Casefile True Crime - Case 140: Richmond Hill

Episode Date: March 28, 2020

Just after midnight on November 10 2012, a loud and frightening sound erupted in the Indianapolis subdivision of Richmond Hill. The force was so powerful that it registered on a regional earthquake sensor and homes were left rattling from the impact. Emergency services raced to the scene but were unable to save the lives of two residents, Dion and Jennifer Longworth.  --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Elsha McGill Creative Director: Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-140-richmond-hill

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. At 10 minutes past 11 on the night of Saturday November 10, 2012, a loud 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, 9-1-1 was jammed with over 500 calls from frantic locals reporting that their homes were left

rattling from the impact. The noise had originated in Richmond Hill, one of many suburban subdivisions in the Perry Township, 11 miles south of the city. The relatively new middle-class neighborhood was made up of 125 immaculate houses similar in design, single or double-story 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 smock golf course. Emergency services rushed to Richmond Hill and found the area in complete chaos. Properties were in varying states of destruction, windows were shattered, walls cracked or collapsed, doors blown off their hinges, and ceilings caved in.

Insulation and ash 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 Hill's proximity to a municipal airport led to speculation that a plane had crashed. Others were convinced a 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 8355, 34-year-old Dion Longworth had been on the ground 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 plasterboard, 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 Belongworth's house with an axe, but the heat made it difficult to stay close. Dion 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. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment.

The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. The blaze was under control by the following moment. 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 explosion's point of origin, ruling out possible causes as they went.

The house alongside the Longworths, number 8349 Field Fairway, had sustained the worst damage. It had been completely levelled, with nothing but a pile of ash and debris remaining. Homeowner, 47-year-old intensive care nurse, Montserrati 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, Montserrati and Mark had been 90 miles away at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg for a weekend getaway, and Montserrati'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 household's gas provider three weeks prior, a volume equivalent to three tons of TNT. When speaking with an investigator, Montserrati and Mark reported that a week before the blast, the distinct 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 lay with the digital thermostat, so he purchased and installed an older manual model, but it didn't

fix the problem, so Montserrati asked him to switch it back the next day. The source of the gas leak 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 toolmarks indicating it had been intentionally removed prior to the explosion. An extensive search of neighbouring 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 2pm 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 household's microwave, a General Electric Spacemaker XL model. Its door had been blown off and recovered elsewhere, meaning the appliance had sustained a build-up 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 appliance's instruction manual and 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. Montserrati Shirley 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, Montserrati 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 2,784 square feet, with an attached two-car garage and rear patio for entertaining.

Over the years, John and Montserrati's relationship deteriorated, and in 2011, they filed for divorce. As part of the settlement, Montserrati kept the house, with John agreeing to pay monthly child support and to financially contribute towards school fees. Following her divorce, Montserrati 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. There's was a whirlwind romance, and a few weeks after meeting Montserrati, 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. Montserrati 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 it 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, a funeral service was held for

Dion and Jennifer Longworth at St Barnabas 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 vases of sunflowers, which were Dion's favorite. Over 500 mourners attended, as Dion 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 Valls, 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 Montserrati Shirley's daughter, and over the past three weekends, including the date of the blast, Montserrati had placed the cat

in a kennel. This was uncharacteristic of her, as Montserrati wasn't known to board Snowball when away from home. Montserrati and Mark's 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 they returned to the front desk in the morning to extend to their stay, 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, Montserrati 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 Montserrati's 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 at Montserrati'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 2pm. 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 con, 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, convince them to place sizeable bets on his behalf, then keep any winnings. According to Mark, Montserrati 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 Montserrati, Mark was on house arrest, with his movements monitored by a GPS ankle tracker. A relative informed police that another of Mark's scams was to intentionally set off the airbags in his car, then submit a claim with his insurance agency.

Upon receiving the settlement, he would keep the money instead of replacing the airbags. He had also stolen a truck, insured it in his brother's name, and then set it on fire, pocketing the payout. He owed $77,000 in civil lawsuits, and racked up over $60,000 in unpaid accounts. Three weeks before the explosion, Mark confided in a friend that he had lost $10,000 at the casino. Montserrati's bank records revealed that she had financial trouble of her own. Struggling with their $160,000 mortgage, she and her ex-husband had filed for bankruptcy in 2007, with Montserrati 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 $63,000 in credit card debt and still owed $99,000 in bankruptcy repayments, which she had stopped paying. A court hearing had been scheduled in July to address this matter, but Montserrati 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 Montserrati and Mark, the press requested interviews and social media

ran rife with rumours about their personal lives. Montserrati told a local news station, I don't wish this on no one. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up. I don't eat. I don't sleep. Everyone's been asking questions. I don't have no financial issues. I'm devastated that I lost it all. My neighbour lost a life. That my whole neighbourhood is destroyed. They need to wait till 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 two remain horrified at the tragic events, destruction and 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 Montserrati Shirley or Mark Leonard had orchestrated the November 10th 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 a 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 a $300,000 payout. This conversation occurred eight days before the explosion. Duckworth's statement indicated that Mark and Montserrati 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 Bob 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. On December 21, 2012, almost six weeks after the Richmond Hill explosion, Montserrati,

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 faced 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 the 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 Montserrati's 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 Robert Smitty-Smith, a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang and neo-Nati organization. As the soulmates got to know one another, Mark 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 Montserrati were away for the weekend, but Bob had broken the line completely, causing the explosion.

He believed the strongest piece of evidence the prosecutors had against him was Mark Duckworth's 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. Mark 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 to Duckworth's house was included, along with details about the car he drove. Smitty told Mark that he knew a hitman 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 fucking pound it through his fucking groin area and hang him from a tree? He offered Jay a $5,000 bonus if he could force Duckworth to call 911 and to retract the information he had previously given to police by saying,

I did not mean to frame Mark and Montserrati 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 pausing 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 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, Montserrati surely 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 wore Indianapolis Colts merchandise

in tribute of the Longworth's favorite football team and held a minute 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, Montserrati'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. Montserrati's cooperation would help clarify the unexplained details of the crime and settle their suspicions whether any other people were involved. Yet Montserrati 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 Montserrati surely on her own would never have caused this crime, it could not have happened without her.

Eventually, the prosecution agreed to the deal, much to the disapproval of Richmond Hill's community who wanted to see their former neighbor given the maximum sentence of life without parole. On January 20, Montserrati started talking. Within weeks of moving into Richmond Hill, Mark Leonard suggested Montserrati 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, Mark's true character began to unravel. He wasn't the high roller he made himself

out to be. After the explosion, he told blossom judicators he owned a premium condition Cadillac and Tali 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 undrivable. In early 2012, Mark'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 Montserrati how easy it was. Glenn warned the pair to be careful as he knew someone who had been sentenced to 75 years imprisonment

for arson. As Montserrati 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. Montserrati surely, quote, I thought it was crazy but I went along with him. Mark revisited the scam towards the end of October 2012. Gary Thompson had agreed to help but they just needed Montserrati's 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 canal, sent her daughter to stay with a friend, loaded her valuable and sentimental items into Mark's van and the pair checked in to Hollywood Casino. Mark had offered Gary $5,000 to dump six large

cans of gasoline inside Montserrati's house but he panicked and couldn't go through with it. He was supposed to call Mark and Montserrati 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. Mark turned on the fireplace's 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. Montserrati also begged him to call the whole thing off, offering him the $10,000 in her retirement

fund. But Mark was set on the six-figure 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 p.m. the next day, Montserrati received word of the explosion and returned to Richmond Hill, where her and Mark discovered the magnitude of damage, injuries, and deaths it had caused. Police questioned 44-year-old Gary Thompson, who admitted involvement in the scheme and corroborated Montserrati's version of events. Although adamant that he was nowhere near filled fair way 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 Montserrati's house on fire. Police checked Glenn's phone records, which showed 10 calls and text messages between himself and Mark Leonard during the first two weeks of November 2012. On April 14, 2015, Glenn was arrested for conspiracy to commit arson, becoming the fifth arrest in the Richmond Hill explosion case. On Monday, June 8, 2015, Mark 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 labelled it as, quote, a stupid and selfish insurance fraud that went horribly wrong. They called Montserrati a master liar who was fully in on the plan from the outset. The prosecution argued that Mark knew that the entire house would be destroyed, as he had advised Montserrati to remove her belongings and relocate her daughter and cat. 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 right-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. The five-week trial saw the submission of over 2,000 pieces of evidence and the testimony of hundreds of witnesses, including Montserrati Shirley as part of her plea deal. She said she went along with her boyfriend's plan because, quote, I was scared. I loved him so much. I would do anything to make him happy. Outside court, Mark's 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's 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 gang 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

off the grave like I do every week, and get right back to business. Deion Longworth's father, John, said the jury had made the right choice, adding, this doesn't change anything. It means he won't hurt anybody else outside of prison. But Deion and Jennifer are still not with me. During Mark Leonard's sentencing hearing a month later, Deion 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 Montserrati. 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 hardworking 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 share the space of a sealed box not much bigger than a gallon of milk. I hate that his tortured 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 Manoka 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 thefts, unfortunately, but I think people shouldn't have to worry that someone might destroy the entire neighborhood.

Mark Leonard received two life sentences without parole. Six months later, on January 21, 2016, Mark's brother Bob Leonard was tried in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with over 150 witnesses called to testify. When Montserrati took the stand, she explained that upon hearing of Deon 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 Thompson'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, Glenn Holtz 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 not doing anything to stop it. He was sentenced to three years in prison, for which he only served 18 months. Given that Montserrati surely had reached a plea agreement with the prosecution,

she was spared a trial. Instead, her sentencing hearing was held where her family and defense team requested leniency on the basis that Mark Leonard was emotionally abusive, leading to Montserrati's compliance. Her neighbors disputed this, arguing that she was a greedy person, obsessed with portraying a wealthy image. Multiple victim impact statements were read, including one from Dion 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 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 Carlile said to Montserrati, You were a mom. You were a nurse. You were a neighbor. And you were a friend. And in each of those categories, you betrayed your trust. Montserrati surely was sentenced to 50 years in prison. She will be eligible to apply for parole in December 2032, 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 a statement announcing that he had died of natural causes. Upon learning of his brother's death, Bob Leonard said, I've only been in trouble twice in my life, and both times were his fault. I couldn't care less that he's dead. I don't have a bit of sympathy for that son of a bitch. 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 Deion 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 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. As the Longworths were passionate supporters of the Indianapolis Colts football team, the team's owner Jim Ursay was the first

person to make a donation to the fund. Deion was an enthusiastic gardener with an extensive knowledge of native wildflowers and a 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.