INDIANAPOLIE -- Monserrate Shirley will face her former neighbors in court Monday as a Marion County judge decides what her sentence should be for her role in the 2012 Richmond Hill Explosion.
It was Shirley's home at 8349 Fieldfare Way that exploded just after 11 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2012 – killing her neighbors, Dion and Jennifer Longworth, and damaging or destroying more than 100 homes in the immediate area.
Shirley was arrested just a month later, along with her then-boyfriend Mark Ray Leonard and his brother, Bob Leonard Jr., on 54 counts, ranging from arson to insurance fraud to murder.
SPECIAL SECTION | Richmond Hill Explosion
Following separate trials in South Bend and Fort Wayne, both Leonard brothers were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
Shirley reached a plea deal with prosecutors in January 2015 to testify against her co-defendants. She also provided information that led to the arrests of two other suspects, Glen Hults and Gary Thompson. In exchange, Shirley will avoid the possibility of life without parole.
TRANSCRIPT | Monserrate Shirley's full testimony at the Richmond Hill Explosion Trial
Shirley has described herself as an unwilling accomplice to the explosion, saying that she was in love with Mark Leonard and that he threatened to kill her and her young daughter if she didn't take part in the insurance scheme.
MORE | Monserrate Shirley says Mark Leonard threatened her, her daughter
In February, testifying at Bob Leonard's trial, Shirley told jurors she thought the Leonards were only going to start a "small fire" in her house in order to collect $300,000 in insurance money. After the house exploded, Shirley said she told them she wanted out – but they threatened her and her daughter.
"Mark Leonard told me if I ever told anyone about this he would cut me into pieces and my daughter … and no one would ever find us," Shirley said. "I was afraid! I didn't want anything to happen to my baby."
Shirley's neighbors will have their day in court against her Monday and Tuesday as they offer statements about how her actions affected their lives and what sentence they think she should receive. She faces as much as 50 years in prison.
The sentencing hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. Follow RTV6 reporters Rafael Sanchez & Jordan Fischer on Twitter at @RafaelonTV and @Jordan_RTV6 for live coverage, as well as on our live blog at TheIndyChannel.com and in the RTV6 mobile app.
