There are bad neighbors, and then there are neighbors who blow up an entire Indiana subdivision. The second episode of Worst Neighbor Ever, “Midwest Meltdown”, reopens the decade-old case of an explosion that rocked Richmond Hill, shattering a tight-knit community for the sake of insurance fraud. Centring on Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley and her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, it’s a slightly different flavour of story when compared to Frances Zaayer and Caroline Joanne Herrling, but these still aren’t people you’d necessarily want living next door.
Not uncommonly for Netflix, the scandalous nature of the case has led to a groundswell of interest in what really happened, especially to Moncy and Mark Leonard, with the reality of the aftermath providing a chilling climax that helps the story fit right in with the other terrifying tales collected by the Blumhouse docuseries.
The Richmond Hill Explosion
As mentioned, Richmond Hill, Indiana, was a close-knit community, and for a long time, Moncy Shirley was an integral, beloved part of it. Things changed, though, following her divorce from her husband, John, leading to fraying relationships with her long-time friends and neighbours (it’s basically a real-life version of Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, which seems increasingly well-titled all the time).
These rifts were not exactly repaired when Moncy tried to introduce her new boyfriend, Mark Leonard, into the social circle. Leonard’s criminal record, ankle monitor, and general demeanour raised a few curious eyebrows in response, putting a damper on Moncy’s planned return to social form.
Naturally, when, on November 10, 2012, Moncy’s house exploded, Leonard was linked to it. The explosion killed two people nearby, Dion and Jennifer Longworth, two occupants in the house at 8355 Fieldfare Way, injured dozens more, and destroyed upwards of 30 properties, resulting in damages estimated at $4 million. Investigators would eventually determine that the cause was a natural gas explosion that had been set deliberately to collect an insurance payout to the tune of $300,000.
Mark Leonard, the Mastermind
Mark Leonard had previous form for insurance fraud scams. In 2009, a woman he had met on a dating site after the death of her husband filed a small claims case against him to recoup a large sum of money that he had borrowed and failed to repay.
The scheme he cooked up with Moncy, though, upped the levels. The idea was to blow the house by filling it with natural gas and using a microwave spark as an ignition. Since microwaves operate on a timer, the plan was to be out of the property when the explosion triggered. It took two prior, failed attempts before the November 10 effort was successful.
Despite complicity from Moncy and three other men, including his brother, Leonard was considered the mastermind. As far as Moncy’s former neighbors were concerned, sometimes judging a book by its cover – or at least its ankle monitor – is justified.
A Scheme Blown Wide Open
Mark Leonard was found guilty of 53 counts, including arson and felony murder, and received two life imprisonment terms and an additional 75 years for good measure. It doesn’t seem like killing anyone was the point of the scheme, but it’s kind of beside the point when you’re detonating entire neighborhoods. Leonard was also sentenced to an additional 50 years after being convicted of trying to hire a hitman to kill a witness in the case while awaiting trial in Marion County Jail.
For her involvement, Moncy Shirley, who pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson, was sentenced to 50 years. She avoided life without parole in a plea deal, testifying against her co-conspirators for leniency.
On the back of Moncy’s self-preservation snitching, Mark’s brother Bob (or Bill, depending on the reporting) was sentenced to two life terms plus an additional 70 years, having been found guilty of the same counts as his brother, while Gary Thompson and Glenn Hults were also charged further down the line. Thompson secured a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years, while Hults was sentenced to three years.
Where are Mark Leonard and Moncy Shirley Now?
Mark Leonard would still be in prison, but he died of natural causes while behind bars in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, where his brother remains and will continue to serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole. It’s difficult to say who got off easier there.
Moncy Shirley, meanwhile, also remains in prison, in Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis; however, her cooperation with prosecutors means that she’s unlikely to spend her life there and will one day return to a neighborhood — perhaps one near you.
