They claim that Leonard wanted the hit man to force the witness to call 9-1-1 and recant his statement before killing him. After he was done, the fireplace worked properly and they never smelled any gas inside the home because of it. Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate, or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook and Pinterest. I cant give back what was taken from them on November 10. FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. There have been days with only two people in the audience other than media, but there were more than 30 Wednesday. "You face one, you get over one and you've got another one all the way until the end. The Version table provides details related to the release that this issue/RFE will be addressed. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Robinson, all-too-aware of the limitations of the justice system after decades as a prosecutor, says she is just glad they were able to get some amount of justice for the victims. ", When prosecutors asked if she was serious about the 401K offer, Shirley said, "I would have given him anything because I was in love with him.". The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. Lisa Marie Presley's daughter Riley Keough wears a Graceland sweater as she . This has to be done, Shirley testified. We are sure to have a lot more weird coincidences in the next few days, but this one is pretty crazy. 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. arranged for her daughter to stay . For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. John Shirley, her ex-husband, who owns the home with her, told The Associated Press that he believed the home's faulty furnace could have led to the explosion. And I wanted to be able to tell them everything., TRANSCRIPT | The full testimony of Monserrate Shirley. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. Its because the life of the game itself is the life of the game itself. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. Your email address will not be published. Hults faces no prison time to three years . Although the jury would eventually hear testimony and an audio recording of Leonard talking to an undercover ATF agent posing as a hitman (and Leonard would eventually get an extra 50 years in prison for it), having that information before the trial even began would have been extremely prejudicial against him. Mark Leonard first mentioned trying to burn the house down in February 2012, according to Shirley. I did everything to make him happy, Monserrate Shirley said in testimony. On the night of the explosion, Shirley said he was working a second job in Fishers. It was a good feeling.. She would sit with him, eat and drink and occasionally play slot machines. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Leonard got sick in March 2012. That was the last time she saw Bob before they were arrested. Im telling the truth and nothing but the truth was a phrase repeated by Monserrate Shirley throughout the day. If that timeline holds, final jury instructions would be given Monday, July 13 then deliberation would begin. Man convicted of murder in deadly Indiana house explosion The home was owned by his girlfriend at the time, Monserrate Shirley, who testified earlier this month that Bob. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder 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. 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. 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. His defense team admitted that the blaze had been intentionally set, but told jurors it was only intended to be a small fire and that murder was never his intention. At the time of the explosion, Shirley says he was living in Noblesville. The couple's steamy relationship lasted for about a month before they moved in together. [18], Prosecutors initially sought to try the suspects together, but the defendants were granted the right to separate trials. 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/. "I don't understand it," Shircliff said of the judge's ruling. She later worked at St. Francis and Community South. 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. And then there was the arrangement that when I picked up my daughter I would get to take some of my belongings. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. It would have shortened the trial a week. American Greed: Property, auto insurance fraud is $30B problem - WSAV-TV 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. . We did the right thing, for the right reason, and got the right result in the right way.. 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. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. rosemary clooney george clooney relationship On Friday, October 26, Leonard told Shirley to get anything sentimental out of the house. monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys asked Shirley if she thought Hults was joking. Shirley met Mark Leonard. The sentence accounts for time served and good time credit. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. 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. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. The two divorced on July 25, 2011. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. 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. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. Officials did not release further information regarding his death. Should we not use all those witnesses? He also told Bob to go get Gary Thompson. Shirley claims Leonard coerced her involvement, testifying that he threatened her and her daughter. After that, the fire wasn't mentioned again until the week before Halloween. Leonard went to pick up Thompson in the white van witnesses in the neighborhood have previously testified seeing in Shirley's driveway. 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. I was scared for my life and the life of my daughter., Forgive me for my poor choices in life, she continued. Holts invited Leonard and Shirley to his friend's house for a pool party in the Geist neighborhood. Woman tells of failed tries before deadly Indianapolis house explosion She was the nurse. 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. Leonard died around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at an Indianapolis hospital,according to an Indiana Department of Correction spokesman. Roughly a week afterward, Mark asked Shirley for $500. I got upset with her and sent her some derogatory texts. Man accused of murder in deadly house blast learns his fate - CBS News She met Mark Leonard at a bar on November 12, 2011. Its been around since the late 80s, but Im sure well find more of it on our own site. She talked about being Catholic and said it was in God's hands, but still, they should be punished.". 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. Shirley agreed to plead guilty to two counts conspiracy to commit arson and testify against the co-conspirators in exchange for having all other charges dropped. In exchange, she offered him the money in her 401K. She still wiped under her eyes with a tissue several times while she was on the stand. Mark then asked Bob twice to "go get the part that we need." "I want $300,000. "She lost everything," he said. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. Shirley says Monserrate got the house in the divorce. 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). Sgt. 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. Homeowner Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years for role in - WTTV Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. Required fields are marked *. "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. Later that same day, an attorney asked Shirley if the Longworths deserved what happened to them. ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. It ended in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. So there wasnt a great deal of pressure on us, or desire by us, to offer her anything.. Snapped: Killer Couples - Wikipedia But the plan went horribly awry when a vast amount of natural gas had built up in the home before something set inside a microwave oven ignited the blaze. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. Inquiry Into Indianapolis Blast Suggests Scheme Gone Wrong - The New Mark and Bob stayed in the garage while they talked about what Bob's part would be, while Shirley stayed inside. Jurors will later hear that the golf bags and clubs were found at Bob Leonard's home after the explosion. The sentence accounts for time served and good. On November 19, it was announced that the investigation had become a criminal investigation. I told them I dont even want to be a part of this, Shirley testified as telling the Leonards. . By December 2014, two years after the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision, prosecutors were preparing to go to trial without any cooperating witnesses. Denise Robinson, the Marion County Prosecutor on the case, told the court she rarely asks for the maximum sentence. [6] Investigators said personal insurance on the home had recently been increased to $300,000. 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 . He says he and Monserrate never boarded the cat when they were married. 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. Prosecutors then proposed an unusual strategy involving one trial, but three separate juries, one for each defendant. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. To this day, absolutely they had the right to do that. (WISH) Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. When she left that morning, her daughterand Snowball were still there (Mark was going to take them to school and the kennel). Deputy Prosecutor DeniseRobinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. And then there was the arrangement that when I picked up my daughter I would get to take some of my belongings. To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. 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. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. You were a nurse. As his court date neared, the workload ramped up. Indiana sheriffs deputy dies after falling ill during training, Myles Colvin captivates Heritage Christian crowds, preps for Purdue. An autopsy will be conducted by the Marion County coroner's office Wednesday, according to the DOC. Estimates for the total scope of the damage caused by the explosion exceeded $4.5 million. Iwas scared. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. Too little, too late, said Jennifer Longworths father, Don Buxton. The human toll is harder to estimate. At the end of the interview, Carter asked Shirley what should happen to the person responsible for the explosion. The sentence accounts for time served and good. I dont know why they did it. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. she said. When testimony moved to the night of the explosion that killed Jennifer and Dion Longworth, Monserrate Shirley had a difficult time staying composed. He says sometimes strong winds would blow out the pilot light when someone opened the garage door. Monserrate Shirley sentencing: 'She is the worst of the bunch' - WTHR We believed that he did, we had some very thin evidence that he did. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". 'But for Monserrate Shirley:' Betrayal next door - WRTV 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. [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. While Shirley said he lost a lot, he pointed out the toll was much greater on his then-13-year-old daughter Brook. I said OK, she said. The meeting was difficult for me because I couldnt ethically tell them everything, Robinson 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. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. The jury found 46-year-old Mark Leonard guilty of all counts against him, including murder and felony murder. "I mean, I'm totally devastated like my neighbors are.". Indianapolis House Explosion Case Now a Criminal Homicide Investigation Ultimately, she could end up serving 21 years if she maintains good behavior in prison. One of the projects he took on was working on the gas line in the fireplace. "Everything they were telling me, it could not be possible," Shirley said on the stand as she started to get emotional. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. Monserrate Shirley is lead into her sentencing hearing in December 2016. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. Shirley would receive over $300,000 in insurance money for the replacement of the home as well as personal items. [13] A fourth person, Gary Thompson, was charged in January 2015 on the same charges. We've got a few more.". Before meeting Mark, Shirley had never been to a casino. Shirley: "She lost everything. A copy of her plea agreement was entered into evidence and handed out to each member of the jury. 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. No one deserved what happened. Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. Mark Leonard moved in with Monserrate Shirley about a month later. He occasionally worked on those cars at Shirley's home so she saw he had a wide array of tools. ", Minch: "At no time did she ever say she was involved in the explosion?" They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. [31][32][33] Bob Leonard was convicted on all 51 counts, including murder and conspiracy to commit arson, on February 24, 2016. I certainly might feel bad for his family. Mark. The first time Shirley cried on the stand Wednesday was when she was asked about her neighbors. 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. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. 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 said she thought the fire plan was crazy, but went along with it anyway. In court Wednesday, she said he turned on the gas, but never lit the fire. (Item updated.) I thought it was crazy, but I went along with him. 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." [3][4] Damage to homes in the neighborhood was estimated at $4 million. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. Aaron Carter. The Retaking Of Richmond Hill - Indianapolis Monthly The first attempt was supposed to be carried out by Gary Thompson, but it failed. He told her to tell Holts, though, that they would be trying the fire again that night (Sunday night). . (They were) my neighbors for a very long time since we built the house, Shirley said. It's been hard for me and my daughter. And you have to weigh that out? 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. They said they didn't know. 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. She, at first, struggled to identify her other neighbors. Write For Us: Investigative Articles are Intriguing. The game of death is a pretty popular one, but its not just because of the game of death; its also the game of life itself. I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. Robinson knew that. The Richmond Hill neighbors had been waiting long enough without a trial. Worried that jurors might easily convict Leonard of the lesser charges against him, but not the larger ones that carried the life without parole sentence prosecutors were asking for, Robinson built her closing argument from the bottom up. The Insurance Scam That Blew Up A Neighborhood - Medium She found a house with a floorplan she liked." Ms. Shirley ultimately took responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty and provided important information during the investigation. He refused, though, and warned them, "You guys be careful, because I know someone who committed arson and got 75 years in prison. Monserrate "Moncy" Shirley, a nurse, owned the home at the center of the explosion. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Shirley testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. Its quite obvious that monserrate is the source of the name in this case. 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 and her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, who also lived at the residence, told authorities they had left Friday night for a weekend at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Arguing for the maximum in this case, when you live with this case and you see the impact, and you know what devastating effect its had on these lives, it just compels you to argue for that, said Robinson. Wednesday in court, Shirley said that at the July 4th pool party, she called lighting the house on fire crazy. 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. Leonard said he talked to Gary Thompson without her, telling him they were ready to do it. Shirley didn't hear anything more about a plot to start a fire that night, and nothing happened. When she told him there was around $10,000-12,000 in it, he said that wasn't enough. And the water heater." Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard: 'Killer Couples' Airs Richmond Hills Bob Leonard, Monserrate Shirley, Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults also face charges in connection to the explosion. [6] Heappears to have died of natural causes. Shirley's next-door neighbors, John and Jennifer Longworth, died in the blast. It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. 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.
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