The owner of the southside home that was the center of a deadly explosion faces up to 50 years in prison for her role in the plot to collect insurance money.
A Marion County court began hearing testimony on Monday from victims impacted by the explosion of the home in the Richmond Hill neighborhood, just north of County Line Road. The sentencing of Monserrate Shirley, 51, was expected to take two days, and was set to continue this morning.
Shirley pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson in the November 2012 natural gas explosion that destroyed her home, killed the couple who lived next door — a Greenwood teacher and her husband — and damaged or destroyed 80 homes.
Prosecutors say Shirley, her ex-boyfriend, his half brother and two other people were involved in the plot to destroy Shirley’s home to collect $300,000 in insurance money. Shirley testified against her ex-boyfriend, his half brother and two others.
Shirley’s then-boyfriend, Mark Leonard, was called the ringleader of the plot. The scheme involved causing a natural gas leak in the home, and setting a microwave on a timer to go off and cause an explosion. Prosecutors have said the group had tried the scheme previously, and were not successful in blowing up the house.
The explosion was felt for miles and caused a wave of destruction throughout the neighborhood. The couple that lived next door, Southwest Elementary School teacher Jennifer Longworth and Dion Longworth, were both killed. Multiple homes had to be torn down.
Shirley will be sentenced today after additional testimony from victims. She faces between a minimum 20-year probation sentence to a maximum 50-year prison term.
Mark Leonard and his half brother, Bob Leonard, were convicted of murder, arson and other charges and were sentenced to two life sentences without parole, plus 75 years for Mark Leonard and 70 years for his half brother. Gary Thompson was sentenced to 20 years in prison and two years of probation under a plea agreement. The last of the five defendants, Glenn Hults, pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal and will be sentenced Dec. 28.
