I didnt want it to affect the trial date, Robinson said. 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. "Shortly thereafter I moved some furniture into the apartment. You're done.". It had three gas appliances - the water heater, the furnace and the fireplace. 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. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. While there had been some communications early on, we were not willing to offer Monserrate Shirley a significant deal for her cooperation, Robinson said. But I dont feel bad for the deceased.. [16] On March 13, Leonard allegedly placed a call to a man who he believed to be a hit man. Leonards death doesnt change the fact that Jennifer and Dion died, Buxton said. Would you describe her demeanor the same way?" 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.. She met Mark Leonard at a bar on November 12, 2011. "John Shirley, whose ex-wife Monserrate Shirley lives at the home with their 12 year-old-daughter, said he got a text from his daughter about a week-and-a-half ago telling him the heat. Prosecutors started by addressing her plea agreement. At one point you replaced the thermostat." In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. 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. She took care of all three. John moved out in February 2010 and their divorce was finalized that summer. The two divorced on July 25, 2011. she said. "I want $300,000. And you said she was crying? As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. 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. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. "We had a lot of parties," the late. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. Seven months later, on March 18, 2016, his brother Bob Leonard Jr. received his own sentence of life without parole in a courtroom in Fort Wayne, Indiana. None of them had given any indication they were willing to take a plea under the terms prosecutors were offering. I see a con artist when I look at her., If she really is apologetic, then I accept the apology, said Dion Longworths father, John Longworth. But a whole days-worth of potential jurors would end up tainted anyway not by media coverage, but by Leonards defense team. "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. At the end of the interview, Carter asked Shirley what should happen to the person responsible for the explosion. And it wasn't the answer we were looking for. Carter would testify that her emotions and demeanor seemed normal at the time, for someone whose house had just blown up. . She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. Shirley: "She wanted us to live in a bigger house. Once they were alone, Leonard, Holts and Shirley started talking about the fire again while they sat around the pool drinking beer. Jurors will later hear that the golf bags and clubs were found at Bob Leonard's home after the explosion. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. Leonard then tried to get Thompson to talk about what he did at Holts' home, but he refused, saying they shouldn't talk about it. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. No one else was within earshot, so far as she knew. I don't want to be involved in any of this.". towns among 150 Best Small Town in America, Citizens support Ind. Shirley had earlier cooperated in providing testimony against alleged co-conspirators but. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. She talked about being Catholic and said it was in God's hands, but still, they should be punished.". 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. . Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. After the first failure, Leonard decided he also wanted to bring in his half-brother, Bob. SOUTH BEND, Ind. Although prosecutors didnt need their blessing to go ahead with the plea, Robinson said they felt it was important to tell the residents as much as they could. Investigators have ruled out a natural gas leak from the home's underground pipelines, the Star reported, and they are now focusing on whether there may have been a leak from one of the gas appliances inside three homes that were obliterated in the explosion. Are they going to get bored with it?. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Glenn Hults, the final defendant to stand trial for the explosion, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, Bryce Young falls short: 5-10 . 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. But Im not allowed to say that. On the other two days, Robinson still the head of the prosecutors homicide division would review pending cases and prepare for other trials on her plate. She grabbed a few pictures, including the canvas portrait of her daughterat age 5 that hung above the fireplace. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. The human toll is harder to estimate. Shirley is originally from Puerto Rico. [16][17] The alleged motive for the arson was to collect insurance money to ease financial strain. [38], Gary Thompson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. It's been hard for me and my daughter. Saturday morning, they headed to the casino and Mark played a blackjack table, then they went to the bar and sat, waiting to get the phone call their home had caught fire. But the majority supported us.. The girlwas already out of the house while they cleared it of the sentimental items. Example video title will go here for this video. The sentence accounts for time served and good time credit. [19] Judge Shelia Carlisle rejected the proposal, noting that no Indiana law authorizes the use of concurrent jury trials. Its about your game being the only game that matters. Shirley had heard of Bob before, but had not met him before he came over Thursday, November 1. Leonard told him Shirley was ready and she agreed. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. 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. [6] Investigators said personal insurance on the home had recently been increased to $300,000. Leonard asked her to get a babysitter for her daughter, make a reservation at the casino's hotel for the two of them and to board the family cat, "Snowball." Monserrate Shirley leaves court after learning her sentence. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. As his court date neared, the workload ramped up. There's little remaining of Shirley's home (pictured at left) after Saturday's explosion. An autopsy will be conducted by the Marion County coroner's office Wednesday, according to the DOC. 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. 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. [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. After her 12 hour shift, she planned to see her daughter at the Holts' house and change there. Required fields are marked *. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. The group researched methods of how to destroy the home and made more than one attempt at doing so before succeeding, authorities said. You were a neighbor and you were a friend, Carlisle said. By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. Shirley said she would come back immediately, but they told her there was no house to come back to. Residents, particularly the younger ones, report experiencing continued psychological trauma from the incident. I said OK, she said. Of the dozens and dozens of homes damaged by the blast, 33 were affected so severely they had to be demolished. Investigators found that the couple had substantial debt, including $63,000 in credit card debt, and were in bankruptcy proceedings. Shirley testified that friends called and told her there was a huge explosion. Sgt. Below, former IMPD Det. "Everything they were telling me, it could not be possible," Shirley said on the stand as she started to get emotional. [10] Included on the probable cause affidavit were complaints from several women claiming that Leonard scammed them out of thousands of dollars. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. Today, Snowball, a white Persian cat, is in the care of John Shirley, Monserrate's ex-husband. Four years after thedeadly Richmond Hill explosion, another chapter has closed. On the night of the explosion, Shirley said he was working a second job in Fishers. "You face one, you get over one and you've got another one all the way until the end. She moved to the United States when she was 25. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. The explosion in the subdivision just south of the city on Saturday, Nov. 10, killed John and Jennifer Longworth. News, information &. We did what prosecutors are supposed to do. As Mark Leonards defense team would point out repeatedly throughout his trial, there was a chance, however small, that Shirleys cooperation could end with her walking free at the end. I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. I commend Det. She said she did not tell officers at the time what happened because she was scared. Thompson returned to their home to plan their next attempt. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. [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. 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 (WISH) - Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. This is too risky." I did everything to make him happy, Monserrate Shirley said in testimony. You were a nurse. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. One year of his sentences wassuspended, and the rest was to be split between jail and work release. It would have shortened the trial a week. For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. The couple's steamy relationship lasted for about a month before they moved in together. "No one.". The now 49-year-old originally faced life in prison without parole. She said they should be punished, Carter testified. The man he called was actually an undercover agent. "That cannot be real. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. Im telling the truth and nothing but the truth was a phrase repeated by Monserrate Shirley throughout the day. While she was charged in December 2012 for her role in the explosion, she pleaded guilty to two felony conspiracy charges earlier this year in exchange for her testimony. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. The truth is, I was scared.. Shirley testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. FORT WAYNE, Ind. Her house exploded on their third attempt of trying to claim insurance money. Shirley said she recalled telling them two innocent people die out of this.THIS HAS TO BE DONE. I look at a neighbor that I would have been happy to help if she would have just come across the street and said, man I got a problem will you give me a hand? 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. According to Shirley, he said the house fire would happen, "even if I have to step in the living room and light up this house myself.". "[6] The witness also told investigators that Leonard talked about buying a Ferrari with the insurance money from the house. Shed said similar things in an interview with IMPD Det. Monserrate Shirley, 49, would have to testify against former boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother in the plea deal . She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. But these were good defense attorneys. 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 know why they did it. Eventually, hed be asked to repeat her answer at her boyfriends murder trial. [14] Shirley admitted raising the limit on her insurance coverage at Mark Leonard's urging, and only went along with the plot out of love for him. I certainly might feel bad for his family. The first time Gary Thompson first came over to discuss starting a fire, she told him, "I'm ready, as long is this is a small fire. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th. "Two innocent people died because of this!" She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. And your daughter lost some things?" Thats time served, and hes out. "They are currently in the process of recovering the appliances from destroyed homes to help determine the cause.". ", Minch: "At no time did she ever say she was involved in the explosion?" They started looking around the house at potential ways to start the fire. 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. [26], In a case unrelated to the explosion charges, Mark Leonard and two other men were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Shirley says he was working at Eli Lilly at the time, and Monserrate was working as an RN at the VA hospital. Leonardwas placed under "imminent death watch" earlier this week. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. 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. Shirley says he was paying Monserrate $1,000 a month in child support and mortgage payments. Prosecutors ended by asking Shirley if the Longworths or any of her other neighbors deserved what happened. 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. At that point, Shirley and her co-defendants her boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. had been sitting in jail for two years following their arrest on charges of murder, arson and attempted insurance fraud in connection with the explosion. They got to the room, but Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed there while Shirley played slot machines for about an hour. You were a mom. Its about not letting the person who was watching your game die ever have a say in your game. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. In 2017, Leonard wasconvicted and received an additional 50-year sentencein a murder-for-hire scheme authorities say he concocted from jail after his arrest. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. Monserrate Shirley was ordered to serve out her sentence at the Indiana Womens Prison in Indianapolis. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. [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. Shirley: "Yes. 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. I should have been there.". Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate, or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook and Pinterest. She later pointed out she agreed to the plot under Mark Leonard's premise that it would be a small fire at just her home - not an explosion that would affect other people. Mr. Monserrate Morales was born on January 7, 1955 in Puerto Rico. PREVIOUS | Full testimony: Monserrate Shirley takes the stand. No one involved in this investigation or prosecution will forget the stories of this tragedy and the continuing fear and trauma that it caused to the survivors. Says Sen. Tom. I did my best. 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. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? Shirley's daughter went with them in Leonard's Cadillac. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . "Everybody's pointing a finger at me like I did something wrong," Shirley said in a video posted on the Indianapolis Star newspaper's website. "I moved out in February of 2011," he said. Gary Thompsonwas handed a 30-year prison sentence, 20 years executed, for his role in the murderous insurance fraud scheme. She continued handling some of Marion Countys most heinous crimes until January 2017, when her former boss, then-Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill, called her up and asked her to join him at the Indiana Statehouse, where he had just been elected attorney general. Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. 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. Its about remembering who you are. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. That presented a potential pitfall in the case, Robinson said. Robinson knew that. Get caught up on the first two chapters here:Chapter I: The Night the Sky Caught Fire|Chapter II: The $4 Million Arson Plot. Monserrate Shirley is lead into her sentencing hearing in December 2016. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. Dion and Jennifer Longworth, two occupants in the house at 8355 Fieldfare Way, died in the explosion; seven others were injured. The jury found 46-year-old Mark Leonard guilty of all counts against him, including murder and felony murder. Later that same day, an attorney asked Shirley if the Longworths deserved what happened to them. She was upset when she got home that night and saw her nicer digital thermostat sitting on the kitchen island and the new cheaper model on the wall. She was too involved. Leonard is charged with 53 counts of murder, arson and conspiracy. Monserrate Shirley, the Indianapolis homeowner whose house is suspected of being the source of a deadly explosion that damaged nearly 80 homes in her subdivision, was inconsolable Tuesday as she wept while speaking publicly for the first time about the horrific incident. Monserrate Shirley entered a guilty plea in the case that started as an insurance scam in Richmond Hill in 2012. 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 don't understand it," Shircliff said of the judge's ruling. "I am a nurse. "No one deserves what happened," she said. PREVIOUS|Timeline of events|Gallery: The Richmond Hill Explosion|Where were you at 11:11 PM? That becomes eight years when good time credit is applied. Monserrate Shirley and Mark leonard, profiled on the next "American Greed," staged a natural gas explosion to collect the insurance on their Indianapolis home. They are charged with. She asked Mark and Bob what happened that made it be an explosion instead of a fire. And the water heater." Aaron Carter. 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. Shirley: "She wanted us to live in a bigger house. And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. Shortly thereafter I moved some furniture into the apartment. 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. The Richmond Hill explosion took place on November 10, 2012, in the Richmond Hill subdivision in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. 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). Its a game that only you can play. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . After speaking with detectives, they went to Mark's sister's home, where they spent the night. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. She owned the house. Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. She was the nurse. Bob had been asking for his $10,000 payment before the explosion even happened. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. The topic came up again around July 4. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. Thompson left after a few hours and Shirley didn't hear anything else before the first attempt that Saturday. She even took some leave from work to stay with him longer than her paid vacation time allowed. "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. John did all the maintenance on the home - she never did any. [36] Shirley was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the maximum possible under her plea agreement, on December 20, 2016. ", She re-iterated that she offered him her retirement savings in place of burning the home. [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. . It was unclear when the complaint was made and whether the utility company was alerted. Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. She still qualifies as a practicing nurse. and one-eighth, Zionsvilles Brian Mason will be Colts coordinator, Indy east side fire kills dog, injures multiple people, Record breaking weather week in central Indiana, Indiana state trooper hit, killed in the line of, New billboard in Fountain Square tackles antisemitism, Trooper killed on I-69, speeding driver arrested, Everything you need to know about the 2023 Academy, Congressman Baird calls for pause on toxic shipments, Congress works to tackle military spouse unemployment, Indy man gets 16 years after shooting wife in arm, Spencer man killed in rollover crash on I-70, 3 Ind. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. Hed also been previously accused of insurance fraud in connection with a car accident. Just to prepare the evidence list which eventually numbered more than 2,000 items Robinson said the entire four-person team worked 24 hours straight. Shirley: "No.". [6] Her attorneys argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and was coerced by Mark Leonard into participating in the crime. This may help explain why this dish is beloved by patrons like myself. The case was expected to be the largest and most expensive trial in Marion County history. Minch: "Before that, you did have some problems with the pilot light on the furnace?" She never got a call, though. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. But in this case, Monserrate Shirley had already received leniency from the state when she entered into a plea agreement that dismissed a total of 50 charges, including murder. Sometimes they would go during the week while her daughterwas at school and leave in enough time to pick her back up. He told her one of the reasons she needed to upgrade the policy was he planned to bring in some nicer things and do some work around the house to improve it and they would need the extra coverage to match the upgrades.
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