INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The half brother of a man serving two life sentences in a deadly 2012 Indianapolis house explosion that devastated a subdivision is facing a weeks long trial for his alleged role in that insurance scheme blast.
Jury selection is set for Tuesday in Allen Superior Court in Bob Leonard’s trial on two murder counts and other charges. His trial was moved from Indianapolis due to pre-trial publicity.
Prosecutors allege the 57-year-old took part in a plot to collect $300,000 in insurance that filled the house of his half brother’s then-girlfriend with natural gas and blew it up.
The November 2012 blast killed two neighbors and destroyed or damaged more than 80 homes.
Leonard’s half brother, Mark Leonard, was convicted in July of murder, arson and other charges and sentenced to two life sentences. The ex-girlfriend, Monserrate Shirley, pleaded guilty last year to two conspiracy charges.
