monserrate shirley daughter
Prosecutors alleged that the natural gas explosion was intentionally set to collect insurance money. I don't want anyone to get hurt," then started cooking dinner. "Cases are made up of hurdles all the time," Robinson said Wednesday. Its a game that only you can play. He said that his daughter had mentioned that the furnace wasn't . Shirley gave 12 interviews and statements between the explosion and Wednesday's testimony - some for law enforcement, others for attorneys and one for the media - and defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies between some of those. I told them I dont even want to be a part of this, Shirley testified as telling the Leonards. 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. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. 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. "It's like waking up to this bad dream," Shirley said, her voice cracking as tears flowed down her cheeks. The name was inspired by the work of the famous Italian poet Leonardo da Vinci, but it was actually a combination of the two that are so influential in the history of Italian cooking that the name was changed to monserrate. "I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. She said they should be punished, Carter testified. Shirley says he and Monserrate married on July 17, 1993. This has to be done, Shirley testified. 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. A class C felony carries 2-8 years. Shirley is originally from Puerto Rico. Bob had been asking for his $10,000 payment before the explosion even happened. She would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. She got in the van with them, and Mark asked her to give Bob $40. John Duncan was the one to call, saying something horrible had happened on her street and he wanted to make sure she and her daughterwere okay. She was 11 years old at that point. Leonard went to pick up Thompson in the white van witnesses in the neighborhood have previously testified seeing in Shirley's driveway. 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. She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. We firmly believed that Gary Thompson played a role, but until she cooperated, we couldnt prove that, Robinson said. After speaking with detectives, they went to Mark's sister's home, where they spent the night. And the game of death is the game of life itself. Monserrate Shirley and Mark leonard, profiled on the next "American Greed," staged a natural gas explosion to collect the insurance on their Indianapolis home. [28] Prosecutors expected to submit nearly 3,000 pieces of evidence, and potentially call up to 175 witnesses. . 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. On the other two days, Robinson still the head of the prosecutors homicide division would review pending cases and prepare for other trials on her plate. Mark Leonard was the first to go on trial. Deputy Prosecutor DeniseRobinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. At about 11:10p.m., on November 10, 2012, a large explosion occurred in Richmond Hill, a subdivision on the southeast side of Indianapolis. The co-conspirators include Shirleys boyfriend at the time, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. We knew somebody else was involved, and he was the only one whose name consistently came up, but it was only after she cooperated that we were able to charge Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults.. . She then got food for them both and went back to the room around midnight. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. Mark then asked Bob twice to "go get the part that we need." American Greed: Property, auto insurance fraud is $30B problem - WSAV-TV Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. 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. They are charged with. I see a con artist when I look at her., If she really is apologetic, then I accept the apology, said Dion Longworths father, John Longworth. I did my best. Monserrate "Moncy" Shirley, a nurse, owned the home at the center of the explosion. She wanted to put it on her plate. Its about your game being the only game that matters. She said she did not tell officers at the time what happened because she was scared. [3][4] Damage to homes in the neighborhood was estimated at $4 million. She moved to the United States when she was 25. Write For Us: Investigative Articles are Intriguing. That hit man was later revealed to be an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. You're done.". The two divorced on July 25, 2011. If I could bring Dion and Jennifer back, I would do that in a heartbeat, she said. After he was done, the fireplace worked properly and they never smelled any gas inside the home because of it. "She lost everything," he said. I cant give back what was taken from them on November 10. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. SOUTH BEND, Ind. She was wearing a jail jumpsuit, was shackled and her hair had grown long, dark and curly.IM TELLING THE TRUTH. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". 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. 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. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. The blast killed two people and. We believed that he did, we had some very thin evidence that he did. The third weekends attempt was the one that killed the Longworths. [6] Her attorneys argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and was coerced by Mark Leonard into participating in the crime. [19] Judge Shelia Carlisle rejected the proposal, noting that no Indiana law authorizes the use of concurrent jury trials. She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. [16] On March 13, Leonard allegedly placed a call to a man who he believed to be a hit man. Indianapolis trio accused of blowing up their home to collect insurance Once they were alone, Leonard, Holts and Shirley started talking about the fire again while they sat around the pool drinking beer. [6] She claimed to have been horrified at the Longworths' deaths, as well as the massive destruction wrought by the explosion. "I want $300,000. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. Shirley says he was worried Brook's cat Snowball was in the house and might have been killed. The home was owned by his girlfriend at the time, Monserrate Shirley, who testified earlier this month that Bob. Leonard is the brother of Mark Leonard, who is dating Montserrate Shirley, who along with Mark Leonard, lives in the home . 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.. He was sentenced to two life sentences without parole, as well as 70 years from other charges, on March 18, 2016. Robinson knew that. She will not learn her fate until after all four of her alleged co-conspirators has been tried. 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. Make They went home together that night and he moved in the first week of December. We are sure to have a lot more weird coincidences in the next few days, but this one is pretty crazy. We have done that. Shed said similar things in an interview with IMPD Det. Indiana Man Convicted of Murder in Home Explosion Case - Insurance Journal monserrate is a real-life cousin of Shirley, and its said that her daughter monserrate will be taking us on when we die. Shirley had heard of Bob before, but had not met him before he came over Thursday, November 1. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys asked Shirley if she thought Hults was joking. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. 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. While Shirley said he lost a lot, he pointed out the toll was much greater on his then-13-year-old daughter Brook. Monserrate Shirley, 49, said she became distraught when neighbors telephoned her after the November 2012 explosion and told her that her home was destroyed. No one else was within earshot, so far as she knew. Residents, particularly the younger ones, report experiencing continued psychological trauma from the incident. At one point, after one of the failed attempts to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she offered Mark Leonard her 401k instead. Leonard died around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at an Indianapolis hospital,according to an Indiana Department of Correction spokesman. A second home was reduced to rubble as well, and other houses were half-collapsed. At the time of the explosion, Shirley says he was living in Noblesville. And you said she was crying? Mark Leonards trial at the St. Joseph County Courthouse was eventful before it even started. On multiple occasions Wednesday, Shirley said she didnt say no to Mark Leonard because she loved him. 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. The sentence accounts for time served and good time credit. 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. Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard: 'Killer Couples' Airs Richmond Hills She continued handling some of Marion Countys most heinous crimes until January 2017, when her former boss, then-Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill, called her up and asked her to join him at the Indiana Statehouse, where he had just been elected attorney general. 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. 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. In the game of death, monserrate daughter is the only way to be reunited with the game of life. Bad food, non-first class flights drop Colts to middle-of-pack in player survey. Prosecutors ended by asking Shirley if the Longworths or any of her other neighbors deserved what happened. "Everything they were telling me, it could not be possible," Shirley said on the stand as she started to get emotional. Leonard said he talked to Gary Thompson without her, telling him they were ready to do it. rosemary clooney george clooney relationship monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its . [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. Monserrate Shirley, Indianapolis Homeowner Whose House Exploded, Bereft The entire day she answered questions from attorneys, repeatedly crying. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. Woman tells of failed tries before deadly Indianapolis house explosion This is too risky." They got to the room, but Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed there while Shirley played slot machines for about an hour. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder charges. 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 . And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. They'd soon get a new roommate. 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 daughters often watched the girl. [1] Thirty-three homes were damaged severely enough to require demolition. I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. 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. Its because the life of the game itself is the life of the game itself. Sometimes they would go during the week while her daughterwas at school and leave in enough time to pick her back up. Follow his reporting on Twitter at @Jordan_RTV6 or on Facebook. "Two innocent people died because of this!" The home of Monserrate Shirley was the center of the explosion that resulted in the deaths of next-door neighbors John "Dion" Longworth and his wife Jennifer (ne Buxton), the injuries of seven others, and $4 million in property damage. Everything's under control.". 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. I dont know why they did it. She later worked at St. Francis and Community South. 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.. Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1. 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. 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. Shirley said she was attracted to Mark Leonard, particularly noting he was well-dressed and had bleach blonde hair. Neighbors seek max sentence in fatal home blast - USA TODAY Indiana sheriffs deputy dies after falling ill during training, Myles Colvin captivates Heritage Christian crowds, preps for Purdue. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. Homeowner Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years for role in - WTTV ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. 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. Shirley struck a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. [23] The plea deal involved Shirley pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson in exchange for testifying against the other suspects. It would have shortened the trial a week. ", "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. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. The cat, nicknamed Snowy, was a birthday gift for their daughter, he said, and "she misses him.". I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. [25] Leonard allegedly asked another inmate at the Marion County jail if he could put him in contact with a hitman, according to the probable cause affidavit. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. 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. Robinson told the residents what she could: That they didnt need Monserrate Shirley as a witness, but that she would help fill in blanks they hadnt been able to. The name comes from a restaurant that is on the run called theserie rossa which translates to the run of the wits. "Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1.". Richmond Hill trial: Monserrate Shirley testifies | wthr.com He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. An autopsy will be conducted by the Marion County coroner's office Wednesday, according to the DOC. Crime scene photos from the Richmond Hill explosion "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs," he said. Sgt. "You can't even do a fire. The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. As his court date neared, the workload ramped up. 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. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? Bob Leonard, Monserrate Shirley, Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults also face charges in connection to the explosion. On Monday, November 5, they changed out the thermostat for a "cheaper" model. On top of his prior criminal convictions, at the time of his arrest, Mark Leonard was being sued civilly by multiple women who accused him of scamming them out of money through online dating sites. Monserrate Shirley entered a guilty plea in the case that started as an insurance scam in Richmond Hill in 2012. More than one-third of the families who lived in the neighborhood on the night of the blast have since moved away for good. 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. Prosecutors told Judge Marnocha Tuesday they will likely rest their case next Wednesday or Thursday. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. He says he and Monserrate never boarded the cat when they were married. monserrate is the name of the dish, as well as its chef and owner. Glenn Hults, a friend of Leonard's who said he knew about the plot beforehand but didn't call police, was sentenced to three years. Bob Leonard's son told investigators that several items were in the van that had been taken from the home, including photos and financial documents. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Prosecuting Mark Leonard presented with some challenges. He was sentenced in August to two life sentences, along with 75 years in prison. Mark Leonard moved in with Monserrate Shirley about a month later. Shirley told her daughternot to come back to the house for any reason, though she didn't explain why not. At the trial I had firefighters crying on the stand. 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. The next morning, they went to Bob Leonard's mobile home. She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. News, information &. 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. Monserrate Shirley detailed the multiple attempts made to set the house on fire prior to the explosion that leveled the home. [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". To this day, absolutely they had the right to do that. Denise Robinson, the Marion County Prosecutor on the case, told the court she rarely asks for the maximum sentence. That becomes eight years when good time credit is applied. Four years after thedeadly Richmond Hill explosion, another chapter has closed. Thats time served, and hes out. In exchange, she offered him the money in her 401K. He asked whose name the house was under, and she said it was entirely in her name after the divorce. Bob Leonard said, "Well, you're in it. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. He was going to bring Thompson to their house so she could say she was okay to move forward, too. The meeting was difficult for me because I couldnt ethically tell them everything, Robinson said.
