The deadly explosion that rocked Richmond Hill | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website at ten minutes past eleven on the night
of Saturday November 10 2012 aloud and frightening sound erupted several miles south of the American city of
Indianapolis the powerful force registered on a regional earthquake sensor and within minutes nine-one-one
was jammed with over 500 calls from frantic locals reporting that their homes were left a rattling from the
impact the noise had originated in Richmond Hill one of many suburban subdivisions
in the Perry Township eleven miles south of the city the relatively new middle-class neighborhood was made up of
125 immaculate houses similar in design single or double storey family homes with brick frontage gray roofing vaulted
ceilings and manicured lawns that sat side by side along a small network of streets bordered on one side by the Smok
golf course emergency services rushed to Richmond Hill and found the area in complete
chaos properties were in varying states of destruction windows were shuttered walls
cracked or collapsed doors blown off their hinges and ceilings caved in insulation and - rained down and rubble
littered the streets and yards panicked residents had gathered on street corners
describing being thrown from their beds seats or knocked off their feet by the impact and slammed against furniture or
struck by falling debris Richmond Hills proximity to a Municipal Airport led to speculation that a plane
had crashed others were convinced the bomb had gone off or a clandestine methamphetamine lab
had exploded the level of destruction worsened towards the center of the subdivision where the apex of the
unknown catastrophe was pinpointed to field fairway at number eight three five five thirty
four-year-old a day on Longworth had been on the ground a level of his two-story home when the forceful impact
went off blasting a hole through the floor and causing him to fall into the basement he suffered a laceration to his
head but was otherwise relatively unscathed yet a fire was advancing and debris prevented his escape
Dion called out from a cavity to the street outside catching the attention of his fleeing neighbors they tried to
rescue him by chipping away at the plaster board but the materials had compressed and wouldn't budge
Dion asked about the welfare of his wife Jennifer who had been upstairs his neighbor didn't know how to break
the news that their house no longer had an upstairs the fire swept through at an alarming
speed a police officer who had arrived to the scene frantically radioed to dispatch we've got a person trapped in
the basement of a house they're burning he's trapped in the back he's screaming we need to get a hose to the rear as
soon as possible Oh God I can't get any closer firefighters attacked the side of the
Longworth house with an axe but the heat made it difficult to stay close Deon remained pressed against the cavity
still pleading to know if his wife was okay when the firefighters stepped back to
spray water towards the space the entire house suddenly collapsed [Music] [Music]
the blaze was under control by the following morning of Sunday November 11 80 homes had been damaged 33 beyond
repair Dion Longworth had been killed along with his 36 year old wife Jennifer who
had died in the initial blast while laying in the couple's bed upstairs 12 other residents sustained injuries
including broken bones lacerations and smoke inhalation as the investigation into the tragedy began
a safety command post was established to coordinate the multiple insurance companies and officials that were
present including representatives from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the
Department of Homeland Security the neighborhood was put on lockdown as arson investigators sifted through the
rubble looking for the explosions point of origin ruling out possible causes as they went
the house alongside the longworth's number 834 9 filled fairway had sustained to the worst damage it had
been completely leveled with nothing but a pile of ash and debris remaining homeowner 47 year-old intensive care
nurse montserrat e shirley lived at the address with her partner 42 year old mark Leonard and her 12 year old
daughter from a previous marriage the family were initially unaccounted for prompting fears they may have been
killed as it turned out Monserrat II and Mark had been 90 miles away at the Hollywood
Casino in Lawrenceburg for a weekend getaway and de monserrate E's daughter was staying with a family friend
the property's gas meter was found amongst the destruction and displayed a reading twice the amount recorded by the
households gas provider three weeks prior a volume equivalent to three tons of TNT
when speaking with an investigator Monserrat e and mark reported that a week before the blast the distinctive
rotten egg like odor of natural gas was permeating throughout their home which was ice-cold as the furnace was
releasing cold air they contacted the gas company to see if someone could fix it but decided not to
proceed with the appointment as an additional rate applied to weekend call-outs mark thought the problem late with the
digital thermostat so he purchased and installed an older manual model but it didn't fix the problem so monserrate II
asked him to switch it back the next day the source of the gas Li was isolated to
a fireplace that was originally situated in the family's living room as per standard building code the home
was fitted with a step-down regulator a device that reduces the pressure of gas flow to household appliances but a piece
of black pipe had been fitted in its place the on and off switch for the fireplace
was also missing with tool marks indicating it had been intentionally removed prior to the explosion an
extensive search of neighboring properties rooftops sewers and cars commenced but neither the fireplace
switch nor the gas regulator were found experts calculated that it would have taken nine hours for the house to fill
with the amount of gas required to cause an explosion of that magnitude concluding the fireplace was likely
turned on at approximately 2:00 p.m. the day of the blast a forensic scientist examining aerial
photographs of the remnants of the Shirley home concluded from blast patterns that the detonation originated
in the kitchen found within the rubble was the households microwave a general electric's pacemaker XL model its door
had been blown off and recovered elsewhere meaning the appliance had sustained a buildup of pressure from
within before exploding instead of being crushed from falling debris as no one was home at the time there was
no explanation as to why the microwave had been in use remarkably investigators found the
appliances instruction manual and to learned that it was fitted with a timer enabling it to be programmed to begin
cooking up to 24 hours in advance a metal cylinder showed evidence of damage indicative of having blown out from
inside the microwave additionally concrete samples of the property's foundation revealed gasoline
was present in two locations including the living room where the gas fireplace was located
with all these factors combined it was clear that the blast had not been an accident
montserrat II surely had dreamed of living in Richmond Hill since the subdivision was first developed she had
moved to the United States from Puerto Rico in her early 20s seeking better employment and financial
stability setting her goal on raising a family in a large home in a nice neighborhood
while completing her nursing degree in Michigan she fell in love with a pharmaceutical manufacturer named - John
Shirley and the two were married shortly thereafter they relocated to Indiana and in 2001
Monserrat II gave birth to their first and only child although Richmond Hill was a little out
of their price range the Shirley's managed to get the bank's financial approval to purchase a block of land in
the sought after location in 2003 they began building their dream home a two-story four-bedroom residence spread
over 2784 square feet with an attached two-car garage and rear patio for entertaining
over the years John and Monterey DS relationship deteriorated and in 2011 they filed for divorce
as part of the settlement Monserrat II kept the house with the join agreeing to pay monthly child support and to
financially contribute towards school fees following her divorce Monserrat II met
and began dating mark Leonard a dancer turned successful construction worker with several developments and
investments in the works that afforded him a luxury lifestyle theirs was a whirlwind romance and a few
weeks after meeting monserrate II Mark moved into her Richmond Hill home where they settled into a comfortable suburban
life together in early 2012 five months into their relationship mark fell into a coma as a
result of a rare autoimmune disease Monserrat II stayed with him as he underwent treatment and in May he was
finally allowed to return home she spent the next few months nursing him back to health and it was only
recently that he was back on his feet the pair had spent the previous three weekends away together when on their
most recent trip their house exploded obliterating all their possessions from Mark's Cadillac STS and harley-davidson
motorcycle to an original Picasso painting as well as $20,000 cash the family had saved
just over a week after the Richmond Hill explosion her funeral service was held for Dionne and Jennifer Longworth that
st. Barnabus Catholic Church where they had been married 11 years prior in lieu of caskets a photo of the couple
on their wedding day sat at the altar along with the visors of sunflowers which were Dion's favorite
over 500 mourners attended as Dionne was remembered for his quirky sense of humor
creativity and generosity as an audio engineer he helped develop award-winning electronic products for digital sound
and video company indie audio labs Jennifer was a second-grade teacher at a nearby elementary school and was
remembered for her compassion and optimism Monsignor Tony voles who oversaw the service said that the couple had used
their wedding vows to promise to love one another until death and that now quote God has helped them live out their
vows that evening police announced that the Richmond Hill explosion was officially
being treated as a homicide confident that Dion and Jennifer Longworth had inadvertently lost their
lives as a result of a targeted attack on the Shirley household through their investigations a possible
suspect had emerged after the discovery of an unlikely survivor of the explosion
a Persian cat named snowball the pet belonged to Montserrat II Shirley's daughter and over the past
three weekends including the date of the blast Monserrat II had placed the cat in
a kennel this was uncharacteristic of her as Montserrat II wasn't known to board
snowball went away from home Montserrat II and marks alibis were checked with records from the Hollywood
Casino confirming the couple checked in the night before the explosion their reservation was for one night and
today returned to the front desk in the morning to extend to this day but no rooms were available
instead the pair remained in the gaming area with CCTV capturing them playing blackjack before retiring to the bar
where they remained for 11 hours intermittently checking their phones and watches until receiving news of the
explosion investigators at the crime scene had also noticed something peculiar when
examining the remains of the Shirley home household furniture doesn't disintegrate
during an explosion but smashes into smaller pieces yet for a house that size there weren't
many pieces of furniture strewn about they found several remote controls and television wall mounts but no evidence
of the electronics themselves in March the year before Monserrat II had briefly put the house on the market and the real
estate photos were still available online these images showed the house had been
well furnished a tip-off and subsequent inquiries led police to mark Leonard's older brother
Bob who had stored some boxes of clothing photographs personal items and a set of golf clubs in his son's
basement Bob had told his son that the belongings were salvaged from the Shirley home
following the explosion yet when speaking with detectives Bob explained that his brother had
approached him two weeks before the explosion with the items claiming they belonged to Montserrat his ex husband
Bob also reported smelling gas during a visit to the Shirley home but was uncertain of the source
the couple's friends relatives and neighbors were questioned with one Richmond Hill resident recalling that on
the day of the explosion the blinds in Monterey Dee's home which were typically kept open were pulled down
another neighbor said that same day he saw mark Leonard's white work van parked outside the house at approximately 2:00
p.m. two unknown men hastily exited the house before driving away in the van an acquaintance described mark as a scam
artist who allegedly used online dating sites to meet and seduce older women he would romance them by picking them up in
a nice car dressing sharply and taking them to fancy restaurants where he would then pretend to answer an urgent phone
call to discuss a business matter making it sound as though he had an important construction job in the works
once the women believed the corn he would ask to borrow money and would then disappear
another of his schemes was to take a woman to the casino and after claiming to have left his wallet at home
convinced them to place sizable bets on his behalf then keep any winnings according to Mark monserrate II was okay
with him dating other women as long as the relationships weren't sexual a background check on mark Leonard
revealed a criminal history that began when he was 18 years old in addition to criminal charges for cocaine
possession and drug dealing as well as reports of stalking and intimidation he was being sued by multiple women
accusing him of scamming them out of money he also had a history of insurance fraud related to a car accident
at the time he met montserrat e mark was on house arrest with his movements monitored by a GPS ankle tracker a
relative informed police that another of mark's games was to intentionally set off the air bags in his car then submit
a claim with his insurance agency upon receiving the settlement he would keep the money instead of replacing the air
bags he had also stolen a truck insured it in his brother's name and then set it on
fire pocketing the payout he owed seventy seven thousand dollars in civil lawsuits and racked up over sixty
thousand dollars in unpaid accounts three weeks before the explosion mark confided in a friend that he had lost
ten thousand dollars at the casino Monserrat e's bank records revealed that she had financial trouble of her own
struggling with their 160 thousand dollar mortgage she and her ex-husband had filed for bankruptcy in 2007 with
montserrat e taking responsibility for their outstanding debts as part of their divorce agreement she had since taken
out a second mortgage for $65,000 of which she was three months late making repayments
she had put the home up for short sale in 2011 which meant that it was listed for less than what she currently owed on
the mortgage and she would have to come up with the outstanding money to close the deal so she eventually decided not
to sell and took it off the market by November 2012 she was sixty three thousand dollars in credit card debt and
still owed ninety nine thousand dollars in bankruptcy repayments which she had stopped paying
her port hearing had been scheduled in July to address this matter the montserrat II failed to show
shortly after mark Leonard moved in with her in late 2011 she doubled her home contents insurance to $300,000 as
suspicions arose around montserrat II and Mark the press requested interviews in social media ran rife with rumors
about their personal lives Monserrat II told a local news station I don't wish this on no one I just want to
go to sleep and to never wake up I don't eat I don't sleep everyone's been asking
questions I don't have no financial issues on devastated that I lost it all my neighbor lost a life that my whole
neighborhood is destroyed they need to wait til all of the investigation is done and I don't want
nobody to point a finger to no one the couple hired a lawyer who issued a statement urging the public to leave his
clients alone it read the to remain horrified at the tragic events destruction and a loss of lives
that occurred they wish for the causation of this horrific and saddening tragedy to be determined
assumptions by everyone have had a field day at their expense they continue to cooperate with
authorities and will have no further comments investigators were yet to uncover any
concrete physical evidence to prove Montserrat II surely all Marc Leonard had orchestrated the November tenth
explosion GPS trackers were installed on the couple's cars and their phone calls were
covertly monitored but they failed to uncover anything of significance a man named Mark Duckworth spoke to police
he was the decade long friend of mark Leonard he recalled a phone conversation wherein mark mentioned looking at
Ferraris online with the intention of buying one when asked how he could afford it mark claimed that tsunami
winds had blown out their fireplace causing their house to blow up and they had received the $300,000 payout
this conversation occurred eight days before the explosion Duckworth statement indicated that mark
and Montserrat II had been plotting a scheme for some time the initial belief was that they had
conspired with Mark's brother Bob to enact an elaborate insurance scam having him visit the property to release the
gas and set the microwave timer while they were establishing their alibi at the Hollywood Casino
then on November 30 an employee for gas company citizens Energy Group notified police that he ran into the Leonard
brothers at a bar on the evening before the explosion as he was already acquainted with the pair the three
struck up a conversation mark and barb asked about natural gas inquiring how much was needed to fill up
a house the employee compared it to blowing up a balloon telling them that at a certain
point there was nothing left for it to do but explode [Music] on December 21 2012 almost six weeks
after the Richmond Hill explosion Monserrat e Shirley and Mark Leonard were arrested and served with a 49 count
indictment which included charges for first-degree murder and arson as well as conspiracy to commit arson and insurance
fraud their suspected accomplice Bob Leonard was also arrested for murder and arson
but was spared the conspiracy charges given the severity of their crimes the trio face the death penalty
many residents of Richmond Hill were left unsurprised by the arrests with one remarking there were too many
circumstantial things that fell into line for it not to have been them while another said that it was clear from
their very beginning that the explosion had not been an accident on December 24 the trio appeared in
court where they each entered a plea of not guilty as the arrests occurred just a few days
before Christmas the Richmond Hill community came together to replace some of the possessions montserrat his 12
year old daughter had lost in the blast during the first few months of mark Leonard's incarceration he was placed in
a cell with a Robert Smitty Smith a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang and neo-nazi organization as the soul mates
got to know one another Marc discussed the Richmond Hill explosion he said the plan had been for his brother to start a
fire by cracking a gas line while he and de montserrat II were away for the weekend the Bob had broken the line
completely causing the explosion he believed the strongest piece of evidence the prosecutors had against him
was mark Duckworth statement that he had been shopping for a Ferrari one week before the incident he was therefore
convinced he stood a chance of beating the charges if he could just stop Duckworth from testifying
Marc wrote Smitty a note asking if there was any way he could organize a hit on his friend
the note said that he didn't want mark Duckworth to quote show up for court or show up at all and offered a payment of
$15,000 to make him disappear by staging an accident a hand-drawn map the Duckworth's house was
included along with details about the car he drove Smitty told mark that he knew a hit man
who would be willing to do the job and the two made plans with mark suggesting walking right up to Duckworth's house
and shooting him in the kitchen while he was sitting at his computer mark expressed hesitancy about using
prison telephones to organize the plot as his calls were being recorded as Smitty was not subject to the same rules
he gave his personal pin number so mark could make the calls without being recorded
mark phoned Smitty's contact a man identified as Jay when asked how he wanted the hit to go down mark said
why would take a chain and [ __ ] pounder through his [ __ ] groin area and hang him from a tree
he offered Jay a $5,000 bonus if he could force Duckworth to call 9-1-1 and to retract the information he had
previously given to police by saying I did not mean to frame mark and montserrat E for their own house in
Richmond Hill he ended up asking Jay to make it look like Duckworth had taken his own life
wanting the job done quickly without causing any unnecessary suffering as that would take too much time
Jay told him that he enjoyed torturing his victims to which mark laughed and responded well if you wanna
unbeknownst to mark he was actually conspiring the assassination with an undercover special agent from the Bureau
of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives furthermore his cellmate Smitty was actually a police informant
the phone conversations with the Jay were recorded including Mark stating he wanted another undisclosed target killed
once the hit on Duckworth was complete mark Leonard was additionally charged with conspiracy to commit murder to
which he pled not guilty in August 2013 Monserrat II Shirley filed documents placing a majority of
the blame on the Leonard brothers saying that Mark had been abusive and manipulative throughout their
relationship two months later it was decided that the three defendants would all be tried
separately outside Marion County to ensure an impartial jury the death penalty was also taken off the table and
replaced with life in prison without parole to mark the one year anniversary of the
Richmond Hill tragedy faculty members and students at the elementary school where Jennifer Longworth taught second
grade war Indianapolis Colts merchandise in tribute of the longworth's favorite football team and held a minute's
silence Richmond Hill residents were undergoing counseling and still had trouble coping
with loud noises one resident reported struggling to get to sleep as she was haunted by images of
blood-soaked people running from the neighborhood quote it was hard to get over it was hard to get those images out
of my head many expected that at least one of the accused would strike a plea deal but as
the years went by this seemed less likely then in January 2015 Monserrat e's defense lawyers approached
the prosecution team with an offer in exchange for dropping the murder charges their client would agree to plead guilty
to the less serious charge of conspiracy to commit arson and in return reveal the
truth about the explosion and testify against her accomplices the prosecution was torn
Monserrat EES cooperation would help clarify the unexplained - details of the crime and settle their suspicions
whether any other people were involved yet Monserrat II had been a key player in the plot and they wanted to see her
justly punished deputy prosecutor Denise Robinson quote she was too involved she was the one who
got her daughter and her cat out of the situation and to left her neighbors in the situation
while we knew that Montserrat II surely on her own would never have caused this crime that could not have happened
without her eventually the prosecution agreed to the deal much to the disapproval of Richmond
Hills community who wanted to see their former neighbor given the maximum sentence of life without parole
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montserrat e double her home contents insurance stating he wanted to buy expensive items and to begin renovations
he also convinced her to sell her car so that he could replace it with a luxury BMW but ended up getting her a dated
Ford Taurus instead which cost him only $700 at this point Marc's true character
began to unravel he wasn't the high roller he made himself out to be after the explosion he told blas
adjudicators he owned a premium condition Cadillac entirely Davidson motorcycle in reality he had a beat-up
Cadillac he had purchased by selling stolen supplies and equipment from his construction sites and his motorcycle
was undriveable in early 2012 Marc's gambling habits led him to consider committing insurance
fraud by setting a small fire in the garage his friend Gary Thompson had done the same and gotten away with it he had
also helped another man named Glenn Holtz carry out a similar act in July 2012 mark urged Glenn to convince
Montserrat 'hey how easy it was glenn warned the pair to be careful has hidden you someone who had been
sentenced to 75 years imprisonment for arson as montserrat 'i had no criminal history or
prior insurance claims mark was confident they would get away with it but promised to take the blame if they
were caught Montserrat II surely quote I thought it was crazy but I went along with him
mark revisited this game towards the end of October 2012 Gary Thompson had agreed
to help but they just needed at Montserrat ease approval although she wasn't entirely sure what
the plan entailed she gave the green light on the weekend of October 27 she boarded snowball at a kennel sent her
daughter to stay with a friend loaded her valuable and sentimental items into marks man and the pair checked in to
Hollywood Casino mark had offered Gary $5,000 to dump 6 large cans of gasoline inside Montserrat
E's house but he panicked and couldn't go through with it he was supposed to call Mark and Montserrat II when the job
was done but they never heard from him the next morning they drove to Gary's house and he lied to the pair about
having to call the whole thing off after being pulled over by the police on his way to Richmond Hill
convinced Gary was flaking mark enlisted the help of his brother Bob offering him
$10,000 to start the fire the second attempt was scheduled for the weekend of November 3 in the lead up
mark and Gary blocked off the chimney and filled the fireplace with cardboard they replaced the digital thermostat
with a cheaper manual model and had discussions about programming the microwave in advance with a piece of
metal inside knocked turned on the fireplaces gas valve and his brother Bob was expected
to visit the home later to tinker with the thermostat to cause it to spark and start a fire
but the plan failed for a second time the Leonard brothers went to the library and researched the cause of house fires
afterwards they went for a drink at the bar where they ran into an acquaintance who worked for citizens Energy Group and
asked him about natural gas Glenn Holtz tried to deter mark expressing the possibility he was going
to blow up the whole neighborhood Monserrat II also begged him to call the whole thing off offering him the ten
thousand dollars in her retirement fund but mark was set on the sixth bigger insurance payout
on November 9 2012 before the couple left for the Hollywood Casino they gave Bob Leonard $40 for a part
needed to carry out the crime just after 11:00 p.m. the next day montserrat II received a word of the explosion and
returned to Richmond Hill where her and Mark discovered the magnitude of damage injuries and two deaths it had caused
police questioned 44 year-old Gary Thompson who admitted involvement in this game and corroborated montserrat
EES version of events although adamant that he was nowhere near filled fairway the day of the
explosion police were convinced he set the timer on the microwave consequently on January 29 2015 Gary was
arrested and faced over 40 charges including two counts of murder arson and conspiracy to commit arson
Glenn Holtz was also interviewed by the police he denied having any recollection
of the conversation in July 2012 about setting Monterey Dee's house on fire police check to Glenn's phone records
which showed ten calls and text messages between himself and DeMarco Leonard during the first two weeks of November
2012 on April 14 2015 Gunn was arrested for conspiracy to commit arson becoming the
fifth arrest in the Richmond Hill explosion case on Monday June 8 2015 Marc Leonard's trial commenced in the
County Courthouse in South Bend Indiana his defense team admitted that while he had been part of the arson plot he never
foresaw the power of the explosion and had no intention of damaging other properties or hurting anyone they
labeled it as quote a stupid and selfish insurance fraud that went horribly wrong
they called montserrat 'i'm master liar who was fully in on the plan from the outset the prosecution argued that
Markham knew that the entire house would be destroyed as he had advised montserrat e to remove her belongings
and relocate her daughter and car furthermore telling his friend Mark Duckworth that he was expecting an
insurance payout of $300,000 indicated he expected the house and its possessions to be a complete write-off
given that he understood the potential severity of the explosion the prosecution urged the jury to find him
guilty of murder as he knew his scheme came with the high probability of death [Music]
the fight weight trial saw the submission of over 2,000 pieces of evidence and the testimony of hundreds
of witnesses including Montserrat II surely as part of her plea deal she said she went along with her boyfriends plan
because quote I was scared I loved him so much I would do anything to make him happy
the outside court marks defense attorney told reporters she can tell the truth just as easily as
she can tell a lie and it's hard for the jury to know the difference during closing remarks prosecutor mark
Hollingsworth said every single victim in this case is a victim because of him every single
co-conspirator in this case would not be charged but for him it all comes back to
mark Leonard on July 14 2015 after four hours of deliberation mark Leonard was found
guilty of all 53 counts outside court Jennifer Longworth father Don told reporters the conviction was
the closest thing his family would ever get to justice saying my wife always talks about what she
won't have with her daughter you know going shopping and taking care of her kids and all of these things
we won't have any of that as far as I'm concerned the Leonard agang sentenced my family to outdoor
prison for the rest of our lives I grieve for my daughter every day and tomorrow I will go back to the cemetery
and knock the grass of the grave like I do every week and get right back to business
Dion Longworth spa though John said the jury had made the right choice adding this doesn't change anything that means
he won't hurt anybody else outside of prison but Dylan and Jennifer are still not with me
during mark Leonard sentencing hearing a month later Dion longworth's mother Elaine gave an emotional statement she
said I hate that it had to be my boy who lived the next door to mark and Vaughn's
arathi I hate that they were nothing but collateral damage to them I hate like hell that my brilliant son was brought
down by such fools I absolutely and completely hate that my smart strong curious kind hilarious and hard-working
son died at such an absurdly young age and in such a horrible way I hate that the ashes of my son and his wife shared
the space of a sealed box not much bigger than a gallon of milk I hate that he's tortured the last moments come to
me in flashbacks I so very much hate it was not me that died instead of him upon handing down his sentence Judge
John Minooka said a person ought to feel safe in their own home I know there will be natural
disasters and I know there will be burglaries and theft's unfortunately but I think people shouldn't have to worry
that someone might destroy the entire neighborhood Macklin had received two life sentences
without parole six months later on January 21 2016 marks brother Bob Leonard was tried
in Fort Wayne Indiana with over 150 witnesses called the testifier when montserrat II took the stand she
explained that upon hearing of Dion and Jennifer longworth's deaths she didn't want any of the insurance money
Bob allegedly responded with indifference saying oh well they died the jury found him guilty of all 51
charges he was sentenced to two life terms without parole Gary Thomson's trial was scheduled for
later that year but in August he agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit arson in exchange for having all other
charges against him dropped he was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison with 10 suspended
Bob Leonard called a local television station from prison to voice his disdain at the deal saying
Gary Thompson was in on this whole thing from start to finish in late December 2016 Glen Holt's also
entered an agreement with the prosecution pleading guilty to one count of assisting a criminal in exchange for
having the conspiracy to commit arson charge dropped he admitted to knowing about the arson plot beforehand and to
not doing anything to stop it he was sentenced to three years in prison for which he only served 18
months given that montserrat II surely had reached a plea agreement with the prosecution she was spared a trial
instead a sentencing hearing was held where her family and defense team requested leniency on the basis that
Mark Leonard was emotionally abusive leading to Montserrat II compliance her neighbors disputed this arguing that
she was a greedy person obsessed with portraying are wealthy image multiple victim impact statements were
read including one from day on longworth's father John who said it's kind of weird to think that you're
going about your life and someone has a target on your back and did they don't care
that's one thing I've never seen from any of these defendants much caring she protected her child and cat but she
showed no concern for anyone else in the neighborhood she traded the lives of our children for
her own upon delivering her sentence judge Sheila Carlisle said to Montserrat II
you were a mum you were a nurse you were a neighbor and you were a friend and in
each of those categories you betrayed your trust Montserrat II surely was sentenced to 50
years in prison she will be eligible to apply for parole in December two thousand thirty two aged 72 years old
one month later mark Leonard was tried separately for his attempt to hire a hitman to kill his friend mark Duckworth
to ensure he couldn't testify against him at trial the court found him guilty of conspiracy
to commit murder and he received an additional 50 years on top of his life sentences
he lodged numerous appeals but each was rejected in late January 2018 mark was transferred
to hospital to undergo treatment for his autoimmune disease On January 30 the Indiana Department of Corrections
released the statement announcing that he had died of natural causes upon learning of his brother's death
Bobby Leonard said I've only been in trouble twice in my life and both times where he's fault I
couldn't care less that he's dead I don't have a bit of sympathy for that son of a [ __ ]
in the years following the Richmond Hill explosion residents reported experiencing ongoing trauma a third of
the families moved away from the subdivision with six marriages ending in divorce
to honor their memory a scholarship titled the Southwest elementary Jennifer and dejan Longworth memorial award was
established in 2012 issued to one of her former second-grade students each year upon their eventual graduation from high
school a press release by the school said the scholarship would serve as a legacy for
Jennifer's excellence in education and allow her former students to carry on her love of learning quote
Jennifer had a way of reaching students like Anne no other teacher students who were tough to reach she set the
expectations on day one of school and she got results she loved her kids that's the longworth's we're passionate
supporters of the Indianapolis Colts football team the team's owner Jim Irsay was the first person to make a donation
to the fund Deon was an enthusiastic gardener with an extensive knowledge of native
wildflowers in the particular love of sunflowers he took pride in a hybrid pear tree he
planted in their yard on field fairway which continues to grow to this day [Music]
you

Case 140: Richmond Hill

At ten minutes past eleven on the night of Saturday, November 10 2012, a loud and frightening sound erupted several miles south of the American city of Indianapolis...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-140-richmond-hill

Brief Summary

The Richmond Hill explosion killed two and led to a murder investigation involving insurance fraud by Montserrat Shirley and Mark Leonard.

Key points

The Richmond Hill Explosion. A devastating explosion in Richmond Hill leaves homes destroyed and lives lost.
Investigation Begins. Authorities investigate the explosion, leading to shocking discoveries about the Shirley household.
Montserrat II and Mark Leonard Arrested. Almost six weeks after the explosion, Montserrat II and Mark Leonard are arrested.
Death Penalty for Trio. The trio faces the death penalty for their severe crimes, shocking the community.
Montserrat's Plea Deal. Montserrat II offers to testify against her accomplices in exchange for a lesser charge.
Mark Leonard Found Guilty. Mark Leonard is found guilty of all counts after a lengthy trial.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

God has helped them live out their vows.

Monsignor Tony Voles at the Longworths' funeral service.

13:54WatchMar 28, 2020

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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