Leonard later tried telling Shirley that the only reason Holts wouldn't talk about his own fire was because he didn't want Leonard to end up with more money than he had. 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. And you have to weigh that out? So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? But their arrests wereonly the beginning of years of work to put them behind bars for good. ", Minch: "You've had problems over the years with the furnace and the water heater. 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. He refused, though, and warned them, "You guys be careful, because I know someone who committed arson and got 75 years in prison. Monserrate worked Friday, November 9. [37] She is serving her sentence at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. She went to a bar on the south side of Indianapolis in November 2011 and they immediately noticed each other. Says Sen. Tom. 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. I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. Leonard told him Shirley was ready and she agreed.
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. 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..
American Greed: Property, auto insurance fraud is $30B problem - WSAV-TV Amazingly, despite the force of the explosion, a hybrid pear tree planted by Dion Longworth still grows in the yard where he and his wife Jennifers house once stood. But after a second round of boarding Snowball the cat, getting a babysitter for Shirleys daughter and setting hotel reservations, the house again was standing. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. The sentence accounts for time served and good. . Mark Leonard was the first to go on trial. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. But no other problems. [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. How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? [34][35], Monserrate Shirley pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson. For years, the team holed up in that office three days a week to avoid being distracted by other ongoing cases.
'But for Monserrate Shirley:' Betrayal next door - WRTV While Thompson checked the digital thermostat, Shirley heard him and Leonard say they could use it to trigger the fireplace as the source of the fire, but they never directly gave her any specifics on how they were going to do it. Shirley owned the home at the epicenter of the November 2012 explosion that killed two people and damaged dozens of other homes causing more than $4 million in damages.
Three charged with murder after 'setting off deadly Indiana house We believed that he did, we had some very thin evidence that he did. "You can't even do a fire. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. 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. SOUTH BEND, Ind. 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. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. 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. She said she did not tell officers at the time what happened because she was scared. 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. She got in the van with them, and Mark asked her to give Bob $40. 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. It was a good feeling.. "No one deserves what happened," she said. You were a mom. Shirley claims Leonard coerced her involvement, testifying that he threatened her and her daughter. 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. She was the neighbor that all the other neighbors were looking at. I didn't do nothing wrong.". By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. Shirley: "Yes.
Monserrate Shirley sentencing: 'She is the worst of the bunch' - WTHR I don't want anyone to get hurt," then started cooking dinner. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors.
Richmond Hill explosion mastermind Mark Leonard dies Robinson knew that. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. At least half a dozen marriages in the Richmond Hill neighborhood ended in divorce in the years immediately following the blast. He told her his friend Glenn Holts had done the same at his own house with help from Gary Thompson, who worked for Leonard at the time. He says he "was very surprised" to learn Snowball had been boarded on the night of the explosion. But I cant do that, and everybody knows you cant do that, but sometimes theres this perception that getting through the justice system will make things better. [27], Mark Leonard's trial began in June 2015. The program is a spin-off of the Oxygen series Snapped and has a similar format to the Investigation Discovery program Wicked Attraction. Its quite obvious that monserrate is the source of the name in this case.
FAIL: New York Senate Says NO to Gay Marriage - Queerty 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. 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. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend.
Woman agrees to testify against others in Indianapolis house explosion She will not learn her fate until after all four of her alleged co-conspirators has been tried. We have done that. She was 11 years old at that point. Should we not use all those witnesses? You were a neighbor and you were a friend, Carlisle said. The explosion in the subdivision just south of the city on Saturday, Nov. 10, killed John and Jennifer Longworth. Shirley recalled a later conversation that she had with Bob and Mark Leonard, after the explosion. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings.
Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. "That cannot be real. PREVIOUS|Timeline of events|Gallery: The Richmond Hill Explosion|Where were you at 11:11 PM? She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. This type of trial is unusual but not unheard of, and had been used in the trial of the Menendez brothers. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. She was too involved. "I feel like, you know, it would have been better off for me to be there [at the house when it exploded]," Shirley said. Robert Leonard, who was convicted of murder and multiple felonies, was sentenced to life without parole. It started as a bad headache, but quickly grew until he was hospitalized with an autoimmune disease serious enough he would need a blood transfusion.
Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years in prison - YouTube This time, Leonard worked with Thompson instead of Thompson doing the work while Leonard stood next to him, watching and planning. She moved to the United States when she was 25.
Snapped: Killer Couples - Wikipedia Shirley says the house had three gas appliances when he lived there: furnace, water heater and fireplace. They agreed to say they'd been having trouble with the thermostat and smelling gas for a while. She never got a call, though. Wednesday in court, Shirley said that at the July 4th pool party, she called lighting the house on fire crazy. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. Yes, I didnt think it would be possible, Monserrate Shirley said.HUGE EXPLOSION. Many Git commands accept both tag and branch names, so creating this branch may cause unexpected behavior. I always get the money.". I was introduced to this once-a-year dish at a party and she was one of the first people to give it a shot. The first attempt was supposed to be carried out by Gary Thompson, but it failed. Somebody knew that I was out of town. We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. She still qualifies as a practicing nurse. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. 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.
[6] Investigators said personal insurance on the home had recently been increased to $300,000. 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 .
Indiana Neighborhood Explosion: Two Questioned in Connection to Blast Defendant in Indiana house explosion gets maximum 50 years - FOX 5 Atlanta She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. 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. The two divorced on July 25, 2011. The home also had a microwave above the stove which had a programmable timer. Shirley said she was attracted to Mark Leonard, particularly noting he was well-dressed and had bleach blonde hair. . arranged for her daughter to stay . That hit man was later revealed to be an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Bob had been asking for his $10,000 payment before the explosion even happened. Their first trip together was to the Hollywood Casino roughly 3-4 months after they first met. She said Leonard had bought it a few months beforehand at that point. She lived in the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home with her daughter. Leonards death doesnt change the fact that Jennifer and Dion died, Buxton said. Shirley testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. But she put an end to that in August 2011.".
Man convicted of murder in deadly Indiana house explosion You're done.". So while I had that, I pretty quickly set it aside and put it in a file marked Mark Leonard and never looked at it, because I couldnt allow that to influence me in the decision. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. Shirley and her boyfriend were hoping to collect $300,000 in insurance . I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. FORT WAYNE, Ind. At the time her friends called her, Monserrate was at a casino with Mark Leonard. Will they get to the felony murder?. Shirley: "She lost everything. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. Shirley wasnt a suspect at the time, and the interview was a routine one. At about 11:10p.m., on November 10, 2012, a large explosion occurred in Richmond Hill, a subdivision on the southeast side of Indianapolis. . It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. While there had been some communications early on, we were not willing to offer Monserrate Shirley a significant deal for her cooperation, Robinson said. Ms. Shirley ultimately took responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty and provided important information during the investigation. Defense attorney Ted Minch on cross-examination: "You're not happy to be here today." [20] The trials started in 2015. Powerball winner sold in central Indiana! 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. 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. [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. If that timeline holds, final jury instructions would be given Monday, July 13 then deliberation would begin. The entire day she answered questions from attorneys, repeatedly crying. It wasnt the only curveball Black and Shircliff would throw at the prosecution. monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. 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. towns among 150 Best Small Town in America, Citizens support Ind. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. Investigators found that the couple had substantial debt, including $63,000 in credit card debt, and were in bankruptcy proceedings. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Shirley: "I moved out in February of 2011. [14] In April 2015, a fifth man, Glenn Hults, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson. There's little remaining of Shirley's home (pictured at left) after Saturday's explosion. "Two innocent people died because of this!" At the end of the day, we still miss her and him, Dion, as much as ever, Buxton said. The defense certainly offered to stipulate that 60 homes were damaged. [28], Mark Leonard was found guilty on all 53 counts, including murder and felony murder charges, on July 14. He never gave her money like that again, but did play with his own money, spending anywhere from $2,000 - 10,000 each trip. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. For their families, the tree is one last connection to the loved ones they lost on Nov. 10, 2012. They'd soon get a new roommate.
Monserrate Shirley, Indianapolis Homeowner - AOL Real Estate As fate would have it, it would be Carter, just a few weeks later, who would place Monserrate Shirley in handcuffs. Jeff Wager, the lead homicide investigator in the case, talks about the surveillance and arrests of Mark Leonard and Monserrate Shirley: It was at a meeting with prosecutors in early 2015 that Richmond Hill residents learned of the plea deal being worked out with their former neighbor, Monserrate Shirley. The name comes from a restaurant that is on the run called theserie rossa which translates to the run of the wits.
Woman pleads guilty in deadly Indianapolis explosion - CBS News I dont know why they did it. I should have been there.". She found a house with a floorplan she liked."
I didnt want to do anything that would cause that trial date to be continued.. By December 2014, two years after the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision, prosecutors were preparing to go to trial without any cooperating witnesses. "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.". 2023 CIRCLE CITY BROADCASTING I, LLC. Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonard was very, very mad., Mark Leonard said, Were going to do it again. Start the day smarter Notable deaths in 2023 The world's largest war 2023 meteor showers I said OK, she said. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. He gave her $3,000 to use, and they lost it all. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Indianapolis, IN Interactive Weather Radar, Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much, Opening statements in the trial of Mark Leonard. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. I cant give back what was taken from them on November 10. Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. 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. 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. They started looking around the house at potential ways to start the fire. I cant give the Olveys back a peace of mind. "I want $300,000. They went home together that night and he moved in the first week of December. I had to know I could make this case based on the evidence I had.. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. 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." That was the last time she saw Bob before they were arrested. They said they didn't know. Too little, too late, said Jennifer Longworths father, Don Buxton.
Monserrate Shirley agrees to testify against ex boyfriend in Indiana [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. Its an interesting concept. "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. One small job. John moved out in February 2010 and their divorce was finalized that summer. ", "Richmond Hill explosion suspects to get separate trials", "Attorneys: Change of venue likely in Monserrate Shirley case", "Richmond Hill suspect trial moved to South Bend", "Defendant in deadly Indiana explosion agrees to plea deal", "Richmond Hill trial: Informant says Mark Leonard wanted witness killed", "Home> U.S. Indianapolis House Explosion: Suspect Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot", "Marion county prosecutor's office asks for life without parole sentences in richmond hill explosion", "Richmond Hill trial to focus on greed and desperation", "Mark Leonard convicted of murder in explosion scheme", "Mark Leonard gets life without parole for Richmond Hill explosion", "Richmond Hill explosion mastermind Mark Leonard dies", "Cause of death of Richmond Hill conspirator Mark Leonard determined", "Richmond Hill explosion culprit Mark Leonard dies at Indy hospital", "Leonard found guilty of all counts in Richmond Hill trial", "Indianapolis man get 2 life sentences in deadly house blast", "Psychologist Says Monserrate Shirley Was Abused as Child, Has 'Dependent Personality Disorder', "Monserrate Shirley sentenced to maximum 50 years in prison", "Gary Thompson sentenced in Richmond Hill explosion after pleading guilty to arson charge", "Glenn Hults sentenced to 3 years in deadly Richmond Hill blast", Affidavit of Probable Cause, Dec. 20, 2012, Affidavit of Probable Cause, April 14, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richmond_Hill_explosion&oldid=1133693717, November 2012 crimes in the United States, Articles with incomplete citations from March 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 02:18. Glenn Hults, who pleaded guilty to a felony for knowing about the plot but failing to report it to police, is scheduled for sentencing on December 28. 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. 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. 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. 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. "No one.".
RICHMOND HILL: Shirley's ex takes the stand - WRTV "I thought it was crazy," she told a jury, "but I went along with him." [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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This is too risky." Her role in the plan and execution of this act protected her own child and the family pet, but failed to consider the obvious danger it presented to anyone else. "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. They should go to jail. (WISH) Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. The human toll is harder to estimate. Shirley had earlier cooperated in providing testimony against alleged co-conspirators but. She will be 72 years old.
Indianapolis explosion may have been caused by furnace, says owner of By the time wed got to trial, hed already been in jail for going on three years. 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. A prosecuting attorney showed her a photo of the house that exploded and asked her who lived on either side of her. Her earliest possible release date is December 19, 2037when she will be 72 years old. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
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. Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. The men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . [30] He died on January 30, 2018, at an Indianapolis hospital, aged 48, of natural causes. 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. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. Shirley: "No. She met Mark Leonard at a bar on November 12, 2011. Neighbors, family testify in sentencing hearing of Monserrate Shirley, owner of the home.