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Last updated on Tuesday, July 14, 2015
(SOUTH BEND) - A jury needed about four hours to find Richmond Hill house explosion suspect Mark Leonard guilty on all 53 counts.
Fox News reports, the verdict was announced today at 1 p.m. The 53 charges included murder, felony murder, arson, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
A judge will now decide whether Leonard will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry issued the following statement about the verdict:
"On the evening of November 19, 2012, many of us from the public safety community stood in the dark on the Southside to disclose that the investigation of the circumstances of the Richmond Hill explosion was now a homicide investigation. Today's verdict confirms what investigators realized from almost day one, that the explosion which occurred on November 10 was a senseless, criminal act which resulted in the horrific deaths of Dion and Jennifer Longworth, injury to dozens of others, unparalleled property destruction, and the loss of a sense of safety and security for all residents of that neighborhood. By today's conviction of Mark Leonard and the guilty plea by Monserrate Shirley, we have now completed two significant steps in realizing the justice we have pledged from day one for the Richmond Hill residents.
"The investigation and prosecution of this matter has literally taken tens of thousands of hours of effort by numerous individuals. I commend Det. Jeffrey Wager and IMPD investigators, Lt. Mario Garza and IFD investigators, agents of the Federal ATF, and our trial team for their extraordinary work leading to this conviction."
Public Safety Director Troy Riggs thanked Curry and his staff for their work:
"On behalf of the 3,200 members of the Department of Public Safety, I would like to thank Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry and his team for their dedicated work and successful prosecution today. This has been a difficult time for not only the Richmond Hill residents, but the city as a whole. Thank you to the public safety personnel who responded that night - many of whom were off duty - as well as those who investigated and helped residents rebuild their lives.
"I would like to also thank Chief Gary Coons who oversaw the operations at Richmond Hills the day after the explosion."
Division of Homeland Security Chief Gary Coons also weighed in:
"My heart and thoughts are with the Richmond Hill families as this has been a long path to holding someone accountable. I pray for the families of Dion and Jennifer Longworth and Richmond Hills residents."
Jurors listened to more than three hours of closing arguments and two hours of instructions before being dismissed to spend Monday evening sequestered at a downtown South Bend hotel free from newspapers, television and the internet.
A box containing jurors' cell phones sits on the desk of Judge Marnocha's secretary who has been sworn in as one of the two baliffs in charge of the jury.
Leonard was found guilty to the November 10, 2012, natural gas explosion of his then-girlfriend Monserrate Shirley's house as part of an insurance fraud scheme in the Richmond Hill neighborhood.
His trial was moved to South Bend to avoid the media glare of the Indianapolis community as well as the difficulty of finding jurors who did not have personal knowledge of the tragedy, either due to their proximity of its south side location or contacts with the hundreds of victims.
Counts 1 and 2 are Felony Murder charges for the deaths of neighbors Jennifer and Dion Longworth.
Count 3 is a Conspiracy to Commit Arson count, an A level felony, which charges that Leonard, Bob Leonard, Jr., and Shirley agreed in concert to remove a step down regulator and a fireplace valve and set a microwave oven as the timing device in the home at 8349 Fieldfare Way to present the conditions and ignition device to damage the residence. Conviction on this charge would result in a 20-50 year sentence with a presumptive term of 30 years.
During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson began her recitation of the charges with this count, telling jurors that this crime is the gateway to the entire case.
Count 4 is a Conspiracy to Commit Arson charge, a B level felony, which alleges the conspirators decided to fill the house with natural gas as the fuel for the explosion. Conviction on this charge carries a 6-20 year sentence with a presumptive term of ten years.
Counts 5-16 are Felony Level A Arson counts related to injuries to a number of Richmond Hill residents the night of the blast carrying the potential of 20-50 year sentences for conviction on each charge with a presumptive term of 30 years.
Counts 17-50 are Felony Level B Arson charges alleging destruction of dozens of homes in Richmond Hill, including Shirley's residence in which Bank of America, as the holder of two mortgages, is listed as the victim, and a catch-all count of houses damaged but not destroyed. Conviction on each one of these charges carries a potential 6-20 year prison sentence and a presumptive term of ten years.
Count 51 is Conspiracy to Commit Insurance Fraud, a C level felony, with a possibility of a 2-8 year prison term and a presumptive sentence of four years. Prosecutors allege, and the Defense acknowledged, that Leonard and Shirley were attempting to cash in a $300,000 contents insurance policy from State Farm Insurance and while some monies were paid out, in whole, the claim was eventually denied for lack of verification and fraud.
Counts 52 and 53 are Murder, punishable by 45-65 years in prison with a presumptive sentence of 55 years, or life without parole (LWOP).
Defense attorneys argued that their client did not have the knowledge or intent to participate in a fatal plot and should therefore be found guilty of Reckless Homicide.
During his closing instructions, Judge Marnocha instructed jurors on both verdict options.
In Counts 52 and 53, Leonard faces Murder charges for the deaths of the Longworths during the commission of arson. Conviction of those charges would trigger the LWOP or a standard sentence under Indiana's then-existing criminal code of 45-65 years in prison with the presumptive sentence of 55 years, which could be added to or subtracted from due to aggravating or mitigating factors.
Should the jury convict Leonard of the Murder counts, it would then hear testimony regarding the potential sentence and retire for deliberations.
All other applicable sentences on the following charges would be up to the discretion of Judge Marnocha, but rendered essentially moot by the term of Life Without Parole if the jury so chooses.
Should the jurors weigh the testimony of Steve Shand, a forensic chemist who appeared on behalf of the State, they may decide that while Leonard was responsible for the deaths of the Longworths, he did not intend to kill them.
Shand testified that with more than 30 years experience investigating arson, he had never seen, in his words, such a "perfect storm" of factors come together as those that did on a Saturday night two-and-a-half years ago in Indianapolis. The chemist said that engineers and scientists could spend their entire careers trying to replicate the conditions that existed that night inside the Shirley house and never repeat the explosion that obliterated the residence and damaged or destroyed 80 more.
"They didn't have a clue as to what they were doing," Shand told jurors. "They got lucky."
But the chemist also testified that he found evidence of gasoline splashed throughout Shirley's house, an indicator, argue prosecutors, of the dedication the plotters had to destroying, not just damaging, the residence and proof that the conspirators should have known their fire and explosion had the potential to rage out of control.
Leaving the courthouse Monday, Robinson expressed confidence in her presentation to the jury while Defense Attorney David Shircliff reiterated his contention that any testimony from Shirley versus her former lover should be viewed with skepticism by jurors.
Shirley reached a Plea Agreement with prosecutors in January with a pledge to testify against her co-conspirators and plead guilty to two counts of Arson which will result in a potential 20-50 year prison term but could be reduced to probation and time served dating back to her arrest on December 21, 2012.
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