She would sit with him, eat and drink and occasionally play slot machines. 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. 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. 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. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. I said I think theres ($10,000) or $12,000 in there, and he said, That was not enough, I want $300,000, Shirley said. The entire day she answered questions from attorneys, repeatedly crying. She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. But their arrests wereonly the beginning of years of work to put them behind bars for good. Shirley's next-door neighbors, John and Jennifer Longworth, died in the blast. I got upset with her and sent her some derogatory texts. Then there was the question of Leonards history. Among the "no" votes, inexplicably: political dancer Hiram Monserrate. Its about your game being the only game that matters. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Richmond Hill explosion: 'It's the toughest thing I've ever done in my career', Richmond Hill explosion: 7 keys that solved the case, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. Much of Tuesdays testimony included accounts of Shirleys difficult childhood. Shirley testified that friends called and told her there was a huge explosion. Heappears to have died of natural causes. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. TRANSCRIPT | Opening statements in the trial of Mark Leonard. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. Leonard died around 9:15. 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. Shirley says the house had three gas appliances when he lived there: furnace, water heater and fireplace. This story is Chapter III of a three-part series. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Defense attorney David Shircliff then said Shirley may not have provided the "means" for the explosion, but she took care of the logistics to make sure no one realized she was helping blow up her own home. I thought it was crazy, but I went along with him. monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. They enter into evidence two golf bags with clubs and a driver. 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. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. 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. And it wasn't the answer we were looking for. "They are currently in the process of recovering the appliances from destroyed homes to help determine the cause.". 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. The group researched methods of how to destroy the home and made more than one attempt at doing so before succeeding, authorities said. This time, Mark and Bob talked alone while Monserrate left to pick up her daughter. Shirley's sentencing started Monday morning at 9 a.m. She faces 20 to 50 years in prison for two counts conspiracy to commit arson. [6] A friend of the couple reported that Mark Leonard had lost $10,000 at the casino approximately three weeks before the explosion. 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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. towns among 150 Best Small Town in America, Citizens support Ind. [6] Prosecutors also allege that he offered the hit man a $5,000 bonus if he made the murder look like a suicide. Prosecuting Mark Leonard presented with some challenges. [28], Mark Leonard was found guilty on all 53 counts, including murder and felony murder charges, on July 14. 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. (WISH) - Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. 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. 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. FORT WAYNE, Ind. But she put an end to that in August 2011.". She then got food for them both and went back to the room around midnight. There have been days with only two people in the audience other than media, but there were more than 30 Wednesday. 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. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. The next morning, they returned to Indianapolis and saw the house was again still standing so Mark called Bob and told him to meet at a nearby parking lot. Shirley: "No. He says sometimes strong winds would blow out the pilot light when someone opened the garage door. ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. 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 asked Mark and Bob what happened that made it be an explosion instead of a fire. Monserrate worked Friday, November 9. She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. Thompson arrived on Monday or Tuesday, October 22-23, while Shirley's daughter was at school. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Glenn Hults, the final defendant to stand trial for the explosion, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, Bryce Young falls short: 5-10 . Attorneys walked Shirley through a number of conversations she had with Mark Leonard from the time they met until the house exploded. I dont know why they did it. There was discussion about: Should we cut all of those? She wanted to put it on her plate. While questioning potential jurors, one of Leonards attorneys, Diane Black, brought up out of the blue that her client had tried to hire a hitman from jail to kill his friend, and potential witness against him, Mark Duckworth. Shirley's daughterwent with them in Leonard's Cadillac. Make
Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. 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. 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. 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. He did come to the house one week before the first attempt. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. She still wiped under her eyes with a tissue several times while she was on the stand. "He'll do anything I ask," Mark said of his brother. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. When a defense attorney comes out and says, My client didnt do anything at all, but you clearly can show they did, then usually its going to be an all-or-nothing verdict, Robinson said. It also didnt carry much weight for the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth, who died in the blast. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. 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. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. The Richmond Hill explosion took place on November 10, 2012, in the Richmond Hill subdivision in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Monserrate Shirley was a divorced Puerto Rican mother whose exotic looks quickly attracted Mark Leonard. 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. Its a game that only you can play. A source who claimed to be in contact with the Shirley family told WISH-TV in Indianapolis that a family member had complained about smelling gas in the home at one time. [15], Prosecutors contended that the trio filled the house with natural gas and then used the spark from a microwave which could be set in advance to detonate it. Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. Defense attorney Ted Minch on cross-examination: "You're not happy to be here today." . FORT WAYNE, Ind. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . It was run by the daughter of a famous American actor who was very close to the owner. They should go to jail. To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. Shirley met Mark Leonard. She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. [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. Once the trial began, rather than trying to claim their client was innocent, Black and Shircliff instead told the jury up front that he was guilty but of trying to start a small fire, not cause an explosion. Leonardwas placed under "imminent death watch" earlier this week. I cant give the Olveys back a peace of mind. Your email address will not be published. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. Shirley said after he and his wife's divorce was finalized in July 2011, the last time he was at the home at 8349 Fieldfare Way was August of that year. 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. Gary Thompsonwas handed a 30-year prison sentence, 20 years executed, for his role in the murderous insurance fraud scheme. [6] One woman had previously won a $70,000 judgment against Leonard in a civil suit after lending him $53,000, which he never repaid. 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 told him the attempt didnt work but that there would be another attempt. One of the projects he took on was working on the gas line in the fireplace. [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. As Mark Leonards defense team would point out repeatedly throughout his trial, there was a chance, however small, that Shirleys cooperation could end with her walking free at the end. 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." Prosecutors alleged that the natural gas explosion was intentionally set to collect insurance money. Too little, too late, said Jennifer Longworths father, Don Buxton. And in each of those categories, you betrayed your trust.. While Shirley said he lost a lot, he pointed out the toll was much greater on his then-13-year-old daughter Brook. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. [29] He was sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years without parole on August 14, 2015. In addition to his roofing business, Mastercraft, Leonard also flipped cars on the side. 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. Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. Critics have accused Shirley of faking her reaction after the explosion because she seemed upset but never shed a tear. She was 11 years old at that point. 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. [14] In April 2015, a fifth man, Glenn Hults, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson. Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. 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. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't . She grew up in Puerto Rico with a violently abusive father who would often beat Shirley as well as her siblings and mother. Shirley testified in Fort Wayne at the trial of Bob Leonard, Jr. one of five people accused in the deadly 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion. Monserrate Shirley was given the house after her divorce. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". As fate would have it, it would be Carter, just a few weeks later, who would place Monserrate Shirley in handcuffs. At the time her friends called her, Monserrate was at a casino with Mark Leonard. Thats time served, and hes out. After court adjourned for the day, Shircliff said he attacked her inconsistencies "to show that she can tell the truth as easily as she tells a lie, and it's hard for the jury to know the difference. Follow his reporting on Twitter at @Jordan_RTV6 or on Facebook. She and her daughterwent to the hotel, where Mark later joined them. Even years later, Robinson says she doesnt know why Black brought the hitman allegations up. Four years after thedeadly Richmond Hill explosion, another chapter has closed. In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. HOW TO SOLVE ERROR CODE PII_EMAIL_DE03C2D55A4B639F558D. Required fields are marked *. In exchange, she offered him the money in her 401K. "That's not what you told me," she remembered saying to Mark. Jordan Fischer is the senior digital reporter for RTV6. Two of those alleged co-conspirators were arrested as a direct result of her cooperation: Gary Thompson and Glenn Holts. 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. I was scared for my life and the life of my daughter., Forgive me for my poor choices in life, she continued. 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 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. "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. Shirley alleged that Hults initially came up with the idea. The sentence accounts for time served and good time credit. News, information &. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. Mark Leonard first mentioned trying to burn the house down in February 2012, according to Shirley. At the time of the explosion, Shirley says he was living in Noblesville. While Thompson checked the digital thermostat, Shirley heard him and Leonard say they could use it to trigger the fireplace as the source of the fire, but they never directly gave her any specifics on how they were going to do it. They moved into a home they built in Richmond Hill toward the end of 2003. "I mean, I'm totally devastated like my neighbors are.". He also told Bob to go get Gary Thompson. I certainly might feel bad for his family. Of the dozens and dozens of homes damaged by the blast, 33 were affected so severely they had to be demolished. She remained in the house as the sole owner until the explosion. How to fix pii_email_029231e8462fca76041e Error Code? Im thankful for my trial team for sticking with me. She was wearing a jail jumpsuit, was shackled and her hair had grown long, dark and curly.IM TELLING THE TRUTH. Shirley is originally from Puerto Rico. On Monday, November 5, they changed out the thermostat for a "cheaper" model. Ms. Shirley ultimately took responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty and provided important information during the investigation. (WISH) Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. [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 says they were his. He was, however, eventually able to return to his hobby of umpiring softball. And I wanted to be able to tell them everything., TRANSCRIPT | The full testimony of Monserrate Shirley. We used to cook together, have dinner together.Very charming, very lovely man.". Its an interesting concept. Shirley's daughter went with them in Leonard's Cadillac. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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. She went to a bar on the south side of Indianapolis in November 2011 and they immediately noticed each other. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. And your daughter lost some things?" Leonard went to pick up Thompson in the white van witnesses in the neighborhood have previously testified seeing in Shirley's driveway. She now faces 20-50 years, though a judge has the right to suspend some, or all of that time. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. 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. 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. She took care of all three. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. When we got in this case, we were asked to save her life, said defense attorney James Voyles. She later worked at St. Francis and Community South. Shirley: "She lost everything. And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. When she left that morning, her daughterand Snowball were still there (Mark was going to take them to school and the kennel). I always get the money.". Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. I did everything to make him happy, Monserrate Shirley said in testimony. John moved out in February 2010 and their divorce was finalized that summer. He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Thompson left after a few hours and Shirley didn't hear anything else before the first attempt that Saturday. Shirley: "She wanted us to live in a bigger house. "(Whoever is responsible will) have to pay for what they did to me and everybody else," Shirley said in the interview. 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. Iwas scared. BREAKING: By a vote of 24-38, New York's State Senate has voted against same-sex marriage legislation. The evidence Robinson and Hollingsworth had was substantial. As of summer 2022 the show has aired sixteen . 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. Their first trip together was to the Hollywood Casino roughly 3-4 months after they first met. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You were a neighbor and you were a friend, Carlisle said. For years, the team holed up in that office three days a week to avoid being distracted by other ongoing cases. He occasionally worked on those cars at Shirley's home so she saw he had a wide array of tools. Or that, because it was her first serious offense, a judge could eventually decide to suspend some or all of that sentence. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Start the day smarter Notable deaths in 2023 The world's largest war 2023 meteor showers She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. Later that same day, an attorney asked Shirley if the Longworths deserved what happened to them. Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard, and three others were convicted and sentenced to prison on various charges, including felony murder for Leonard. The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. [34][35], Monserrate Shirley pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson. She was the neighbor that all the other neighbors were looking at. The blast killed two people and. I had seen it used in a couple of games, but I never knew it was the name of a real person. And I look at all the opportunity she had where she could have gone for help and she never did.. On Friday, October 26, Leonard told Shirley to get anything sentimental out of the house. And I understand it, because of their feelings about her. "Our investigators believe natural gas is involved," the Indianapolis Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Eventually, hed be asked to repeat her answer at her boyfriends murder trial. While there had been some communications early on, we were not willing to offer Monserrate Shirley a significant deal for her cooperation, Robinson said. Most importantly, Shirleys testimony would further tip the scales against the Leonard brothers. 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. 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. Holts invited Leonard and Shirley to his friend's house for a pool party in the Geist neighborhood. Leonards death doesnt change the fact that Jennifer and Dion died, Buxton said. She found a house with a floorplan she liked." Should we not use all those witnesses? 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. Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years in prison - YouTube Charged in the deadly Richmond Hill Fire RTV6 News brings you the best breaking news coverage in Indiana. [27], Mark Leonard's trial began in June 2015. To begin the day, Monserrate Shirley explained how she and Mark Leonard met. Monserrate Shirley said Mark Leonard was very, very mad., Mark Leonard said, Were going to do it again. It ended in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. [30] He died on January 30, 2018, at an Indianapolis hospital, aged 48, of natural causes. Dion and Jennifer Longworth, two occupants in the house at 8355 Fieldfare Way, died in the explosion; seven others were injured. On multiple occasions Wednesday, Shirley said she didnt say no to Mark Leonard because she loved him. . The first time Shirley cried on the stand Wednesday was when she was asked about her neighbors. The topic came up again around July 4. 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 . She was too involved. She gave it to him, and he used it to pay Bob. 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). She talked about being Catholic and said it was in God's hands, but still, they should be punished.". 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. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th.