monserrate shirley daughter

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. Check those tickets! This time, Leonard worked with Thompson instead of Thompson doing the work while Leonard stood next to him, watching and planning. 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. You may have noticed that the name monserrate has been replaced with the word shirley, which is used in both a variety of other games and in the game of death. I always get the money.". She asked Mark not to try the house fire plan again. He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Shirley's daughterwent with them in Leonard's Cadillac. They then worked to establish a pattern of poor decisions in her personal life and changing stories throughout the investigation. One small job. It was run by the daughter of a famous American actor who was very close to the owner. Are they going to get bored with it?. In another, she said Mark Leonard turned on the gas line and actually lit the fire during the second attempt. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. That becomes eight years when good time credit is applied. [30] He died on January 30, 2018, at an Indianapolis hospital, aged 48, of natural causes. Many of the women reported that they met him on dating sites and that he soon began asking them for money. JDK-8141210 : Very slow loading of JavaScript file with recent JDK [28], Mark Leonard was found guilty on all 53 counts, including murder and felony murder charges, on July 14. Shirleys apology rang hollow to many Richmond Hill residents in the courtroom. She went to a bar on the south side of Indianapolis in November 2011 and they immediately noticed each other. He asked how much was in the 401k, according to Shirley. She moved to the United States when she was 25. Snapped: Killer Couples (known as Killer Couples from seasons 7 to 15) is an American true crime television series currently airing on the Oxygen Network.The program details couples who commit crimes together. 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. Of the dozens and dozens of homes damaged by the blast, 33 were affected so severely they had to be demolished. "I moved out in February of 2011," he said. HOW TO SOLVE ERROR CODE PII_EMAIL_DE03C2D55A4B639F558D. She then spoke with another neighbor, who told her there had been an explosion. [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. [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". Monserrate Shirley was given the house after her divorce. [24], On March 28, 2015, Mark Leonard was charged with conspiring to murder the key witness against him, Mark Duckworth. He eventually improved enough to return home, but Shirley had to continue caring for him for several months. 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. 2023 CIRCLE CITY BROADCASTING I, LLC. He says he "was very surprised" to learn Snowball had been boarded on the night of the explosion. 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. At one point, after one of the failed attempts to burn the home, Monserrate Shirley said she offered Mark Leonard her 401k instead. Leonards death doesnt change the fact that Jennifer and Dion died, Buxton said. Dont make that kind of joke, Shirley testified. Indianapolis explosion may have been caused by furnace, says owner of We knew we were taking a week of testimony from the residents to talk about what had happened to their houses, Robinson said. He says he and Monserrate never boarded the cat when they were married. When she told him, Holts said, "Between Mark and Gary, they're going to blow up the whole neighborhood.". [16] On March 13, Leonard allegedly placed a call to a man who he believed to be a hit man. 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. 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. The human toll is harder to estimate. Made and inspired by a love triangle, this was written by a girl from Italy. This story is Chapter III of a three-part series. We again offer our condolences to the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth and to those who suffered injury and loss. Its about remembering who you are. On Monday, November 5, they changed out the thermostat for a "cheaper" model. I know it caught us by surprise and we had to react to it.. She then got food for them both and went back to the room around midnight. John Shirley, her ex-husband, who owns the home with her, told The Associated Press that he believed the home's faulty furnace could have led to the explosion. The Richmond Hill neighbors had been waiting long enough without a trial. Minch: "You testified about some things you lost in the explosion. 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. They got to the room, but Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed there while Shirley played slot machines for about an hour. [3][4] Damage to homes in the neighborhood was estimated at $4 million. But Im not allowed to say that. She was upset when she got home that night and saw her nicer digital thermostat sitting on the kitchen island and the new cheaper model on the wall. She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. [27], Mark Leonard's trial began in June 2015. 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 then tried to get Thompson to talk about what he did at Holts' home, but he refused, saying they shouldn't talk about it. 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. After speaking with detectives, they went to Mark's sister's home, where they spent the night. Deputy Prosecutor DeniseRobinson has said she will argue for 50 when the time comes. 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. To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. [6] Her attorneys argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and was coerced by Mark Leonard into participating in the crime. The brothers were sentenced to terms of life without parole for spearheading the conspiracy. wikipedia.en/Richmond_Hill_explosion.md at main - github.com [12] Though the trio was eligible for the death penalty under Indiana law, prosecutors chose to pursue life sentences without parole because they believed a jury would be unlikely to impose the death penalty without any evidence that the suspects intended to cause the deaths. And the water heater." "It's like waking up to this bad dream," Shirley said, her voice cracking as tears flowed down her cheeks. But in this case, Monserrate Shirley had already received leniency from the state when she entered into a plea agreement that dismissed a total of 50 charges, including murder. "I want $300,000. Another woman reported that she had loaned him about $5,000 for a construction job, which he had yet to pay back. Four years after thedeadly Richmond Hill explosion, another chapter has closed. At the trial I had firefighters crying on the stand. He said there wouldn't be a problem because it would be a small fire so no one would get hurt, and since she had a long history with the insurance company and no criminal record, they would get the money almost immediately. But no other problems. As stated previously, the investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. Shirley: "In order to pay a very large amount of child support, I was working a full-time job and two part-time jobs. For one: She had earned a reputation as a master liar, as Mark Leonards defense team would later call her. By December 2014, two years after the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision, prosecutors were preparing to go to trial without any cooperating witnesses. Shirley testified that friends called and told her there was a huge explosion. Monserrate Shirley cried at various points Wednesdaybut didnt shed any actual tears. 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. One year of his sentences wassuspended, and the rest was to be split between jail and work release. I said OK, she said. Shirley didn't hear anything more about a plot to start a fire that night, and nothing happened. 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. Below, former IMPD Det. When she told him there was around $10,000-12,000 in it, he said that wasn't enough. Too little, too late, said Jennifer Longworths father, Don Buxton. 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. To begin the day, Monserrate Shirley explained how she and Mark Leonard met. She even took some leave from work to stay with him longer than her paid vacation time allowed. 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. I had a homicide detective crying on the stand. [21] Mark Leonard was granted a change of venue and was tried in South Bend. ", When asked if the attacks on Shirley's credibility would damage the State's case, Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson said, "If you think about anybody who gives a number of statements, and you think about inconsistencies when you're asked questions and you have to answer the questions that you're asked [no more, no less]. He told her to tell Holts, though, that they would be trying the fire again that night (Sunday night). This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Monserrate Shirley and Mark leonard, profiled on the next "American Greed," staged a natural gas explosion to collect the insurance on their Indianapolis home. I don't want anyone to get hurt," then started cooking dinner. Before meeting Mark, Shirley had never been to a casino. 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. It's been hard for me and my daughter. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison on the arson charges on top of two life sentences for the murder charges. No one deserved what happened. Prosecutors alleged that the natural gas explosion was intentionally set to collect insurance money. Shirley said she has been reeling from the pain of people blaming her for the tragic event. Robert Leonard, who was convicted of murder and multiple felonies, was sentenced to life without parole. The defense wrapped up a little more quickly than expected after Judge John Marnocha denied their request to play a video of Shirley's 2012 interview with the media. But their arrests wereonly the beginning of years of work to put them behind bars for good. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. 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. Fixed: Release in which this issue/RFE has been fixed.The release containing this fix may be available for download as an Early Access Release or a General Availability Release. 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. [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. 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. "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. Among the "no" votes, inexplicably: political dancer Hiram Monserrate. I was at one of my part-time jobs when I got a text from my daughter, which was very unusual. "I don't know what happened. It was a restaurant that had the name of a famous Italian poet who died young, but the restaurant only lasted for a year. Defendant in Indiana house explosion gets maximum 50 years - FOX 5 Atlanta The two divorced on July 25, 2011. She got in the van with them, and Mark asked her to give Bob $40. She was 11 years old at that point. . FULL STORY | Mark Leonards friend says he knew too much. (WISH) Monserrate Shirley told jurors Wednesday she would do anything for Mark Leonard, because she was in love with him. Their first trip together was to the Hollywood Casino roughly 3-4 months after they first met. The family, he said, will never truly get closure. "(Whoever is responsible will) have to pay for what they did to me and everybody else," Shirley said in the interview. Investigators quickly honed in on the home's owner, Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend Mark Leonard and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr., as the primary suspects. Monserrate Shirley agreed to testify against Mark Leonard as part of a plea agreement to reduce her potential prison time. "You face one, you get over one and you've got another one all the way until the end. Monserrate Shirley, Indianapolis Homeowner Whose House Exploded, Bereft Ultimately, she could end up serving 21 years if she maintains good behavior in prison. [26], In a case unrelated to the explosion charges, Mark Leonard and two other men were charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Indiana sheriffs deputy dies after falling ill during training, Myles Colvin captivates Heritage Christian crowds, preps for Purdue. Leonard died around 9:15. You're done.". Prosecutors entered all three into evidence Tuesday. Shirley says he replaced the thermostat "so there were more options to heat the house during the day.". Leonard told him Shirley was ready and she agreed. Once again, she agreed to make the same three arrangements: the casino reservation, a babysitter for her daughterand boarding for Snowball. Should we not use all those witnesses? Its about your game being the only game that matters. I didnt want to do anything that would cause that trial date to be continued.. Shirley told jurors he lost a number of things in the explosion, including a collection of tennis rackets and a drafting table. Its very difficult sentencing hearing weve been through for two days. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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). I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. 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. Its a difficult case. Ms. Shirley, 47, and Mark Leonard, 43, her boyfriend, were 100 miles away at a casino when their home blew up. The first time Shirley cried on the stand Wednesday was when she was asked about her neighbors. The problem was that none of that criminal history would be admissible at trial. Indiana Man Convicted of Murder in Home Explosion Case - Insurance Journal UPDATE: Search for accused Johnson County scammer ends in arrest, Men's challenges in fatherhood and marriage explored in new documentary, Live Doppler 13 Weather Blog: Record-breaking rain raises ongoing flood concerns, Saturday Sunrise Live Doppler 13 forecast March 4, 2023. The next morning, they drove back and saw the house was still standing so they went on to Thompson's house where Leonard confronted him. 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. Its an interesting concept. See also:Shantonia Heard of Atlanta Left Her 2 Children Alone With No Power and Gas Oven On, Police Say Apartment Fire Safety Tips Man Killed as Gas Explosion Destroys Connecticut Home. 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. By the time wed got to trial, hed already been in jail for going on three years. She said he also told her not to worry because he took out the step-down valve on the gas line, "and put it away where no one else would ever find it. Many people may remember Shirley giving an interview to the media, including WISH-TV, after the explosion. . Many Git commands accept both tag and branch names, so creating this branch may cause unexpected behavior. The explosion in the subdivision just south of the city on Saturday, Nov. 10, killed John and Jennifer Longworth. 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. Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. We are sure to have a lot more weird coincidences in the next few days, but this one is pretty crazy. The man he called was actually an undercover agent. "I feel like, you know, it would have been better off for me to be there [at the house when it exploded]," Shirley said. And it wasn't the answer we were looking for. Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1. 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. Shirley says Monserrate's sister moved out of the neighborhood around the same time they moved in. 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. In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. 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 . It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. 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. [38], Gary Thompson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. She didnt know anyone died, she said. 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? 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.

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