A man serving two life sentences in a deadly southside house explosion has been found dead in prison.
Mark Leonard was discovered deceased in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle, the Indiana Department of Correction said on Tuesday.
He was serving two life sentences for spearheading the plot to destroy his then-girlfriend’s house in the Richmond Hill subdivision on the southside in November 2012.
The explosion in the neighborhood just north of County Line Road killed Jennifer Longworth, a Southwest Elementary School teacher, and Dion Longworth, who lived next door, and damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes.
Leonard’s plan was to create a natural gas explosion to claim insurance money, prosecutors said. A natural gas line had been tampered with and a microwave on a timer was used to ignite the explosion, which damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes in the neighborhood just north of County Line Road.
Leonard was convicted in 2015 of murder, arson and other charges. He received two life sentences without parole, plus 75 years. Four other people also were convicted.
Last year, he was convicted of a charge of conspiracy to commit murder related to trying to hire someone to kill a key witness in the home explosion case.
