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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. [38], Gary Thompson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 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 The next time, Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonards brother, Bob, was supposed to carry out the plan. Shirley says the house had three gas appliances when he lived there: furnace, water heater and fireplace. That becomes eight years when good time credit is applied. Among the "no" votes, inexplicably: political dancer Hiram Monserrate. 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. "No one.". [24], On March 28, 2015, Mark Leonard was charged with conspiring to murder the key witness against him, Mark Duckworth. 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. From confusion to conviction, Richmond Hill blast recapped. It would have shortened the trial a week. 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. Monserrate Shirley was a divorced Puerto Rican mother whose exotic looks quickly attracted Mark Leonard. 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. She was the neighbor that all the other neighbors were looking at. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. He was, however, eventually able to return to his hobby of umpiring softball. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. HS counselor at board meeting, Serial Indianapolis rapist pleads guilty to 9 counts, Mom speaks out after 2 kids killed by falling tree, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. She said Mark didn't actually want anyone to come to the house, he just wanted a trail they could point to after the fire so they could explain why they were in the hotel. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. Critics have accused Shirley of faking her reaction after the explosion because she seemed upset but never shed a tear. -- 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. In court Wednesday, she said he turned on the gas, but never lit the fire. He eventually improved enough to return home, but Shirley had to continue caring for him for several months. One year of his sentences wassuspended, and the rest was to be split between jail and work release. Prosecuting Mark Leonard presented with some challenges. And that, Im sure, will never change.. When we got in this case, we were asked to save her life, said defense attorney James Voyles. A class C felony carries 2-8 years. She owned the house. Leonard was being held at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facilitybut was transferred to the hospital several days ago. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. 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. John Shirley, 50, of Noblesville, told The Associated Press that his daughter sent him a text message last week complaining that the furnace in the home where she lives with her mother and her. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. Shirley claims Leonard coerced her involvement, testifying that he threatened her and her daughter. She was too involved. The sentence accounts for time served and good. Carter would testify that her emotions and demeanor seemed normal at the time, for someone whose house had just blown up. [34][35], Monserrate Shirley pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson. [5], Monserrate "Moncy" Shirley, a nurse, owned the home at the center of the explosion. (Item updated.) He questioned her about the multiple boardings of her cat, Snowball, which he found odd. She explained that Snowball had anxiety. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. With good behavior, her earliest possible release date is Dec. 19, 2032. Monserrate Shirley testified that Mark Leonard is the one who told her to increase the insurance on the contents of her house, and she also testified Mark Leonard brought up the idea of setting fire to her house for easy money. John moved out in February 2010 and their divorce was finalized that summer. 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? Both the prosecution and defense attorneys asked Shirley if she thought Hults was joking. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? 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. arranged for her daughter to stay . This story is Chapter III of a three-part series. Should we not use all those witnesses? It ended in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. It was run by the daughter of a famous American actor who was very close to the owner. 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. "You can't even do a fire. [6] Her attorneys argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and was coerced by Mark Leonard into participating in the crime. 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. 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. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. (They were) my neighbors for a very long time since we built the house, Shirley said. Bob had been asking for his $10,000 payment before the explosion even happened. She would sit with him, eat and drink and occasionally play slot machines. She later worked at St. Francis and Community South. ", "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. 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. 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. Taking them at face value, taking them at what they told the court, they believed that since it was going to come up in the trial they should talk about it during jury selection, Robinson said. She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. . 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. Shirley had heard of Bob before, but had not met him before he came over Thursday, November 1. Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold. 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. 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. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . As his court date neared, the workload ramped up. Are they going to get bored with it?. 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. It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. A copy of her plea agreement was entered into evidence and handed out to each member of the jury. Prosecutors ended by asking Shirley if the Longworths or any of her other neighbors deserved what happened. Bob Leonard said, "Well, you're in it. Shirley says he replaced the thermostat "so there were more options to heat the house during the day.". The home also had a microwave above the stove which had a programmable timer. The defense certainly offered to stipulate that 60 homes were damaged. I didn't do nothing wrong.". We are sure to have a lot more weird coincidences in the next few days, but this one is pretty crazy. When testimony moved to the night of the explosion that killed Jennifer and Dion Longworth, Monserrate Shirley had a difficult time staying composed. Powerball winner sold in central Indiana! Example video title will go here for this video. The explosion in the subdivision just south of the city on Saturday, Nov. 10, killed John and Jennifer Longworth. 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). And you said she was crying? 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. You were a mom. I said OK, she said. 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. Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. Monserrate Shirley, 49, said she became distraught when neighbors telephoned her after the November 2012 explosion and told her that her home was destroyed. "I don't understand it," Shircliff said of the judge's ruling. . 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. Wednesday in court, Shirley said that at the July 4th pool party, she called lighting the house on fire crazy. At one point you replaced the thermostat." In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. Roughly a week afterward, Mark asked Shirley for $500. She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. Leonard started talking the next week about trying for a second time to burn down the home. In exchange, she offered him the money in her 401K. She never got a call, though. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. 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. The co-conspirators include Shirleys boyfriend at the time, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard, and three others were convicted and sentenced to prison on various charges, including felony murder for Leonard. She and her husband Gabriel Ferrer (son of Rosemary Clooney and Jos Ferrer, and a first cousin to George Clooney) had four children: Jordan Alexander Ferrer (born July 8, 1980), twin girls (Gabrielle Monserrate Ferrer & Dustin Boone Ferrer, born September 17, 1983), and Tessa Ferrer (born March 30, 1986). He never gave her money like that again, but did play with his own money, spending anywhere from $2,000 - 10,000 each trip. Its an interesting concept. On November 19, it was announced that the investigation had become a criminal investigation. But she put an end to that in August 2011.". Leonard is charged with 53 counts of murder, arson and conspiracy. 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. He asked how much was in the 401k, according to Shirley. According to Shirleys account, she was struggling to stay financially afloat when she met Leonard, and within a month of dating, he came up with the idea. You were a neighbor and you were a friend, Carlisle said. Shirley: "No.". Mark had called her asking which credit card he could buy the thermostat with, but she didn't see him actually switch out the thermostat for the new one, nor did he ever say who did it. During the course of this lengthy process, we have sincerely appreciated the cooperation and patience of these families. No one else was within earshot, so far as she knew. [28] Prosecutors expected to submit nearly 3,000 pieces of evidence, and potentially call up to 175 witnesses. Dion and Jennifer Longworth, two occupants in the house at 8355 Fieldfare Way, died in the explosion; seven others were injured. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Indiana sheriffs deputy dies after falling ill during training, Myles Colvin captivates Heritage Christian crowds, preps for Purdue. In a room inside IFD Station 63 less than a mile from the Richmond Hill subdivision Carter and Shirley talked about her whereabouts on the night of the explosion. 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 testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. 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 . The stove was electric. Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. One of the projects he took on was working on the gas line in the fireplace. Denise Robinson, the Marion County Prosecutor on the case, told the court she rarely asks for the maximum sentence. Mark. Until shed agreed and signed on the dotted line, there were things I could not tell them. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. Prosecutors then proposed an unusual strategy involving one trial, but three separate juries, one for each defendant. 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. They got to the room, but Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed there while Shirley played slot machines for about an hour. The cat, nicknamed Snowy, was a birthday gift for their daughter, he said, and "she misses him.". The host family had a lot of horses, so Shirley's daughter went to play with them under the supervision of Holts' girlfriend, Sharon, whose teen daughters often watched the girl. The evidence Robinson and Hollingsworth had was substantial. I dont feel bad for Mr. Leonard, said Don Buxton, father of Jennifer Longworth, who was killed in the blast with her husband, Dion. "She lost everything," he said. 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 had a homicide detective crying on the stand. He says the log lighter worked fine when he lived there. Prosecutors told Judge Marnocha Tuesday they will likely rest their case next Wednesday or Thursday. . Mark Leonards trial at the St. Joseph County Courthouse was eventful before it even started. 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. Below, find a transcript of John Shirley's testimony from Tuesday's hearing: 2:22 p.m. John Shirley, Monserrate Shirley's ex-husband, called as witness. She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. This time, Shirley's daughterwas at home, but she was upstairs. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. I dont know why they did it. The original posters source was a little bit of a weird little coincidence, but the name was still alive and well. Its a game that only you can play. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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 went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Shirley: "No.". That was the last time she saw Bob before they were arrested. She didnt know anyone died, she said. Monserrate Shirley was given the house after her divorce. She testified Wednesday she has a condition that prevents her tear ducts from actually producing tears. And your daughter lost some things?" 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. There was discussion about: Should we cut all of those? "I thought it was crazy," she told a jury, "but I went along with him." She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. The jury found 46-year-old Mark Leonard guilty of all counts against him, including murder and felony murder. [7] Shirley told the police she never smelled any natural gas, but that her daughter had thought she did recently. Shirley had earlier cooperated in providing testimony against alleged co-conspirators but. 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. She told her daughter a friend had taken it to put a new frame on it. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't . Monserrate Shirley leaves court after learning her sentence. Thompson left after a few hours and Shirley didn't hear anything else before the first attempt that Saturday. Mark then asked Bob twice to "go get the part that we need." Thirty-three homes were damaged so severely they were deemed unrecoverable, and had to be torn down to the foundation. But no other problems. "I moved out in February of 2011," he said. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . So in the game of death, monserrate daughter is the Shirley of the game of death. 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. To begin the day, Monserrate Shirley explained how she and Mark Leonard met. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. Its because the life of the game itself is the life of the game itself. She, at first, struggled to identify her other neighbors. The program is a spin-off of the Oxygen series Snapped and has a similar format to the Investigation Discovery program Wicked Attraction. 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 even took some leave from work to stay with him longer than her paid vacation time allowed. 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. FORT WAYNE, Ind. Four years after thedeadly Richmond Hill explosion, another chapter has closed. They are charged with. "I feel like, you know, it would have been better off for me to be there [at the house when it exploded]," Shirley said. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. 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. 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. Its also the name of the game of death in which our monserrate daughter will be taking us on. Iwas scared. 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. 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. 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. They went home together that night and he moved in the first week of December. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th. But the majority supported us.. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. Shirley's daughterwent with them in Leonard's Cadillac. You can't do anything," he said. Glenn Hults, who had known of the scheme and kept Shirleys daughter Brooke out of the house, pleaded guilty on Dec. 28, 2016, to one count of assisting a criminal. We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. ", Minch: "You've had problems over the years with the furnace and the water heater. More than one-third of the families who lived in the neighborhood on the night of the blast have since moved away for good. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. After that, the fire wasn't mentioned again until the week before Halloween. She wanted to put it on her plate. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. He was working in Fishers on the night of the explosion. Shirley: "Back in August (2011) she just stopped taking my phone calls and letting me talk to Brook. I got upset with her and sent her some derogatory texts. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. Shirley would receive over $300,000 in insurance money for the replacement of the home as well as personal items. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. 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. Shirley may have been the prosecution's highest profile witness, but that doesn't mean they're done. On Friday, October 26, Leonard told Shirley to get anything sentimental out of the house. We used to cook together, have dinner together.Very charming, very lovely man.". He looked over the insurance policy and said she was under-insured so she called the insurance company and doubled her policy from $150,000 to $300,000. It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. 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. 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.