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. ", She said Mark told her, "It cannot be that bad.Don't worry about it. Shirley and her boyfriend were hoping to collect $300,000 in insurance . By this time, Shirley's daughterhad noticed her portrait was no longer above the fireplace and asked Monserrate about it. Monserrate and John had the home in Richmond Hill built in 2003. Leonard asked Holts to tell the story of his own fire, how easily he'd gotten the money and to re-assure Shirley everything would be alright if they did it at her house. The blast the product of an insurance fraud scheme killed two people and injured dozens of others. [6] [6] Her attorneys argued that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and was coerced by Mark Leonard into participating in the crime. Estimates for the total scope of the damage caused by the explosion exceeded $4.5 million. "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. Its a difficult case. 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. Shirley stated that her daughter had smelled gas during the week before the explosion. Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. She grabbed a few pictures, including the canvas portrait of her daughterat age 5 that hung above the fireplace. 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. Indiana Neighborhood Explosion: Two Questioned in Connection to Blast 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. Get caught up on the first two chapters here:Chapter I: The Night the Sky Caught Fire|Chapter II: The $4 Million Arson Plot. She then got food for them both and went back to the room around midnight. Heappears to have died of natural causes. Monserrate Shirley entered a guilty plea in the case that started as an insurance scam in Richmond Hill in 2012. The men were reportedly in the home briefly and hurriedly left. During the course of this lengthy process, we have sincerely appreciated the cooperation and patience of these families. Prosecutors contend that the motorcycle was disassembled in Shirley's garage. 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. Her sister had lived in the same housing complex. "I want $300,000. 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. 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. She came into the courtroom looking much different than she did the weekend of the explosion in 2012. But she had no hesitation when asked to identify the Longworths as her neighbors. (They were) my neighbors for a very long time since we built the house, Shirley said. I want everyone to know how sorry I am for this horrible tragedy, she said in court in front of Richmond Hill residents. Again, she said, "Because I was not able to tell him 'no'." Mark Leonards trial at the St. Joseph County Courthouse was eventful before it even started. Gary Thompsonwas handed a 30-year prison sentence, 20 years executed, for his role in the murderous insurance fraud scheme. 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). You're done.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. She said Leonard had bought it a few months beforehand at that point. Shirley: "I moved out in February of 2011. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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.. Shirley claims Leonard coerced her involvement, testifying that he threatened her and her daughter. She didnt know anyone died, she said. Yes, I didnt think it would be possible, Monserrate Shirley said.HUGE EXPLOSION. Shirley: "No. 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). The girlwas already out of the house while they cleared it of the sentimental items. Iwas scared. While there had been some communications early on, we were not willing to offer Monserrate Shirley a significant deal for her cooperation, Robinson said. She agreed that's what happened, but insisted she only said what Mark told her to say. John moved out in February 2010 and their divorce was finalized that summer. 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. She was crying and hysterical and said the house blew up.". I went into the breakroom and texted my ex about what happened. 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. At one point you replaced the thermostat." On November 19, it was announced that the investigation had become a criminal investigation. It was the last time she would be in her home before the explosion. She will be 72 years old. [22], On January 16, 2015, Shirley agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. ", When they went to pick up Shirley's daughteron Sunday, Holts told Mark to "Get the [expletive] out of here. 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. The two divorced on July 25, 2011. Its about remembering who you are. Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard: 'Killer Couples' Airs Richmond Hills She even took some leave from work to stay with him longer than her paid vacation time allowed. On December 21, 2012, Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard, and his brother Bob Leonard were charged with 2 counts of felony murder and . To do that, the team moved 80 boxes of documents connected to the case to an office on the east side of Indianapolis. 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. I tried to ignore Mark Leonards history as much as I could, Robinson said. Two of those alleged co-conspirators were arrested as a direct result of her cooperation: Gary Thompson and Glenn Holts. I have morals.I love my patients and I would do anything for them. Police arrest Monserrate Shirley, Mark Leonard and Robert Leonard for ", 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]. So you do get concerned about, will they see the arsons? The Insurance Scam That Blew Up A Neighborhood - Medium [23] The plea deal involved Shirley pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson in exchange for testifying against the other suspects. Three charged with murder after 'setting off deadly Indiana house The courtroom was crowded Monday as the proceedings began, as those who were hurt or lost their homes, plus the parents of Dion and Jennifer Longworth wait to learn Shirley's . "I mean, sometimes I wish I was there and I'd be dead, and now I wouldn't have to be asked so many questions.". [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. I always get the money.". 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. Required fields are marked *. The game of death is a pretty popular one, but its not just because of the game of death; its also the game of life itself. "No one.". 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. A second mortgage had been taken out on the home for $65,000 in addition to the original mortgage of $116,000. She and Mark then gassed up her car and drove to the casino. 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. That hit man was later revealed to be an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 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. She was the neighbor that all the other neighbors were looking at. She never got a call, though. Should I have accepted that stipulation? Thompson returned to their home to plan their next attempt. Monserrate Shirley sentenced to 50 years in prison - YouTube 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. John Shirley, 50, of Noblesville, told The Associated Press that his daughter sent him a text message last week complaining that the furnace in the home where she lives with her mother and her. 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. Shirley and Leonard had gone on television on multiple occasions following the blast to state their innocence, and to ask for privacy. At the end of the day, we still miss her and him, Dion, as much as ever, Buxton said. In addition to the thousands of pieces of physical evidence, they had more than 200 witnesses lined up to testify. The couple's steamy relationship lasted for about a month before they moved in together. 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. No one involved in this investigation or prosecution will forget the stories of this tragedy and the continuing fear and trauma that it caused to the survivors. Except her cat, the clothes on her back and a teddy bear she got when she was 1. [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".
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