The case was expected to be the largest and most expensive trial in Marion County history. The original posters source was a little bit of a weird little coincidence, but the name was still alive and well. 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. 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. -- 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. 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. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. 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. Aaron Carter. [37] She is serving her sentence at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. He asked whose name the house was under, and she said it was entirely in her name after the divorce. I didnt want it to affect the trial date, Robinson said. All I can say is, I had one small role in this. 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. She said she did not tell officers at the time what happened because she was scared. [16] On March 13, Leonard allegedly placed a call to a man who he believed to be a hit man. She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. Monserrate Shirley cried at various points Wednesdaybut didnt shed any actual tears. Shed said similar things in an interview with IMPD Det. She and her daughterwent to the hotel, where Mark later joined them. [11], Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and Bob Leonard were initially charged with two counts of murder and arson in the deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth. Monserrate worked Friday, November 9. 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. The topic came up again around July 4. Prosecutors then proposed an unusual strategy involving one trial, but three separate juries, one for each defendant. Federal grand jury indicts man on hate crime charges after he allegedly shot 2 Jewishmen in Los Angelesin February, Pot vote has Oklahoma hungry to rake in green from Texas, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18, over dozen missing, Fishers firefighters assist car flipped NB over I-69. "[6] The witness also told investigators that Leonard talked about buying a Ferrari with the insurance money from the house. (WISH) - Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. Its a game that only you can play. Monserrate Shirley, 49, would have to testify against former boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother in the plea deal . They went to the casino and waited for the call that a fire had broken out, but again, the call never came. So in the end there were a couple of people who were opposed to it, and I respected that. They'd soon get a new roommate. 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. It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. You're done.". Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't working, and he wondered whether a gas leak ignited the blast. Shirley: "Yes. Sgt. Mark. One of the projects he took on was working on the gas line in the fireplace. Iwas scared. In court, Shirley testified Leonard had promised to show her how to make a lot of money. 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. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Indianapolis, IN Interactive Weather Radar, Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much, Opening statements in the trial of Mark Leonard. (They were) my neighbors for a very long time since we built the house, Shirley said. 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. For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. Its about remembering who you are. To begin the day, Monserrate Shirley explained how she and Mark Leonard met. Its quite obvious that monserrate is the source of the name in this case. Leonard was being held at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facilitybut was transferred to the hospital several days ago. Eventually, hed be asked to repeat her answer at her boyfriends murder trial. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. Robert Leonard, who was convicted of murder and multiple felonies, was sentenced to life without parole. Shirley claims Leonard coerced her involvement, testifying that he threatened her and her daughter. Thats time served, and hes out. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. The defense certainly offered to stipulate that 60 homes were damaged. I dont feel bad for Mr. Leonard, said Don Buxton, father of Jennifer Longworth, who was killed in the blast with her husband, Dion. She asked that Mark and Bob switch it back out for the nicer version. At sentencing, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha said Leonard demonstrated a sheer indifference for the safety of others., The motivation here is greed, Marnocha said. I didn't do nothing wrong.". [3][4] Damage to homes in the neighborhood was estimated at $4 million. Defense attorneys tried to play that video for jurors Wednesday, but the judge wouldnt allow it. The sentence accounts for time served and good. Hed also been previously accused of insurance fraud in connection with a car accident. He says sometimes strong winds would blow out the pilot light when someone opened the garage door. Mark Leonard was the first to go on trial. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. And your daughter lost some things?" Shirley wasnt a suspect at the time, and the interview was a routine one. Mark Leonard first mentioned trying to burn the house down in February 2012, according to Shirley. She was able to take that to the prosecutor and get a protective order against me. 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. Having Shirley as a witness came with its own pitfalls, though. In court Wednesday, she said he turned on the gas, but never lit the fire. Shirley may have been the prosecution's highest profile witness, but that doesn't mean they're done. 2023 CIRCLE CITY BROADCASTING I, LLC. Their funeral was held earlier today. This time, Mark and Bob talked alone while Monserrate left to pick up her daughter. arranged for her daughter to stay . Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheila Carlisle sentenced Monserrate Shirley to spend the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison on Tuesday. Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. [19] Judge Shelia Carlisle rejected the proposal, noting that no Indiana law authorizes the use of concurrent jury trials. I certainly might feel bad for his family. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. Monserrate Shirley was a divorced Puerto Rican mother whose exotic looks quickly attracted Mark Leonard. News, information &. You were a mom. A prosecuting attorney showed her a photo of the house that exploded and asked her who lived on either side of her. The human toll is harder to estimate. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. I should have been there.". While we knew that Monserrate Shirley on her own would never have caused this crime, it couldnt have happened without her. They laughed at her for asking, but it was switched back out. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder charges. 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." 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. In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. Although prosecutors didnt need their blessing to go ahead with the plea, Robinson said they felt it was important to tell the residents as much as they could. It wasnt the only curveball Black and Shircliff would throw at the prosecution. In an interview with former RTV6 reporter Stacia Matthews, Shirley suggested the explosion may have been an attempt on her life. Its about your game being the only game that matters. Sometimes they would go during the week while her daughterwas at school and leave in enough time to pick her back up. [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. The defense team started their cross-examination by establishing Shirley's ability to make life-and-death decisions in high-pressure situations while a charge nurse in the ICU. But after a second round of boarding Snowball the cat, getting a babysitter for Shirleys daughter and setting hotel reservations, the house again was standing. And then there was the arrangement that when I picked up my daughter I would get to take some of my belongings. Gary Thompson pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson and received a 30-year sentence, with 10 years suspended. I thought it was crazy, that cannot be done, and I asked Mark, Thats not what you told me, theres an explosion in there, (theres) people, my neighbors, that cannot be real, Shirley said. On Friday, October 26, Leonard told Shirley to get anything sentimental out of the house. When she left that morning, her daughterand Snowball were still there (Mark was going to take them to school and the kennel).

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