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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 . . Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Iwas scared. They'd soon get a new roommate. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. Shortly thereafter I moved some furniture into the apartment. She went to a bar on the south side of Indianapolis in November 2011 and they immediately noticed each other. Shirley testified Leonard asked to see the insurance policy on the home within a few weeks of moving in. towns among 150 Best Small Town in America, Citizens support Ind. [28] Prosecutors expected to submit nearly 3,000 pieces of evidence, and potentially call up to 175 witnesses. Critics have accused Shirley of faking her reaction after the explosion because she seemed upset but never shed a tear. But she put an end to that in August 2011.". There's little remaining of Shirley's home (pictured at left) after Saturday's 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. He told her to tell Holts, though, that they would be trying the fire again that night (Sunday night). Leonard is the brother of Mark Leonard, who is dating Montserrate Shirley, who along with Mark Leonard, lives in the home . 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. [28], Mark Leonard was found guilty on all 53 counts, including murder and felony murder charges, on July 14. Later that same day, an attorney asked Shirley if the Longworths deserved what happened to them. You can't do anything," he said. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. The stove was electric. 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. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. 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.. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. I had seen it used in a couple of games, but I never knew it was the name of a real person. Indiana sheriffs deputy dies after falling ill during training, Myles Colvin captivates Heritage Christian crowds, preps for Purdue. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . The two divorced on July 25, 2011. I care about people. 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. She didnt know anyone died, she said. At least half a dozen marriages in the Richmond Hill neighborhood ended in divorce in the years immediately following the blast. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Did you see her on TV a few days later? And I wanted to be able to tell them everything., TRANSCRIPT | The full testimony of Monserrate Shirley. Prosecutors said Leonard planned to pay a person he thought was a hit man $15,000, giving him a $5,000 bonus if a witness in the case called police to say he had lied about information he had given investigators. When we got in this case, we were asked to save her life, said defense attorney James Voyles. Shirley said that she was at a casino bar at the time of the explosion, and her boyfriend and daughter -- who also live with her -- weren't home either. She still qualifies as a practicing nurse. When asked why she didn't take Leonard's hospitalization in March 2012 as an opportunity not to let him back into her home since she knew what he wanted to do by that point, she said she couldn't turn away a sick person. Follow his reporting on Twitter at @Jordan_RTV6 or on Facebook. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. [13] A fourth person, Gary Thompson, was charged in January 2015 on the same charges. In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. The Richmond Hill neighbors had been waiting long enough without a trial. 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. In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. 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. [22], On January 16, 2015, Shirley agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. She told him the attempt didnt work but that there would be another attempt. The most money she ever remembered seeing him lose on a single trip was $7,000. Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold. Leonard went to pick up Thompson in the white van witnesses in the neighborhood have previously testified seeing in Shirley's driveway. But ultimately I think we were able to accomplish what we needed to do for her.. 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. And the game of death is the game of life itself. 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. Another woman reported that she had loaned him about $5,000 for a construction job, which he had yet to pay back. And you have to weigh that out? The defendants requested that the trials be moved over concerns they would not receive a fair trial in Central Indiana due to the high-profile media coverage received by the case. Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonard was very, very mad., Mark Leonard said, Were going to do it again. Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. Sgt. I had to know I could make this case based on the evidence I had.. Call 6 Investigator Rafael Sanchez and Senior Digital Correspondent Jordan Fischer will be in Fort Wayne covering the trial every day. The sentence accounts for time served and good. Mr. Monserrate Morales was born on January 7, 1955 in Puerto Rico. She found a house with a floorplan she liked." "(Whoever is responsible will) have to pay for what they did to me and everybody else," Shirley said in the interview. The next time, Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonards brother, Bob, was supposed to carry out the plan. The crowd watched in grim silence as a Marion County judge entered not guilty pleas for Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard. Would you describe her demeanor the same way?" The now 49-year-old originally faced life in prison without parole. . I certainly might feel bad for his family. 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. In one case, she said the first attempt was supposed to be tied to gasoline not natural gas. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. 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 men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. Make Again, Monserrate agreed to do her same three preparations: a casino hotel reservation, a babysitter for her daughterand boarding for Snowball. 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. [8], Prosecutors alleged that on the Friday before the explosion, Leonard and his brother Bob spoke with a neighbor who was a Citizens Energy employee, asking that person about the differences between natural gas and propane. Shirley: "She wanted us to live in a bigger house. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. The inmate and Leonard drew up a contract agreeing that Leonard would pay the inmate $15,000 when he was released, the affidavit said. It had three gas appliances - the water heater, the furnace and the fireplace. "I feel like, you know, it would have been better off for me to be there [at the house when it exploded]," Shirley said. By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. [14] In April 2015, a fifth man, Glenn Hults, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson. We are sure to have a lot more weird coincidences in the next few days, but this one is pretty crazy. 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. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. They went home together that night and he moved in the first week of December. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys asked Shirley if she thought Hults was joking. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. Psychologist Dr. Stephanie Callaway diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder, but stated under cross-examination that, while the diagnosis explains Shirley's actions, it does not absolve her of responsibility. BREAKING: By a vote of 24-38, New York's State Senate has voted against same-sex marriage legislation. [36] Shirley was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the maximum possible under her plea agreement, on December 20, 2016. FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. Are they going to get bored with it?. 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. He asked how much was in the 401k, according to Shirley. 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. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. Im thankful for my trial team for sticking with me. Estimates for the total scope of the damage caused by the explosion exceeded $4.5 million. 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 are charged with. "I moved out in February of 2011," he said. Heappears to have died of natural causes. 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. This time, Leonard worked with Thompson instead of Thompson doing the work while Leonard stood next to him, watching and planning. A class C felony carries 2-8 years. John did all the maintenance on the home - she never did any. And in each of those categories, you betrayed your trust.. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. 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. Monserrate Shirley detailed the multiple attempts made to set the house on fire prior to the explosion that leveled the home. 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. Prosecutors then proposed an unusual strategy involving one trial, but three separate juries, one for each defendant. This time, Mark and Bob talked alone while Monserrate left to pick up her daughter. If I could bring Dion and Jennifer back, I would do that in a heartbeat, she said. Mark Leonard drove her home that night and stayed with her for what the defense characterized as a romantic, sexual night. 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. [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." [31][32][33] Bob Leonard was convicted on all 51 counts, including murder and conspiracy to commit arson, on February 24, 2016. ", 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.". [39] Glenn Hults received a three-year sentence.[40]. He gave her $3,000 to use, and they lost it all. Its quite obvious that monserrate is the source of the name in this case. At the end of the day, we still miss her and him, Dion, as much as ever, Buxton said. From confusion to conviction, Richmond Hill blast recapped. He says he and Monserrate never boarded the cat when they were married. He questioned her about the multiple boardings of her cat, Snowball, which he found odd. She explained that Snowball had anxiety. Start the day smarter Notable deaths in 2023 The world's largest war 2023 meteor showers She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. 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). They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. [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. The November 2012 blast claimed the lives of John and Jennifer Longworth and spawned an investigation that landed five people behind bars. While she was charged in December 2012 for her role in the explosion, she pleaded guilty to two felony conspiracy charges earlier this year in exchange for her testimony. 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). Mark Leonard, the man considered the mastermind behind the 2012 Richmond Hill neighborhood explosion that killed two peopleand wounded at least adozen others, is dead. While Shirley said he lost a lot, he pointed out the toll was much greater on his then-13-year-old daughter Brook. Check those tickets! -- 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. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. Monserrate Shirley and Mark leonard, profiled on the next "American Greed," staged a natural gas explosion to collect the insurance on their Indianapolis home. How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? [2] Over sixty firefighters responded to the blaze. At the time her friends called her, Monserrate was at a casino with Mark Leonard. We've got a few more.". Says Sen. Tom. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't working, and he wondered whether a gas leak ignited the blast. The problem was that none of that criminal history would be admissible at trial. Robinson could not tell them, for example, that Shirley would be facing a sentencing range of 20-50 years in prison. She even took some leave from work to stay with him longer than her paid vacation time allowed. 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. The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. 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 am a nurse. 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. At least three of his possessions did survive, however: two golf bags, with clubs, and a driver he'd been gifted. Shirley spent hours on the stand. FOLLOW|Rafael Sanchez on Twitter|Jordan Fischer on Twitter, RELATED LINKS |Richmond Hill Special Section|Mark Ray Leonard convicted on all counts. 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 . She still wiped under her eyes with a tissue several times while she was on the stand. ", Minch: "You've had problems over the years with the furnace and the water heater. She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. Monserrate Shirley was a divorced Puerto Rican mother whose exotic looks quickly attracted Mark Leonard. Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. When you come out and say, My client attempted to commit insurance fraud through a small fire and this just happened, he had no idea, what the jury doesnt realize, because Im not allowed to tell them, is attempted insurance fraud even if coupled with reckless homicide is a class C felony. Will they get to the felony murder?. We firmly believed that Gary Thompson played a role, but until she cooperated, we couldnt prove that, Robinson said. For Lt. Mario Garza, the Indianapolis Fire Department veteran tasked with leading the arson investigation, the Richmond Hill explosion will likely be the most significant challenge of his career. This type of trial is unusual but not unheard of, and had been used in the trial of the Menendez brothers. More than one-third of the families who lived in the neighborhood on the night of the blast have since moved away for good. This is too risky." She said Leonard had bought it a few months beforehand at that point. On August 14, 2015, Mark Ray Leonard was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole, plus an additional 75 years, on 53 counts, including murder, arson and insurance fraud. 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. Its a difficult case. When she left that morning, her daughterand Snowball were still there (Mark was going to take them to school and the kennel). 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. [24], On March 28, 2015, Mark Leonard was charged with conspiring to murder the key witness against him, Mark Duckworth. Defense attorneys tried to play that video for jurors Wednesday, but the judge wouldnt allow it. 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. 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 met Mark Leonard. The group researched methods of how to destroy the home and made more than one attempt at doing so before succeeding, authorities said. Shirley: "She lost everything. I look at a neighbor that I would have been happy to help if she would have just come across the street and said, man I got a problem will you give me a hand? They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. "Shortly thereafter I moved some furniture into the apartment. 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. She was too involved. . She and her daughterwent to the hotel, where Mark later joined them.
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