He says sometimes strong winds would blow out the pilot light when someone opened the garage door. At the end of the day, we still miss her and him, Dion, as much as ever, Buxton said. 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. But their arrests wereonly the beginning of years of work to put them behind bars for good. 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. 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. Minch: "You testified about some things you lost in the explosion. Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. A source who claimed to be in contact with the Shirley family told WISH-TV in Indianapolis that a family member had complained about smelling gas in the home at one time. Neighbors, family testify in sentencing hearing of Monserrate Shirley, owner of the home. When asked why she didn't take Leonard's hospitalization in March 2012 as an opportunity not to let him back into her home since she knew what he wanted to do by that point, she said she couldn't turn away a sick person. She was wearing a jail jumpsuit, was shackled and her hair had grown long, dark and curly.IM TELLING THE TRUTH. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. Shirley says he replaced the thermostat "so there were more options to heat the house during the day.". And the water heater." [16][17] The alleged motive for the arson was to collect insurance money to ease financial strain. Fixed: Release in which this issue/RFE has been fixed.The release containing this fix may be available for download as an Early Access Release or a General Availability Release. Shirley said she has a condition with her tear ducts that makes her unable to produce tears, so people dont think Im crying for real.. 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.. John Duncan was the one to call, saying something horrible had happened on her street and he wanted to make sure she and her daughterwere okay. . Shirley struck a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. And that, Im sure, will never change.. Estimates for the total scope of the damage caused by the explosion exceeded $4.5 million. She still wiped under her eyes with a tissue several times while she was on the stand. On the day of the explosion, another neighbor saw a white van pull into the driveway of Shirley's residence between 2:00 and 3:00p.m. The crowd watched in grim silence as a Marion County judge entered not guilty pleas for Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard. And you have to weigh that out? Its about remembering who you are. 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. The program is a spin-off of the Oxygen series Snapped and has a similar format to the Investigation Discovery program Wicked Attraction. 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. FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. The sentence accounts for time served and good. You were a mom. She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. But didnt the jury need to hear from the residents? Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. Minch: "Before that, you did have some problems with the pilot light on the furnace?" At the time of the explosion, Shirley says he was living in Noblesville. Her house exploded on their third attempt of trying to claim insurance money. . INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Mark and Bob stayed in the garage while they talked about what Bob's part would be, while Shirley stayed inside. He leaves to cherish his memory his daughters: Britney Morales (Malcolm Richardson) and Maria Morales: two step-daughters Latasha (Nathan) Roberts and Kizzy Carter; three grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. Shirley testified Leonard asked to see the insurance policy on the home within a few weeks of moving in. I had seen it used in a couple of games, but I never knew it was the name of a real person. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. 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. There's little remaining of Shirley's home (pictured at left) after Saturday's explosion. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. Monserrate Shirley, who had pleaded not guilty after she and two men were charged in late 2012, appeared before a Marion County judge in a courtroom filled with current and former residents of the . The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. Jeffrey Wager and IMPD investigators, Lt. Mario Garza and IFD investigators, agents of the Federal ATF, and our trial team for their commitment and perseverance to bring justice for the Richmond Hill residents.. He was sentenced in August to two life sentences, along with 75 years in prison. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. I didnt want it to affect the trial date, Robinson said. It's also possible she will walk free if the judge sentences. Yes, I didnt think it would be possible, Monserrate Shirley said.HUGE EXPLOSION. This has to be done, Shirley testified. Snapped: Killer Couples (known as Killer Couples from seasons 7 to 15) is an American true crime television series currently airing on the Oxygen Network.The program details couples who commit crimes together. Another woman reported that she had loaned him about $5,000 for a construction job, which he had yet to pay back. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. She will not learn her fate until after all four of her alleged co-conspirators has been tried. Im thankful for my trial team for sticking with me. Monserrate Shirley, who had initally pleaded not guilty after she and two men were charged in late 2012, appeared Tuesday before a Marion County judge in a courtroom filled with current and. Leonard was being held at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facilitybut was transferred to the hospital several days ago. He was working in Fishers on the night of the explosion. The November 2012 blast claimed the lives of John and Jennifer Longworth and spawned an investigation that landed five people behind bars. Monserrate Shirley was ordered to serve out her sentence at the Indiana Womens Prison in Indianapolis. ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. Should I have accepted that stipulation? But ultimately I think we were able to accomplish what we needed to do for her.. The first time Shirley cried on the stand Wednesday was when she was asked about her neighbors. Your email address will not be published. Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. You can't do anything," he said. She told him the attempt didnt work but that there would be another attempt. [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." [37] She is serving her sentence at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. "It's like waking up to this bad dream," Shirley said, her voice cracking as tears flowed down her cheeks. Among the "no" votes, inexplicably: political dancer Hiram Monserrate. Mark Leonard is on trial in South Bend in connection to the explosion in the Richmond Hill neighborhood that killed Jennifer and Dion Longworth in November 2012. Until shed agreed and signed on the dotted line, there were things I could not tell them. 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). "I want $300,000. You were a neighbor and you were a friend, Carlisle said. She was inspired by the way Chef Alberto Marinovich put on this dish and it was a joy to serve. So in the end there were a couple of people who were opposed to it, and I respected that. 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. He questioned her about the multiple boardings of her cat, Snowball, which he found odd. She explained that Snowball had anxiety. When testimony moved to the night of the explosion that killed Jennifer and Dion Longworth, Monserrate Shirley had a difficult time staying composed. She lived in the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home with her daughter. A prosecuting attorney showed her a photo of the house that exploded and asked her who lived on either side of her. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . They should go to jail. It also didnt carry much weight for the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth, who died in the blast. "The State asked questions about [the interview] andthe judge said on the record that he saw no difference in her demeanor [on the video] than what she did today and that was our whole point: that she can tell a lie as easy as she tells the truth.". News, information &. I dont know why they did it. Once the trial began, rather than trying to claim their client was innocent, Black and Shircliff instead told the jury up front that he was guilty but of trying to start a small fire, not cause an explosion. Today, Snowball, a white Persian cat, is in the care of John Shirley, Monserrate's ex-husband. "You face one, you get over one and you've got another one all the way until the end. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [12] Though the trio was eligible for the death penalty under Indiana law, prosecutors chose to pursue life sentences without parole because they believed a jury would be unlikely to impose the death penalty without any evidence that the suspects intended to cause the deaths. "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. He says he "was very surprised" to learn Snowball had been boarded on the night of the explosion. When a defense attorney comes out and says, My client didnt do anything at all, but you clearly can show they did, then usually its going to be an all-or-nothing verdict, Robinson said. She could face 20-50 years in prison. In a deposition before the trial, though, she reported saying, "I'm not doing this. Monserrate Shirley leaves court after learning her sentence. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. In one case, she said the first attempt was supposed to be tied to gasoline not natural gas. You're done.". See also:Shantonia Heard of Atlanta Left Her 2 Children Alone With No Power and Gas Oven On, Police Say Apartment Fire Safety Tips Man Killed as Gas Explosion Destroys Connecticut Home. I didn't do nothing wrong.". She was an RN for more than 20 years, starting her career in Michigan where she attended college, before moving to Indianapolis after her then-husband John Shirley got a job offer there. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. On the night of the explosion, Shirley said he was working a second job in Fishers. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Shirley didn't hear anything more about a plot to start a fire that night, and nothing happened. An Indianapolis woman said she asked her then-boyfriend's half-brother what he had done when she learned the fire they planned to ignite using natural gas had "You can't even do a fire. "I thought it was crazy," she told a jury, "but I went along with him." The two divorced on July 25, 2011. But the majority supported us.. The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. As fate would have it, it would be Carter, just a few weeks later, who would place Monserrate Shirley in handcuffs. [The residents] clearly knew the Leonards were the bad actors, and that we needed to do everything we could to get to them, Robinson said. Bob Leonard said, "Well, you're in it. At the time her friends called her, Monserrate was at a casino with Mark Leonard. [26], In a case unrelated to the explosion charges, Mark Leonard and two other men were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Shirley's sentencing started Monday morning at 9 a.m. She faces 20 to 50 years in prison for two counts conspiracy to commit arson. But while he was living in the home, the only problem he had with its gas appliances the furnace, water heater and fireplace was that their pilot lights would sometimes go out when a draft blew in from an open garage door. Defense counsel said the deposition version showed she was actually in favor of burning the house down, she just didn't want to get caught. Or that, because it was her first serious offense, a judge could eventually decide to suspend some or all of that sentence. Shirley's daughterwent with them in Leonard's Cadillac. At the end of the interview, Carter asked Shirley what should happen to the person responsible for the explosion. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Its about your game being the only game that matters. After court adjourned for the day, Shircliff said he attacked her inconsistencies "to show that she can tell the truth as easily as she tells a lie, and it's hard for the jury to know the difference. His sentencing is set for December 28, 2016 at 1 p.m. Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry issued the following statement: We respect the Courts decision ordering Monserrate Shirley to serve a fifty-year prison sentence for her participation in this senseless conspiracy. Eventually, hed be asked to repeat her answer at her boyfriends murder trial. Leonard was at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility inSullivan County serving two life sentences for his role in the explosion that rocked the southeast-side neighborhood that destroyed five homes and damaged more than 80 others. After speaking with detectives, they went to Mark's sister's home, where they spent the night. She later found out her neighbors didnt make it. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Shirley testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. 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. He was, however, eventually able to return to his hobby of umpiring softball. While she was driving, Mark called to tell her to book a hotel room and to tell her daughter it was because the house was too cold to stay at. The first attempt was supposed to be carried out by Gary Thompson, but it failed. And it wasn't the answer we were looking for. More on AOL Real Estate:Find homes for rent in your area.Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.Find homes for sale in your area.Find foreclosures in your area. She was the one who got her daughter and her cat out of the situation and left her neighbors in the situation. That's whatwe'll be asking the jury to consider.". [3][4] Damage to homes in the neighborhood was estimated at $4 million. But she put an end to that in August 2011.". No one deserved what happened. That was the last time she saw Bob before they were arrested. She wanted to put it on her plate. [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. Shirley: "No.". "That's not what you told me," she remembered saying to Mark. And I understand it, because of their feelings about her. (Item updated.) Prosecutors alleged Leonard was the mastermind behind the explosion that damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes in Indianapolis, plotting with his then-live-in girlfriend Monserrate Shirley. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. HOW TO SOLVE ERROR CODE PII_EMAIL_DE03C2D55A4B639F558D. Mark. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. 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. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. Shirley would receive over $300,000 in insurance money for the replacement of the home as well as personal items. PREVIOUS|Timeline of events|Gallery: The Richmond Hill Explosion|Where were you at 11:11 PM? Bob Leonard's son told investigators that several items were in the van that had been taken from the home, including photos and financial documents. So there wasnt a great deal of pressure on us, or desire by us, to offer her anything.. 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. She was able to take that to the prosecutor and get a protective order against me. Leonard died around 9:15. 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. I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. I got upset with her and sent her some derogatory texts. 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. I did my best. Defense attorneys tried to play that video for jurors Wednesday, but the judge wouldnt allow it. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The man he called was actually an undercover agent. I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. She found a house with a floorplan she liked." The problem was that none of that criminal history would be admissible at trial. No one, Shirley replied, crying.I WAS IN LOVE WITH HIM. They went to the casino and waited for the call that a fire had broken out, but again, the call never came. Leonard, his ex-girlfriend Monserrate Shirley, his half-brother Robert Leonard and Mark Leonards former employee blew up Shirleys home in the Richmond Hill subdivision to collect about $300,000 in insurance money to pay off the houses mortgage and Mark Leonards gambling and credit card debts. 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. Everything's under control.". Monserrate Shirley is lead into her sentencing hearing in December 2016. At 11:11 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2012, a two-story home on the south side of Indianapolis exploded with the force of as much as 5 tons of TNT. It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. Glenn Hults, a friend of Leonard's who said he knew about the plot beforehand but didn't call police, was sentenced to three years. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't working, and he wondered whether a gas leak ignited the blast. "Everything they were telling me, it could not be possible," Shirley said on the stand as she started to get emotional. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. She got in the van with them, and Mark asked her to give Bob $40. 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. "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. Leonard died around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at an Indianapolis hospital,according to an Indiana Department of Correction spokesman. Write For Us: Investigative Articles are Intriguing. But a whole days-worth of potential jurors would end up tainted anyway not by media coverage, but by Leonards defense team. [22], On January 16, 2015, Shirley agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. 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. When she told him there was around $10,000-12,000 in it, he said that wasn't enough. Monserrate Shirley and Mark leonard, profiled on the next "American Greed," staged a natural gas explosion to collect the insurance on their Indianapolis home. [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. UPDATE: Search for accused Johnson County scammer ends in arrest, Men's challenges in fatherhood and marriage explored in new documentary, Live Doppler 13 Weather Blog: Record-breaking rain raises ongoing flood concerns, Saturday Sunrise Live Doppler 13 forecast March 4, 2023. Not until the following morning, when I went from this job to another job, did I get a text from a friend who thought it might be my house. BREAKING: By a vote of 24-38, New York's State Senate has voted against same-sex marriage legislation. They enter into evidence two golf bags with clubs and a driver. That hit man was later revealed to be an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. "No one.". So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? Holts invited Leonard and Shirley to his friend's house for a pool party in the Geist neighborhood. In another, she said Mark Leonard turned on the gas line and actually lit the fire during the second attempt. Thompson said he'd been pulled over by a cop so he couldn't get to the house. 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. The group researched methods of how to destroy the home and made more than one attempt at doing so before succeeding, authorities said. He occasionally worked on those cars at Shirley's home so she saw he had a wide array of tools.

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