2012 explosion in Richmond Hill, Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, "At least 2 killed, others injured in explosion, fire in Indianapolis neighborhood", "Family breaks ground on new home in Richmond Hill subdivision after Indianapolis home explosion", "36 homes critically damaged in explosion in south side neighborhood", "Homeowner at center of explosion feels lucky to be alive", "Authorities call Richmond Hill explosion a homicide case, seek details on white van", "Probable cause suggests pattern of fraud, details inconsistencies", "Richmond Hill suspect, friend face insurance fraud charges", "Affidavit: women say richmond hill blast suspect Mark Leonard has long history of scheming", "Shattered Subdivision Offers a Trail of Clues", "Life sentences without parole sought for Indianapolis explosion suspects", "4th person arrested in Indianapolis house explosion", "Fifth suspect charged in 2012 Indianapolis south side explosion", "Mark Leonard, Indy Blast suspect, pleads not guilty in murder plot", "Jim Voyles now representing Monserrate Shirley", "Home Explosion Case: Monserrate Shirley, Mark And Bob Leonard Due In Indianapolis Court", "Richmond Hill explosion: 3 trials for price of 1? 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 . At about 11:10p.m., on November 10, 2012, a large explosion occurred in Richmond Hill, a subdivision on the southeast side of Indianapolis. The meeting was difficult for me because I couldnt ethically tell them everything, Robinson said. The defense attorney told the judge without the jury in the room that he planned to use the video to show that Shirley had the same demeanor in the courtroom as she did while lying to reporters. He refused, though, and warned them, "You guys be careful, because I know someone who committed arson and got 75 years in prison. Shirley: "She wanted us to live in a bigger house. After her 12 hour shift, she planned to see her daughter at the Holts' house and change there. I don't want anyone to get hurt," then started cooking dinner. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. But she put an end to that in August 2011.". 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. She will not learn her fate until after all four of her alleged co-conspirators has been tried. "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. Psychologist Dr. Stephanie Callaway diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder, but stated under cross-examination that, while the diagnosis explains Shirley's actions, it does not absolve her of responsibility. 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. We again offer our condolences to the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth and to those who suffered injury and loss. The explosion in the subdivision just south of the city on Saturday, Nov. 10, killed John and Jennifer Longworth. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. By the time wed got to trial, hed already been in jail for going on three years. 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). 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The first attempt was supposed to be carried out by Gary Thompson, but it failed. This has to be done, Shirley testified. It also didnt carry much weight for the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth, who died in the blast. For years, the team holed up in that office three days a week to avoid being distracted by other ongoing cases. wishtv.com your home page, Business, Equity and Opportunities Podcast with Scott Sander. The most money she ever remembered seeing him lose on a single trip was $7,000. The jury found 46-year-old Mark Leonard guilty of all counts against him, including murder and felony murder. . Monserrate worked Friday, November 9. "I mean, sometimes I wish I was there and I'd be dead, and now I wouldn't have to be asked so many questions.". In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. She said he also told her not to worry because he took out the step-down valve on the gas line, "and put it away where no one else would ever find it. The defendants requested that the trials be moved over concerns they would not receive a fair trial in Central Indiana due to the high-profile media coverage received by the case. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys asked Shirley if she thought Hults was joking. "Cases are made up of hurdles all the time," Robinson said Wednesday. Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. If I could bring Dion and Jennifer back, I would do that in a heartbeat, she said. Check those tickets! Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. Roughly a week afterward, Mark asked Shirley for $500. Police became suspicious when they uncovered evidence that the couple had taken similar steps the previous weekend; the cat had been boarded and Shirley's daughter had been placed with a babysitter overnight before the couple went to the casino. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its chef and owner. The men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. 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. Start the day smarter Notable deaths in 2023 The world's largest war 2023 meteor showers More: Richmond Hill: 'The scars still remain', More: Richmond Hill explosion: 'It's the toughest thing I've ever done in my career', More: Richmond Hill explosion: 7 keys that solved the case. No one, Shirley replied, crying.I WAS IN LOVE WITH HIM. I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. 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. Somebody knew that I was out of town. monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? Defense attorneys later pointed out she allowed him to move in and eventually drive her daughter to school despite knowing he was serving house detention for a DUI charge. She gave it to him, and he used it to pay Bob. She and her daughterwent to the hotel, where Mark later joined them. The blast killed two people and. You were a nurse. Shed said similar things in an interview with IMPD Det. A prosecuting attorney showed her a photo of the house that exploded and asked her who lived on either side of her. On Thursday, Shirley worked a 12 hour shift. Monserrate Shirley was a divorced Puerto Rican mother whose exotic looks quickly attracted Mark Leonard. Shirley: "Yes. Leonard asked Holts to tell the story of his own fire, how easily he'd gotten the money and to re-assure Shirley everything would be alright if they did it at her house. She found a house with a floorplan she liked." The human toll is harder to estimate. she said. After he was done, the fireplace worked properly and they never smelled any gas inside the home because of it. 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. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. "She lost everything," he said. [36] Shirley was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the maximum possible under her plea agreement, on December 20, 2016. FORT WAYNE, Ind. 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. He gave her $3,000 to use, and they lost it all. Another woman reported that she had loaned him about $5,000 for a construction job, which he had yet to pay back. Leonard got sick in March 2012. I care about people. [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." ", Minch: "At no time did she ever say she was involved in the explosion?" The girlwas already out of the house while they cleared it of the sentimental items. Shirley says he was working at Eli Lilly at the time, and Monserrate was working as an RN at the VA hospital. Mark Leonard, the man considered the mastermind behind the 2012 Richmond Hill neighborhood explosion that killed two people and wounded at least a dozen others, is dead. He says the log lighter worked fine when he lived there. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. INTERACTIVE MAP|Residents relive Richmond Hill explosion, ViewExplosion Damaged Homesin a larger map, Download the new and improved RTV6 app to get the latest news on the go and receive alerts to your phone, Sign up to have the latest news headlines delivered straight to your email inbox, Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Indianapolis, IN Interactive Weather Radar, Full testimony: Monserrate Shirley takes the stand. 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. She has already been behind bars for four years. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. He asked whose name the house was under, and she said it was entirely in her name after the divorce. It ended in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. When she told him there was around $10,000-12,000 in it, he said that wasn't enough. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. And it wasn't the answer we were looking for. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th. 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. The cat, nicknamed Snowy, was a birthday gift for their daughter, he said, and "she misses him.". He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder charges. 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. 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. She testified Wednesday she has a condition that prevents her tear ducts from actually producing tears. Estimates for the total scope of the damage caused by the explosion exceeded $4.5 million. [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. The next time, Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonards brother, Bob, was supposed to carry out the plan. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. The defense certainly offered to stipulate that 60 homes were damaged. And that, Im sure, will never change.. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. She grabbed a few pictures, including the canvas portrait of her daughterat age 5 that hung above the fireplace. The next morning, they returned to Indianapolis and saw the house was again still standing so Mark called Bob and told him to meet at a nearby parking lot. You can't do anything," he said. Their first trip together was to the Hollywood Casino roughly 3-4 months after they first met. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Every day I ask myself why I didnt stop this. 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). Today, Snowball, a white Persian cat, is in the care of John Shirley, Monserrate's ex-husband. The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. Of the dozens and dozens of homes damaged by the blast, 33 were affected so severely they had to be demolished. FORT WAYNE, Ind. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. 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 . [27], Mark Leonard's trial began in June 2015. At one point, after one of the failed attempts to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she offered Mark Leonard her 401k instead. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. "I feel like, you know, it would have been better off for me to be there [at the house when it exploded]," Shirley said. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. "We had a lot of parties," the late. The name was inspired by the work of the famous Italian poet Leonardo da Vinci, but it was actually a combination of the two that are so influential in the history of Italian cooking that the name was changed to monserrate. While still at the hotel, Mark asked her to call a heating & cooling company on Sunday, November 4, to see what they would charge to check on the heat because the house was too cold. Having Shirley as a witness came with its own pitfalls, though. ", Minch: "You've had problems over the years with the furnace and the water heater. She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. A second home was reduced to rubble as well, and other houses were half-collapsed. . Would you describe her demeanor the same way?" Exasperated, Judge John Marnocha, who was assigned to oversee the trial, dismissed dozens of potential jurors and ended the day early with an admonition for Black and her co-counsel, David Shircliff. How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? -- John Shirley told jurors Tuesday that, while his relationship with his ex-wife Monserrate was severely damaged by the time he moved out, the gas appliances in their home were not. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. [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. Many people may remember Shirley giving an interview to the media, including WISH-TV, after the explosion. I dont wish them any hardship. At the final tally, the explosion meant to allow Shirley and Leonard to collect $300,000 in insurance money caused more than $4 million-worth of property damage. I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. 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. It wasnt the only curveball Black and Shircliff would throw at the prosecution. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. [39] Glenn Hults received a three-year sentence.[40]. Prosecutors ended by asking Shirley if the Longworths or any of her other neighbors deserved what happened. Defense attorney David Shircliff then said Shirley may not have provided the "means" for the explosion, but she took care of the logistics to make sure no one realized she was helping blow up her own home.