerball winner sold in central Indiana! And the game of death is the game of life itself. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. . ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. Two mental health experts testified that her childhood could have contributed to her decision to stay with Mark Leonard and go along with his plan to blow up her house for insurance money. Mark Leonard moved in with Monserrate Shirley about a month later. Make They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. [27], Mark Leonard's trial began in June 2015. "Mark can insult [Thompson], and he never does anything," Shirley said. "She lost everything," he said. It had three gas appliances - the water heater, the furnace and the fireplace. [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. The sentence accounts for time served and good. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. Mark. The next morning, they drove back and saw the house was still standing so they went on to Thompson's house where Leonard confronted him. Prosecutors ended by asking Shirley if the Longworths or any of her other neighbors deserved what happened. I had a homicide detective crying on the stand. [20] The trials started in 2015. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Although the jury would eventually hear testimony and an audio recording of Leonard talking to an undercover ATF agent posing as a hitman (and Leonard would eventually get an extra 50 years in prison for it), having that information before the trial even began would have been extremely prejudicial against him. I commend Det. Required fields are marked *. She transferred from her job in Michigan to the VA hospital in Indianapolis, where she worked for 17 years, focusing in the ICU. She was 11 years old at that point. While Leonard has been in slacks, a dress shirt and tie throughout the trial, Shirley walked into the courtroom in shackles and a prison jumpsuit. In exchange, she offered him the money in her 401K. She, at first, struggled to identify her other neighbors. We knew somebody else was involved, and he was the only one whose name consistently came up, but it was only after she cooperated that we were able to charge Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults.. To see the faces of the neighborhood people and the sense of relief and calmness when the verdicts came in was a good thing, Garza said. Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years in prison - YouTube Charged in the deadly Richmond Hill Fire RTV6 News brings you the best breaking news coverage in Indiana. The defense said if prosecutors wrapped up early enough on Thursday, they could call all of their witnesses that day alone and closing arguments could be held Friday, July 10. At about 11:10p.m., on November 10, 2012, a large explosion occurred in Richmond Hill, a subdivision on the southeast side of Indianapolis. If Monserrate Shirley keeps up her part of the agreement, a judge will decide her sentence after all the Richmond Hill explosiontrials have been completed. They went to the casino and waited for the call that a fire had broken out, but again, the call never came. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't working, and he wondered whether a gas leak ignited the blast. You were a nurse. Its about your game being the only game that matters. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. A class C felony carries 2-8 years. He reportedly said, "[T]he tsunami winds came down the chimney, blew out the fire in the fireplace and the gas kept running and the house blew up. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. The now 49-year-old originally faced life in prison without parole. The group researched methods of how to destroy the home and made more than one attempt at doing so before succeeding, authorities said. On the night of the explosion, Shirley said he was working a second job in Fishers. It was unclear when the complaint was made and whether the utility company was alerted. Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. "He'll do anything I ask," Mark said of his brother. Monserrate Shirley, 51, was one of five people charged in the explosion that left two people dead. Prosecuting Mark Leonard presented with some challenges. For her cooperation with the prosecutions of the Leonard brothers, and the information she provided that led to the convictions of Hults and Thompson, Monserrate Shirley was spared the possibility of life without parole. [11], Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and Bob Leonard were initially charged with two counts of murder and arson in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. [13] A fourth person, Gary Thompson, was charged in January 2015 on the same charges. [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. Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/11/14/monserrate-shirley-speaks-about-indianapolis-house-explosion/, emmy rossum jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley beyonce troy polamalu, http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/11/14/monserrate-shirley-speaks-about-indianapolis-house-explosion/. [24], On March 28, 2015, Mark Leonard was charged with conspiring to murder the key witness against him, Mark Duckworth. After a while, Mark came back in and said Bob had agreed to help for $10,000, but never specified what exactly Bob would be doing. "[6] The witness also told investigators that Leonard talked about buying a Ferrari with the insurance money from the house. But a whole days-worth of potential jurors would end up tainted anyway not by media coverage, but by Leonards defense team. And that, Im sure, will never change.. Shirley: "No. He was working in Fishers on the night of the explosion. Shirley: "Back in August (2011) she just stopped taking my phone calls and letting me talk to Brook. Prosecutors told Judge Marnocha Tuesday they will likely rest their case next Wednesday or Thursday. They agreed to say they'd been having trouble with the thermostat and smelling gas for a while. I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. . [26], In a case unrelated to the explosion charges, Mark Leonard and two other men were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Says Sen. Tom. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Robinson says she didnt expect anything to change. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. He says he and Monserrate never boarded the cat when they were married. [6] A friend of the couple reported that Mark Leonard had lost $10,000 at the casino approximately three weeks before the explosion. PHOTOS: First Richmond Hill trial Mark Leonard is on. To this day, absolutely they had the right to do that. The entire day she answered questions from attorneys, repeatedly crying. [6] One woman had previously won a $70,000 judgment against Leonard in a civil suit after lending him $53,000, which he never repaid. The only improvement he ever made was to buy two flat screen TV's, a 65-70 inch model for the master bedroom and a 42 inch screen for her daughter'sroom. On top of his prior criminal convictions, at the time of his arrest, Mark Leonard was being sued civilly by multiple women who accused him of scamming them out of money through online dating sites. After the first failure, Leonard decided he also wanted to bring in his half-brother, Bob. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. They'd soon get a new roommate. Prosecutors alleged that the natural gas explosion was intentionally set to collect insurance money. She wanted to put it on her plate. By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. Aaron Carter. Minch: "Before that, you did have some problems with the pilot light on the furnace?" . She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. A second home was reduced to rubble as well, and other houses were half-collapsed. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. A copy of her plea agreement was entered into evidence and handed out to each member of the jury. Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonard was very, very mad., Mark Leonard said, Were going to do it again. Thompson said he'd been pulled over by a cop so he couldn't get to the house. She said that she hasn't been eating or sleeping well and that she has been taking Xanax to get what little sleep she can. Thompson returned to their home to plan their next attempt. After demands for a vote on the bill, we finally received one. Gary Thompson pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson and received a 30-year sentence, with 10 years suspended. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Mr. Monserrate Morales was born on January 7, 1955 in Puerto Rico. Gary Thompsonwas handed a 30-year prison sentence, 20 years executed, for his role in the murderous insurance fraud scheme. To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. At a routine pretrial hearing, deputy prosecutor Denise Robinson, not thinking much of it, told Monserrate Shirleys defense counsel that if their client wanted anything other than a trial seeking life without parole, they had better work something out by the end of January 2015. Mark started telling Shirley they needed to get their stories straight before police started asking questions. Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. Neighbors, family testify in sentencing hearing of Monserrate Shirley, owner of the home. By December 2014, two years after the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision, prosecutors were preparing to go to trial without any cooperating witnesses. The home of Monserrate Shirley was the center of the explosion that resulted in the deaths of next-door neighbors John "Dion" Longworth and his wife Jennifer (ne Buxton), the injuries of seven others, and $4 million in property damage. [39] Glenn Hults received a three-year sentence.[40]. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. [31][32][33] Bob Leonard was convicted on all 51 counts, including murder and conspiracy to commit arson, on February 24, 2016. While we knew that Monserrate Shirley on her own would never have caused this crime, it couldnt have happened without her. I dont wish them any hardship. He never gave her money like that again, but did play with his own money, spending anywhere from $2,000 - 10,000 each trip. The program is a spin-off of the Oxygen series Snapped and has a similar format to the Investigation Discovery program Wicked Attraction. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. I had seen it used in a couple of games, but I never knew it was the name of a real person. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. At one point you replaced the thermostat." Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. I don't want anyone to get hurt," then started cooking dinner. [29] He was sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years without parole on August 14, 2015. 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. "You face one, you get over one and you've got another one all the way until the end.