Prosecutor looks at death penalty in Ind. home explosion

• 3 each charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson
• Prosecutor has filed only one death penalty case in past 2 years, against man accused of killing cop
• Indiana has not had an execution since December 2009

INDIANAPOLIS — In the next six weeks, Marion County's prosecutor will make a pivotal decision — whether to seek the death penalty against three people charged with murder in a natural gas explosion that leveled a neighborhood.

It's not a chore Terry Curry takes lightly.

"We will be taking an in-depth look into the case itself, but also the profiles of those charged," Curry said. "The decision will be based on facts and not public opinion or notoriety."

If he decides to seek the death penalty, it will be only the second time in two years as prosecutor. He also could decide to seek life in prison without the possibility of parole, something he has done twice.

Authorities last week charged Monserrate Shirley, 47; her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, 43; and his half-brother Robert "Bob" Leonard Jr., 54, each with two counts of murder in connection with the Nov. 10 explosion.

The blast in Shirley's home in the Richmond Hill area about 10 miles south of downtown killed her neighbors, Jennifer Longworth, 36, and her husband, John "Dion" Longworth, 34, and destroyed nearly three dozen homes.

Shirley and Mark Leonard also face charges of conspiracy to commit murder. All three are also charged with 12 counts of arson causing injury, a Class A felony; and 33 counts of arson causing property damage, a Class B felony.

In the next two weeks Curry will meet with a five-member death penalty review committee in his office to examine the case. The panel consists of deputy prosecutors and managers in the prosecutor's office.

The review will take 30 days, and Curry will make the final decision, which he hopes to do before a court hearing Feb. 12.

The only other death penalty case that Curry filed was against a man convicted of killing a police officer. But the man later agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

MAP: Richmond Hill area of Indianapolis

Eleven men are on Death Row in Indiana prisons, but none has an execution date set, said Amy Lanum, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Corrections. No one has been executed in the state since December 2009.

To be eligible for either death or life without parole, at least one "aggravating factor," must apply. Indiana law has a long list of factors such as whether the murder occurred during the commission of another crime including robbery, carjacking or child molestation.

But the defendants would qualify automatically for the death penalty because of another aggravating factor — more than one person was killed during the crime.

Curry will seek the opinion of the victims' relatives, who would need to brace for the time-consuming process of death-penalty appeals.

"It is important that we share this with the families," he said. "They need to know this can be a 12- to 20-year ordeal before they get closure."

Cost is another consideration. Death penalty cases are expensive because state law requires defendants to get two lawyers at the state's expense — a requirement estimated to increase the cost of prosecution by more than 30%.

Indianapolis death penalty lawyer Richard Kammen said that filing death penalty cases against all three defendants would be even more expensive.

"I suspect they would be tried separately," he said. "And then there is a good chance a change of venue could be sought. So we could have three trials in three counties. All that together would drive up the expenses extraordinarily."

Kammen said death penalty cases take longer to try because so many points of law are argued and because a separate hearing is required after conviction.

"A trial that I had in Detroit recently that would normally take three weeks took three months," Kammen said. "Jury selection that usually takes three days takes three weeks."

For all those reasons the filing of death penalty cases has decreased in the past two decades, experts said.

According to Indiana Supreme Court records, three death penalty cases were filed statewide in 2012; one in 2011; and three in 2010.

That compares to 26 death penalty case filings in 1990 and 22 in 1991. The decrease is sometimes attributed to a 1990 state law that gave defendants more protections, went into effect.

The death penalty is most often sought in killings involving police officers or children, experts said.

Steve Sonnega, who has tried two death penalty cases, said prosecutors should be sure they have a "slam dunk" case before seeking death.

"You need a really, really good case because the defense will have every chance to pick at every part of it," he said.

And victims' families have to be committed for the long haul, he said.

"Provability and sustainability are the keys," he said.

The Marion County Public Defender's Office, which is representing the Leonards, was unavailable for comment. Shirley's lawyer, Randall Cable, declined to assess the likelihood that Curry would file for the death penalty.

But he said the state's case looks far from perfect.

"It seems to me they announced charges prematurely," he said. "As I understand it, some of the evidence they have is still in the lab. It takes a long time for that stuff to come back."

Cable said Shirley was "targeted."

"From the beginning they wanted it to be the people in that household," Cable said. "I don't know how much they looked at other possibilities. We just shouldn't rush to judgment on this."

VIDEO: Owner arrested for planning Ind. home explosion