On November 10, 2012, the serene community of Richmond Hill, Indiana, was abruptly shaken by a vivid and massive blast.
“We thought we were being bombed,” recounted Abby Jackson in Netflix’s Worst Neighbor Ever. “Our entire house seemed to lift off its foundation.”
Panicked, residents fled their homes, grabbing children and pets as fiery chaos unfolded. Amid the commotion, some found themselves trapped under wreckage, desperately crying out for rescue.
The house belonging to Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley and her partner, Mark Leonard, had exploded mysteriously. Fortunately, they were miles away, unaffected by the blast.
Tragically, neighbors Jennifer and Dion Longworth perished in the ensuing inferno, their remains so severely charred that identification required dental records.
What initially appeared to be a natural gas explosion soon exposed a deadly conspiracy.
Who Are Moncy Shirley and Mark Leonard?
Moncy and her then-husband lived in the tight-knit community on Fieldfare Way, where residents popped by each other’s homes and watched their children play together.
The critical-care nurse from Puerto Rico hosted weekly dinners and charmed neighbors with her funny and fearless outlook.
“The first time I met Moncy, she told me she’d had her boobs done,” neighbor Gloria joked in the docuseries, “and as long as there [were] plastic surgeons on this Earth, there was never a reason to look old.”
When Moncy got divorced, she jumped into the dating scene, and soon brought home a new boyfriend.
“Moncy came running out and said, ‘Hey, I want you to meet Mark. He’s an amazing guy and he makes so much money,’” fellow neighbor Abby said in the docuseries. “That was her big thing.”
But Mark made neighbors uneasy—he wore an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and seemed to have a negative influence over Moncy.
“Moncy became a different person,” said Gloria. “She quit waving high, there wasn’t that friendly interaction anymore. It was just all about her and him.”
The Richmond Hill Fire Reveals a Deadly Insurance Scheme
“I believe 12 people there were injured,” former Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth said in the docuseries. “Thirty-plus residents’ homes were destroyed, 60 to 80 more homes were damaged.”
The blast itself was impressive—roughly equivalent to three tons of TNT—and its aftermath exposed clues.
The home’s water pressure regulator and fireplace shut-off valve had been mysteriously removed, while a microwave containing a metal container was so twisted and jagged that, according to the doc, investigators believed it held a substance that ignited the fire. The appliance manual also revealed a 24-hour delayed-start feature, indicating that someone may have scheduled the explosion.
Surveillance video from the night of the explosion, shown in the episode, showed Moncy and Mark playing games at a Lawrenceburg casino before lingering at the bar for hours. According to Hollingsworth, they were “essentially doing nothing.”
Just as strange, the pair had not booked an overnight hotel room.
“It’s because they knew they weren’t going to stay there,” said Hollingsworth, “because their house was going to blow up and they would be notified and they’d have to come back to Indianapolis.”
Investigators then learned about Mark’s brother, Bob Leonard.
A restaurant employee reported that the night before the explosion, the brothers had stopped by and questioned him about his background working at a gas company.
“He had no idea that the Leonard brothers were taking this information into account on how to cause the explosion,” said Hollingsworth in the doc. “They were careful about it, not to show their hand.”
Then, Bob’s DNA was found on Moncy’s front door and a motive emerged.
According to a 2017 Indiana Supreme Court opinion, Mark suggested that he and Moncy burn down her house to collect insurance money, with the help of his brother and friend Gary Thompson.
Before the explosion, Mark encouraged Moncy to increase her insurance to $300,000, according to the opinion.
After two previous attempts, their plan succeeded, but at an unexpected cost: Dion died in his basement, while Jennifer burned to death in an upstairs bedroom, according to the opinion.
On Dec. 21, 2012, Moncy, Mark and Bob were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit arson, and multiple counts of arson, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. All three pleaded not guilty.
Gary was arrested two years later, in Jan. 2015, and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit arson and multiple counts of arson, the prosecutor’s office noted.
Later that year, Moncy testified against the Leonard brothers, in exchange for pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson, according to USA Today. She was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Bob and Mark were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Mark died in prison in Jan. 2018.
Meanwhile, Gary was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 10 years suspended.
The neighborhood was never the same after the explosion—houses were torn down, property was sold, and some moved away, haunted by the memories. Yet, a bond remains between the people of Richmond Hill.
“It really did show all of us that in the worst-case scenario,” said neighbor Kat Olvey, “you can really expect your people to show up for you.”