Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. The co-conspirators include Shirleys boyfriend at the time, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. Make In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. "Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1.". [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". SOUTH BEND, Ind. She remained in the house as the sole owner until the explosion. She was upset when she got home that night and saw her nicer digital thermostat sitting on the kitchen island and the new cheaper model on the wall. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. Shirley didn't hear anything more about a plot to start a fire that night, and nothing happened. This story is Chapter III of a three-part series. Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. Shirley is originally from Puerto Rico. 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. A prosecuting attorney showed her a photo of the house that exploded and asked her who lived on either side of her. I said, You guys are crazy, that my house is too big.. 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.. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. As fate would have it, it would be Carter, just a few weeks later, who would place Monserrate Shirley in handcuffs. In her sentencing order, Judge Sheila Carlisle repeatedly stressed that Shirley could have stopped the plan at any time but didnt. When the relationship first started, she said, "He was a nice guy. 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. She gave it to him, and he used it to pay Bob. She, at first, struggled to identify her other neighbors. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. . ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. Leonardwas placed under "imminent death watch" earlier this week. 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. They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. 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. She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. Robert Leonard, who was convicted of murder and multiple felonies, was sentenced to life without parole. She told them she didn't want anything to do with them anymore. 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. Its an interesting concept. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. While Shirley and the Leonards had been sitting in jail, Robinson and Hollingsworth had been traveling to the ATF lab in Washington D.C. to learn about explosions and taking a crash course on natural gas. 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. With good behavior, her earliest possible release date is Dec. 19, 2032. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. She wanted to put it on her plate. I cant give back what was taken from them on November 10. Gary Thompson pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson and received a 30-year sentence, with 10 years suspended. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. And then there was the arrangement that when I picked up my daughter I would get to take some of my belongings. ", Holts then asked who would get the money if they went through with it and Mark said, "Of course, me. Prosecuting Mark Leonard presented with some challenges. She found a house with a floorplan she liked." She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". You're a piece of [expletive]. Once they were alone, Leonard, Holts and Shirley started talking about the fire again while they sat around the pool drinking beer. This time, Mark and Bob talked alone while Monserrate left to pick up her daughter. As of summer 2022 the show has aired sixteen . She was wearing a jail jumpsuit, was shackled and her hair had grown long, dark and curly.IM TELLING THE TRUTH. Ultimately, she could end up serving 21 years if she maintains good behavior in prison. PHOTOS: First Richmond Hill trial Mark Leonard is on. 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). A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. . Thompson left after a few hours and Shirley didn't hear anything else before the first attempt that Saturday. A copy of her plea agreement was entered into evidence and handed out to each member of the jury. The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. In another, she said Mark Leonard turned on the gas line and actually lit the fire during the second attempt. Leonard went to pick up Thompson in the white van witnesses in the neighborhood have previously testified seeing in Shirley's driveway. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. If I could bring Dion and Jennifer back, I would do that in a heartbeat, she said. One of the projects he took on was working on the gas line in the fireplace. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "I am a nurse. Shirley says he was paying Monserrate $1,000 a month in child support and mortgage payments. Too little, too late, said Jennifer Longworths father, Don Buxton. Monserrate Shirley detailed the multiple attempts made to set the house on fire prior to the explosion that leveled the home. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . Much of the attention since the explosion has centered on Monserrate Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard, who lived at the house in the center of the blast area. Iwas scared. The cat, nicknamed Snowy, was a birthday gift for their daughter, he said, and "she misses him.". Glenn Hults, the final defendant to stand trial for the explosion, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge last month that may result in no additional jail time. [37] She is serving her sentence at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The here, in this case, was the knowing murder of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. 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. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. The defense certainly offered to stipulate that 60 homes were damaged. Jeffrey Wager and IMPD investigators, Lt. Mario Garza and IFD investigators, agents of the Federal ATF, and our trial team for their commitment and perseverance to bring justice for the Richmond Hill residents.. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its chef and owner. On the night of the explosion, Shirley said he was working a second job in Fishers. Critics have accused Shirley of faking her reaction after the explosion because she seemed upset but never shed a tear. 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. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. ", Minch: "At no time did she ever say she was involved in the explosion?" The problem was that none of that criminal history would be admissible at trial. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Mark started telling Shirley they needed to get their stories straight before police started asking questions. You were a mom. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. But I dont feel bad for the deceased.. At the end of the day, we still miss her and him, Dion, as much as ever, Buxton said. [36] Shirley was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the maximum possible under her plea agreement, on December 20, 2016. But a whole days-worth of potential jurors would end up tainted anyway not by media coverage, but by Leonards defense team. Defense attorney Ted Minch on cross-examination: "You're not happy to be here today." Follow his reporting on Twitter at @Jordan_RTV6 or on Facebook. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th. 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. The home was owned by his girlfriend at the time, Monserrate Shirley, who testified earlier this month that Bob. BREAKING: By a vote of 24-38, New York's State Senate has voted against same-sex marriage legislation. That presented a potential pitfall in the case, Robinson said. Mark Leonards trial at the St. Joseph County Courthouse was eventful before it even started. "We had a lot of parties," the late. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". "That cannot be real. And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. "(Whoever is responsible will) have to pay for what they did to me and everybody else," Shirley said in the interview. Your email address will not be published. This is too risky." Prosecutors started by addressing her plea agreement. They enter into evidence two golf bags with clubs and a driver. Seven months later, on March 18, 2016, his brother Bob Leonard Jr. received his own sentence of life without parole in a courtroom in Fort Wayne, Indiana. At 11:11 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2012, a two-story home on the south side of Indianapolis exploded with the force of as much as 5 tons of TNT. Shirley struck a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Until shed agreed and signed on the dotted line, there were things I could not tell them. And the game of death is the game of life itself. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. She still qualifies as a practicing nurse. At the trial I had firefighters crying on the stand. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. Shirley testified that friends called and told her there was a huge explosion. The entire day she answered questions from attorneys, repeatedly crying. "She lost everything," he said. The inmate and Leonard drew up a contract agreeing that Leonard would pay the inmate $15,000 when he was released, the affidavit said. ", 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.". On the day of the explosion, another neighbor saw a white van pull into the driveway of Shirley's residence between 2:00 and 3:00p.m. That's whatwe'll be asking the jury to consider.". He also told Bob to go get Gary Thompson. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. 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. 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. The topic came up again around July 4. Shortly thereafter I moved some furniture into the apartment. Shirley: "Back in August (2011) she just stopped taking my phone calls and letting me talk to Brook. Prosecutors alleged Leonard was the mastermind behind the explosion that damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes in Indianapolis, plotting with his then-live-in girlfriend Monserrate Shirley. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder charges. [6] Prosecutors also allege that he offered the hit man a $5,000 bonus if he made the murder look like a suicide. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. This may help explain why this dish is beloved by patrons like myself. ", "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. 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. Jurors will later hear that the golf bags and clubs were found at Bob Leonard's home after the explosion. Deputy Prosecutor DeniseRobinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. 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. Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. Snapped: Killer Couples (known as Killer Couples from seasons 7 to 15) is an American true crime television series currently airing on the Oxygen Network.The program details couples who commit crimes together. [16][17] The alleged motive for the arson was to collect insurance money to ease financial strain. [The residents] clearly knew the Leonards were the bad actors, and that we needed to do everything we could to get to them, Robinson said. [19] Judge Shelia Carlisle rejected the proposal, noting that no Indiana law authorizes the use of concurrent jury trials. They got to the room, but Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed there while Shirley played slot machines for about an hour. She told him the attempt didnt work but that there would be another attempt. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. I care about people. 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. It had three gas appliances - the water heater, the furnace and the fireplace. She was 11 years old at that point. He said there wouldn't be a problem because it would be a small fire so no one would get hurt, and since she had a long history with the insurance company and no criminal record, they would get the money almost immediately. Neighbors, family testify in sentencing hearing of Monserrate Shirley, owner of the home. While there had been some communications early on, we were not willing to offer Monserrate Shirley a significant deal for her cooperation, Robinson said. The man he called was actually an undercover agent. Leonard, his ex-girlfriend Monserrate Shirley, his half-brother Robert Leonard and Mark Leonards former employee blew up Shirleys home in the Richmond Hill subdivision to collect about $300,000 in insurance money to pay off the houses mortgage and Mark Leonards gambling and credit card debts. Shirley: "Yes. We have done that. She later found out her neighbors didnt make it. Check those tickets! Monserrate Shirley was ordered to serve out her sentence at the Indiana Womens Prison in Indianapolis. [12] Though the trio was eligible for the death penalty under Indiana law, prosecutors chose to pursue life sentences without parole because they believed a jury would be unlikely to impose the death penalty without any evidence that the suspects intended to cause the deaths. At that point, Shirley and her co-defendants her boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. had been sitting in jail for two years following their arrest on charges of murder, arson and attempted insurance fraud in connection with the explosion. She said Leonard had bought it a few months beforehand at that point. . She later pointed out she agreed to the plot under Mark Leonard's premise that it would be a small fire at just her home - not an explosion that would affect other people. I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. The stove was electric. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. They went home together that night and he moved in the first week of December. A class C felony carries 2-8 years. Prosecutors then proposed an unusual strategy involving one trial, but three separate juries, one for each defendant.
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