Defendant in Indiana house explosion gets maximum 50 years
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana judge sentenced a woman Tuesday to 50 years in prison for her role in a deadly Indianapolis house explosion, which prosecutors say stemmed from a plot to collect insurance money.
Monserrate Shirley, 51, was one of five people charged in the explosion that left two people dead. Shirley had earlier co-operated in providing testimony against alleged co-conspirators but received the maximum prison sentence available to the judge.
Shirley, who sentencing stretched over two days because of a large number of people who wished to give victim-impact statements, also addressed the hearing and tearfully apologized to the family of the couple who died, Jennifer and John Longworth.
“This is something that will be in my heart forever,” she said.