She will not learn her fate until after all four of her alleged co-conspirators has been tried. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. 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. After that, the fire wasn't mentioned again until the week before Halloween. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. He asked whose name the house was under, and she said it was entirely in her name after the divorce. Iwas scared. Until shed agreed and signed on the dotted line, there were things I could not tell them. (Item updated.) Once they were alone, Leonard, Holts and Shirley started talking about the fire again while they sat around the pool drinking beer. [5], The most damning piece of evidence was a witness statement from one of Mark Leonard's associates, who told investigators that the weekend before the explosion, Leonard told him that "the house blew up". Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. Did you see her on TV a few days later? It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . 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. [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. 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. The sentence accounts for time served and good. For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. 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. 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. 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. [13] A fourth person, Gary Thompson, was charged in January 2015 on the same charges. 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. Shirley: "Yes. Having Shirley as a witness came with its own pitfalls, though. Leonard is the brother of Mark Leonard, who is dating Montserrate Shirley, who along with Mark Leonard, lives in the home . Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold. Shirley said she has a condition with her tear ducts that makes her unable to produce tears, so people dont think Im crying for real.. The problem was that none of that criminal history would be admissible at trial. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Monserrate Shirley entered a guilty plea in the case that started as an insurance scam in Richmond Hill in 2012. She never got a call, though. In one case, she said the first attempt was supposed to be tied to gasoline not natural gas. But their arrests wereonly the beginning of years of work to put them behind bars for good. [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. [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." 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. Out of fear that a Marion County jury would be too tainted by extensive media coverage of the case, the trial had been moved to South Bend, Indiana. SOUTH BEND, Ind. "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 the game of death, monserrate daughter is the only way to be reunited with the game of life. And in each of those categories, you betrayed your trust.. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. It would have shortened the trial a week. 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 Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. She said Leonard had bought it a few months beforehand at that point. The men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. You can't do anything," he said. Thompson returned to their home to plan their next attempt. Its about becoming who you were meant to be. In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. 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. They claim that Leonard wanted the hit man to force the witness to call 9-1-1 and recant his statement before killing him. Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/11/14/monserrate-shirley-speaks-about-indianapolis-house-explosion/, emmy rossum jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley beyonce troy polamalu, http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/11/14/monserrate-shirley-speaks-about-indianapolis-house-explosion/. . She said she did not tell officers at the time what happened because she was scared. Your email address will not be published. [28] Prosecutors expected to submit nearly 3,000 pieces of evidence, and potentially call up to 175 witnesses. Below, former IMPD Det. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. She could face 20-50 years in prison. Critics have accused Shirley of faking her reaction after the explosion because she seemed upset but never shed a tear. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. He says the log lighter worked fine when he lived there. Shirley: "I moved out in February of 2011. In court Wednesday, she said he turned on the gas, but never lit the fire. She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. He did come to the house one week before the first attempt. The blast killed two people and. [6] A friend of the couple reported that Mark Leonard had lost $10,000 at the casino approximately three weeks before the explosion. FORT WAYNE, Ind. I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. On Thursday, Shirley worked a 12 hour shift. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Monserrate "Moncy" Shirley, a nurse, owned the home at the center of the explosion. Monserrate Shirley is lead into her sentencing hearing in December 2016. Monserrate Shirley, 49, would have to testify against former boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother in the plea deal . The home was owned by his girlfriend at the time, Monserrate Shirley, who testified earlier this month that Bob. We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. We believed that he did, we had some very thin evidence that he did. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Should we not use all those witnesses? We did what prosecutors are supposed to do. She transferred from her job in Michigan to the VA hospital in Indianapolis, where she worked for 17 years, focusing in the ICU. "That's not what you told me," she remembered saying to Mark. Gary Thompsonwas handed a 30-year prison sentence, 20 years executed, for his role in the murderous insurance fraud scheme. Investigators quickly honed in on the home's owner, Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr., as the primary suspects. 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). [10] Included on the probable cause affidavit were complaints from several women claiming that Leonard scammed them out of thousands of dollars. . How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? "I want $300,000. ", She re-iterated that she offered him her retirement savings in place of burning the home. They enter into evidence two golf bags with clubs and a driver. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. Make . That becomes eight years when good time credit is applied. 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. During the course of this lengthy process, we have sincerely appreciated the cooperation and patience of these families. arranged for her daughter to stay . "Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1.". [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. 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. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. In November 2014, Glenn Olvey who was trapped with his family in his collapsing house finally gave up on rebuilding his home in the neighborhood. . I said, You guys are crazy, that my house is too big.. Shirley: "She lost everything. 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. Ultimately, she could end up serving 21 years if she maintains good behavior in prison. "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 cat, nicknamed Snowy, was a birthday gift for their daughter, he said, and "she misses him.". But ultimately I think we were able to accomplish what we needed to do for her.. He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. If I could bring Dion and Jennifer back, I would do that in a heartbeat, she said. Mark. [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. By December 2014, two years after the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision, prosecutors were preparing to go to trial without any cooperating witnesses. Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. 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." Thompson arrived on Monday or Tuesday, October 22-23, while Shirley's daughter was at school. You were a nurse. Shirley gave 12 interviews and statements between the explosion and Wednesday's testimony - some for law enforcement, others for attorneys and one for the media - and defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies between some of those. Bob had been asking for his $10,000 payment before the explosion even happened. The co-conspirators include Shirleys boyfriend at the time, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. 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. More on AOL Real Estate:Find homes for rent in your area.Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.Find homes for sale in your area.Find foreclosures in your area. The defense said if prosecutors wrapped up early enough on Thursday, they could call all of their witnesses that day alone and closing arguments could be held Friday, July 10. The couple says their neighbor Bob Leonard was led away for questioning. Wednesday in court, Shirley said that at the July 4th pool party, she called lighting the house on fire crazy. Everything's under control.". Gary Thompson, who had helped with the first two unsuccessful attempts to blow up Monserrate Shirleys house, pleaded guilty on Dec. 2, 2016, to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Before meeting Mark, Shirley had never been to a casino. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. The only improvement he ever made was to buy two flat screen TV's, a 65-70 inch model for the master bedroom and a 42 inch screen for her daughter'sroom. The defense wrapped up a little more quickly than expected after Judge John Marnocha denied their request to play a video of Shirley's 2012 interview with the media. Monserrate Shirley, 47, her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, 43, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr., 54, are accused of intentionally leaking natural gas into the house and then using the kitchen's. I worked from the smaller charges to the larger ones to say, Of course its clear he did this, this and this, but heres how you get to here, Robinson said. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. From confusion to conviction, Richmond Hill blast recapped. The inmate and Leonard drew up a contract agreeing that Leonard would pay the inmate $15,000 when he was released, the affidavit said. Shirley recalled a later conversation that she had with Bob and Mark Leonard, after the explosion. 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. By the time wed got to trial, hed already been in jail for going on three years. [29] He was sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years without parole on August 14, 2015. Its not the only weird coincidence Ive noticed in the past few months, but the name shirley was the one that stood out to me most. We again offer our condolences to the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth and to those who suffered injury and loss. 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.