Richmond Hill prosecutors plan to present insurance fraud motive

Desperate for money — due, in part, to mounting gambling and credit card debt, and the possible foreclosure of a heavily mortgaged home — the suspects in the 2012 Richmond Hill explosion allegedly turned to an insurance fraud scam to solve their financial problems.

That's the motive prosecutors plan to put forth in the murder and arson trials of Mark Leonard, Monserrate Shirley and Bob Leonard, according to recently filed court documents.

Mark Leonard, his half-brother, Bob Leonard, and Shirley, Mark Leonard's former girlfriend, are charged with murder and 46 counts of arson and conspiracy to commit arson in the Nov. 10, 2012, blast that killed Shirley's next-door neighbors, John and Jennifer Longworth.

The explosion damaged more than 80 homes in the Southeastside subdivision and upended the lives of dozens of families.

The state's "Motion of Intent to Offer Motive Evidence" is among a flurry of behind-the-scenes filings and action in the criminal cases moving slowly toward trial on individual but parallel tracks.

Attorneys for the suspects also are seeking to:

• Move the trials from Marion County due to the extensive publicity about the crimes.

• Break the trials of the Leonards into two parts, first addressing the arson charges before any mention of the murders can be made.

• Stipulate to the damage and injuries, rather than face a parade of more than 100 witnesses testifying about their losses.

• Make the state reveal any deals made with witnesses or informants.

• Suppress an incriminating statement Bob Leonard made after his arrest.

The next courtroom action in the case is scheduled for the week of July 28-Aug. 1, when Marion Superior Judge Sheila A. Carlisle will preside over a hearing on Mark Leonard's request to move his trial to another county. Carlisle will conduct similar hearings in the coming months for Shirley and Bob Leonard, but no dates have been set.

The judge has not yet ruled on the other recent defense requests.

In their motions to split, or bifurcate, the Leonards' trials, defense attorneys are asking that the state be required to first provide "scientifically reliable evidence" of the men's knowingly and intentional act of arson. Only then, they contend, should the state be allowed to present evidence about the alleged murder of the Longworths.

The motion to stipulate to injury and damages is intended to assist "judicial effeciency," the defense motions note, and avoid unduly prejudicing jurors.

Calling in excess of 100 victims, the defense attorneys say, would create a "drumbeat" of injury and loss that "would weigh on jurors sympathy."

Defense attorneys also are seeking information on deals the state has made with potential witnesses who assisted investigators and prosecutors, a move that could help them rebut damning testimony against the Leonards and Shirley.

Bob and Mark Leonard also are asking the judge to throw out a statement Bob Leonard made to investigators on Nov. 20, 2012, a month before the trio was charged in the case. The requests say the defense expects the statement to be entered into evidence by prosecutors.

The request says the statement was not given voluntarily because it was obtained as a "result of physical and/or mental coercion." It also says it came as a result of an unfulfilled promise of leniency and that Bob Leonard had not been "correctly or fully advised of his rights."

Prosecutors are likely to face a challenge to their plan to use the insurance fraud motive. In the state's motion, prosecutors say they intended to present general evidence of mortgage liabilities, the threat of foreclosure and Shirley's inability to sell the home and that the insurance coverage had been increased prior to the explosion.

The financial picture was not a pretty one, especially for Shirley, according to court records reviewed by The Star. They show that in 2007, Shirley and her then-husband, John Shirley, filed jointly for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Court records show they had liabilities of nearly $410,000 and assets of about $316,000.

Among their liabilities were two mortgages on the Fieldfare Way house, on which they owed $225,794. The house's value was listed as $230,000, according to court records.

The couple divorced in February 2011. According to divorce records, Monserrate Shirley, an intensive-care nurse, assumed full responsibility for paying the home's mortgage.

The house was listed for $149,900 in late 2011 as a possible short sale, but it was pulled off the market in March at the request of the owner, according to real estate listings.

But financial pressures apparently continued to mount. According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case:

• Shirley has run up $63,000 in credit card debt.

• Mark Leonard told a friend three weeks ago that he recently lost about $10,000 at a casino and then put the debt on Shirley's credit card.

• Shirley increased the insurance coverage on her personal property on Dec. 20, 2011, to $304,000. That was in addition to the coverage she had on the house.

A week before the explosion, Mark Leonard told a friend he was surfing on Craigslist, "looking for a Ferrari to buy," the affidavit said.

When asked how he could afford it, Leonard replied the couple expected to get $300,000, of which he would get $100,000.

Reporter John Russell contributed to this story. Call Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim