Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley caused a massive explosion in her beloved Richmond Hill neighborhood in November 2012

Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley went through with a sinister plan that resulted in one couple’s death and several destroyed homes.

Shirley was born and raised in Puerto Rico before moving to the mainland United States and becoming a nurse, according to her court statements, per Fox 59. She lived in the Richmond Hill subdivision of Indianapolis, with her husband and their daughter for several years in the early 2000s.

However, Shirley’s behavior started to change when she and her husband got divorced, and she started dating Mark Leonard in 2011. Around one year after meeting, Shirley and Mark purposely caused a massive explosion to her house with the hopes of making it look like an accident and collecting home insurance, prosecutors alleged. Unfortunately, the November 2012 explosion caused more damage than just to their home.

Shirley’s next-door neighbors, John “Dion” Longworth and his wife Jennifer Longworth, were tragically killed as a result of the explosion. An additional 33 homes ended up being destroyed, as well, per WRTV.

While investigators initially believed that it was a horrific natural gas incident, they quickly honed in on Shirley and Mark after finding several suspicious pieces of evidence. The couple — along with three others — were arrested in connection with arson and the murders.

The explosion and investigation were both featured in the second episode of the Netflix docuseries Worst Neighbor Ever, titled “Midwest Meltdown,” which hit the streamer on July 1.

Here’s everything to know about where Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley is now.

Who is Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley?

Shirley, who was originally from Puerto Rico, had been living in the mainland U.S. since she was 25 years old, according to her court statements.

She initially immigrated to Michigan to study nursing and later moved to the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Indianapolis with her husband, John Shirley, around 2004. The couple lived there with their daughter Brooke.

Meanwhile, Shirley continued practicing nursing at the VA hospital and later transitioned to St. Francis Hospital South and Community Hospital South. Shirley and John separated and got divorced in 2010, so John moved out, but she and her daughter stayed in the home.

How did Shirley know Mark?

After getting divorced, Shirley’s behavior started to change, according to her friends and neighbors in Worst Neighbor Ever.

Shirley’s friend and neighbor, Abby Lewis, remembered distancing herself from Shirley after noticing she became more “wild.” Lewis claimed that Shirley was “going out to bars, seeing doctors at the hospital and being with all kinds of men.”

During one of her nights out in November 2011, she met Mark at a bar called Crazy Street, per her testimony. She went to the bar with one of her girlfriends and claimed that Mark, who allegedly had a roofing company, was “staring at me right away.” The two hit it off, and he ended up spending the night at her house.

Just one month later, Mark moved in with Shirley. The neighbors started noticing him more and noted that she was becoming a “different person,” per next door neighbor Gloria Olvey.

Over the next few months, Mark brought Shirley to casinos, and they started gambling and losing thousands of dollars. By November 2012, Shirley and Mark had $63,000 in credit card debt, two additional mortgages and consistently had been losing up to $10,000 at a time at casinos, per the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.

What did Shirley and Mark do?

In February 2012, Mark approached Shirley with the idea of burning down her house to collect $300,000 in home insurance, per her court testimony.

Shirley recalled him telling her that he was “going to show you how to make money.” She maintained that the plan was to increase the home insurance and then set a fire in the garage.

“I thought it was crazy, but I went along with him,” Shirley testified in court, per Indianapolis Monthly.

Over the course of the next few months, Mark and Shirley concocted their plan — which included recruiting his brother, Bob Leonard, and two others.

On Nov. 10, 2012, Shirley and Mark left the house after taking out all the valuable items and headed to a casino, prosecutors later alleged. Before leaving, they removed key valves to fill the home with natural gas. Later that day, Bob went to the home, put a metal bottle inside the microwave and set its delayed start timer.

Shortly after 11 p.m. that night, Shirley’s home, located at 8349 Fieldfare Way, exploded in a massive blaze that ended up setting over two dozen nearby homes on fire, as well.

“At first, we thought we were being bombed,” Lewis remembered. “Our whole house lifted off of the foundation.”

Dion and Jennifer, who were Shirley’s next-door neighbors, were horrifically killed after their home was immediately set ablaze. In addition to the young couple, 12 neighbors were injured and 33 homes were destroyed, according to Indianapolis Monthly.

Where is Moncy Shirley now?

Shirley and Mark initially maintained that the explosion was a tragic accident they had nothing to do with, and her neighbors and police initially believed them.

However, that all changed just a few days later when investigators noticed gas valves, expensive furniture and electronics all missing from the home. Investigators also found a combusted microwave and imploded metal water bottle that could have caused the spark to set off the explosion.

On Dec. 21, 2012, Shirley and the Leonard brothers were arrested and charged with murder and conspiracy to commit arson. Two additional people were also arrested for the crime years later.

Three years after her arrest, Shirley changed her not guilty plea and accepted a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson in exchange for testifying against the Leonard brothers.

Shirley is currently serving her 50-year sentence in prison at Madison Correctional Facility in Madison, Ind., per inmate records. She has a projected release date of Sept. 9, 2036.

Mark received two consecutive life in prison sentences plus 75 years without parole in August 2015 and he died three years later, while incarcerated. Bob was sentenced to two life sentences without parole plus 70 years.

Source: https://people.com/where-is-moncy-shirley-now-worst-neighbors-ever-12015153