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. Your email address will not be published. Says Sen. Tom. More: Richmond Hill: 'The scars still remain', More: Richmond Hill explosion: 'It's the toughest thing I've ever done in my career', More: Richmond Hill explosion: 7 keys that solved the case. The program is a spin-off of the Oxygen series Snapped and has a similar format to the Investigation Discovery program Wicked Attraction. She told her daughter a friend had taken it to put a new frame on it. All I can say is, I had one small role in this. When we got in this case, we were asked to save her life, said defense attorney James Voyles. 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. Its also the name of the game of death in which our monserrate daughter will be taking us on. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold. I should have been there.". 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. 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. ", Minch: "You've had problems over the years with the furnace and the water heater. Shirley: "Yes. She asked Mark and Bob what happened that made it be an explosion instead of a fire. 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. Eventually, hed be asked to repeat her answer at her boyfriends murder trial. Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. 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. At least three of his possessions did survive, however: two golf bags, with clubs, and a driver he'd been gifted. Will they get to the felony murder?. [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 they were alone, Leonard, Holts and Shirley started talking about the fire again while they sat around the pool drinking beer. Robinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. 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. "Two innocent people died because of this!" 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. After that, the fire wasn't mentioned again until the week before Halloween. 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. Leonard told him Shirley was ready and she agreed. Prosecutors alleged that the men conspired to submit an insurance claim for a stolen motorcycle. During the course of this lengthy process, we have sincerely appreciated the cooperation and patience of these families. SOUTH BEND, Ind. The human toll is harder to estimate. 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. The now 49-year-old originally faced life in prison without parole. As his court date neared, the workload ramped up. Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1. They started looking around the house at potential ways to start the fire. 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 stove was electric. Its about becoming who you were meant to be. She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. 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. I didnt want to do anything that would cause that trial date to be continued.. This is too risky." Glenn told me, Between Mark and Gary, theyre going to explode the whole neighborhood. I said, Dont play like that. HS counselor at board meeting, Serial Indianapolis rapist pleads guilty to 9 counts, Mom speaks out after 2 kids killed by falling tree, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He eventually improved enough to return home, but Shirley had to continue caring for him for several months. Hults and his then-fiance babysat Shirley's daughter on the night of the explosion. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. 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. 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. He asked how much was in the 401k, according to Shirley. Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. I cant give the Olveys back a peace of mind. In a deposition before the trial, though, she reported saying, "I'm not doing this. 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. Shirley struck a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. ", Minch: "You said you talked to Ms. Shirley on the 11th. As of summer 2022 the show has aired sixteen . At least half a dozen marriages in the Richmond Hill neighborhood ended in divorce in the years immediately following the blast. 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 was the neighbor that all the other neighbors were looking at. Mark Leonard was the first to go on trial. 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. Thompson said he'd been pulled over by a cop so he couldn't get to the house. Monserrate Shirley leaves court after learning her sentence. Dion and Jennifer Longworth, two occupants in the house at 8355 Fieldfare Way, died in the explosion; seven others were injured. 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. In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. 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. At one point, after one of the failed attempts to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she offered Mark Leonard her 401k instead. Monserrate Shirley cried at various points Wednesdaybut didnt shed any actual tears. Mark Leonards trial at the St. Joseph County Courthouse was eventful before it even started. And you said she was crying? That hit man was later revealed to be an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At the time of the explosion, Shirley says he was living in Noblesville. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. 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. Its because the game of death is the game of life itself. Monserrate Shirley was ordered to serve out her sentence at the Indiana Womens Prison in Indianapolis. "No one deserves what happened," she said. Monserrate Shirley spent the entire day on the stand Wednesday, and the anticipation of her testimony was evident in courtroom attendance. Shirley and her boyfriend were hoping to collect $300,000 in insurance . Or that, because it was her first serious offense, a judge could eventually decide to suspend some or all of that sentence. 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. Defense attorneys tried to play that video for jurors Wednesday, but the judge wouldnt allow it. Heappears to have died of natural causes. Required fields are marked *. 2023 CIRCLE CITY BROADCASTING I, LLC. He says sometimes strong winds would blow out the pilot light when someone opened the garage door. When she told him there was around $10,000-12,000 in it, he said that wasn't enough. Robinson also couldnt tell the residents that Shirleys cooperation would mean charges against two more suspects: Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults. The jury found 46-year-old Mark Leonard guilty of all counts against him, including murder and felony murder. She will be 72 years old. She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. So in the game of death, monserrate daughter is the Shirley of the game of death. Shirley met Mark Leonard. I certainly might feel bad for his family. The meeting was difficult for me because I couldnt ethically tell them everything, Robinson said. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". Its been around since the late 80s, but Im sure well find more of it on our own site. [6] They had arranged for Shirley's 12-year-old daughter to stay with friends and had boarded their cat, Snowball, for the weekend. Deputy Prosecutor DeniseRobinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. How to fix the pii__email__cbd448bbd34c985e423c Error code? Mark was a handsome man with sex appeal and a lot of money, judging by his stash of cash and fast luxury cars. They had left town the night before, after Ms. Shirley's nursing shift at a local. Two of those alleged co-conspirators were arrested as a direct result of her cooperation: Gary Thompson and Glenn Holts. 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 would then go to a southside bar to meet Mark before they left for the casino. IndyStar reporter Robert King contributed to this story. And the game of death is the game of life itself. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. The force of the blast shattered windows and ripped down garage doors at dozens of other homes in the neighborhood. 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. She died at age 85 in 2014, but Shirley Temple's childrenand fans gathered in LA on Monday, April 23 to celebrate what would have been her 90th birthday. 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. That's whatwe'll be asking the jury to consider.". And then there was the arrangement that when I picked up my daughter I would get to take some of my belongings. Shirley says the house had three gas appliances when he lived there: furnace, water heater and fireplace. 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. Write For Us: Investigative Articles are Intriguing. Yes, I didnt think it would be possible, Monserrate Shirley said.HUGE EXPLOSION. 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. Prosecutors ask if Shirley was asked by police to identify personal property following the explosion. towns among 150 Best Small Town in America, Citizens support Ind. One year of his sentences wassuspended, and the rest was to be split between jail and work release. Authorities blamed a natural gas explosion inside the home of Monserrate Shirley, who was away at the time of 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. The shirley daughter is an Italian restaurant that takes more than 15 minutes to make you feel at home. More than one-third of the families who lived in the neighborhood on the night of the blast have since moved away for good. Robinson says she didnt expect anything to change. Before meeting Mark, Shirley had never been to a casino. And I think when the motivation is that, what we have is a person who is the worst of the worst.. 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. 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. Its a difficult case. Shirley would receive over $300,000 in insurance money for the replacement of the home as well as personal items. 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. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. The couple's steamy relationship lasted for about a month before they moved in together. I was scared for my life and the life of my daughter., Forgive me for my poor choices in life, she continued. ", Minch: "At no time did she ever say she was involved in the explosion?" I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". She went to a bar on the south side of Indianapolis in November 2011 and they immediately noticed each other. The first attempt was supposed to be carried out by Gary Thompson, but it failed. Saturday morning, they headed to the casino and Mark played a blackjack table, then they went to the bar and sat, waiting to get the phone call their home had caught fire. This story is Chapter III of a three-part series. 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 never gave her money like that again, but did play with his own money, spending anywhere from $2,000 - 10,000 each trip. [31][32][33] Bob Leonard was convicted on all 51 counts, including murder and conspiracy to commit arson, on February 24, 2016. She later worked at St. Francis and Community South. Minch: "Before that, you did have some problems with the pilot light on the furnace?" Prosecutors started by addressing her plea agreement. FORT WAYNE, Ind. Leonard got sick in March 2012. "I don't understand it," Shircliff said of the judge's ruling. Start the day smarter Notable deaths in 2023 The world's largest war 2023 meteor showers (WISH) - Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. arranged for her daughter to stay . "Mark can insult [Thompson], and he never does anything," Shirley said. The Richmond Hill explosion took place on November 10, 2012, in the Richmond Hill subdivision in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. she said. . She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. They should go to jail. The case was expected to be the largest and most expensive trial in Marion County history. 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. When she arrived at the bar, she found Mark and Bob in the white van at a nearby gas station. "I have everybody telling me stuff that they said on the TV," she said. 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." . Glenn Hults, who pleaded guilty to a felony for knowing about the plot but failing to report it to police, is scheduled for sentencing on December 28. Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate, or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook and Pinterest. Example video title will go here for this video. Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard were out of town for the weekend while her 12-year-old daughter stayed with friends. We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. 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. 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. Shirley had earlier cooperated in providing testimony against alleged co-conspirators but. In one case, she said the first attempt was supposed to be tied to gasoline not natural gas. 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. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. 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. They'd soon get a new roommate. Every day I ask myself why I didnt stop this. Leonard was being held at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facilitybut was transferred to the hospital several days ago. [19] Judge Shelia Carlisle rejected the proposal, noting that no Indiana law authorizes the use of concurrent jury trials. Leonardwas placed under "imminent death watch" earlier this week. [14] Shirley admitted raising the limit on her insurance coverage at Mark Leonard's urging, and only went along with the plot out of love for him.