Man gets 2 life sentences, 75 years in Indiana house blast

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An Indianapolis man should have known the likely outcome of blowing up a house at a time when most people were home, a judge said today, calling him the "prime mover" in the scheme who deserved consecutive life sentences without parole for killing two neighbors.

St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge John Marnocha also sentenced Mark Leonard, 46, to another 75 years on arson and conspiracy charges, dismissing arguments by his attorneys that he wasn't the person who physically caused the November 2012 blast that destroyed or damaged more than 80 homes.

"He was not a bystander who got caught up in the plans of others," Marnocha said. "He made the plans."

Marnocha said Leonard turned the house into a bomb in what prosecutors described as a plot to trigger a natural gas explosion at his then-girlfriend's home to collect $300,000 in insurance. A jury convicted Leonard on July 14 of murder, arson and conspiracy. Homeowner Monserrate Shirley has pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges as part of a plea agreement, and Leonard's half brother and two others are awaiting trial.

The judge started the hearing by deciding that Leonard should be sentenced to life without parole because prosecutors had proved three factors — more than one person was killed, an explosion was involved and 34-year-old John "Dion" Longworth had burned to death. Longworth's 36-year-old wife, Jennifer, was killed instantly.