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Last updated on Wednesday, September 10, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The first trial related to the Richmond Hill subdivision explosion is now scheduled to begin in June 2015.
Opening arguments for Mark Leonard's trial are set for June 8 at 1 pm in South Bend.
Leonard faces 54 charges of arson, murder and insurance fraud for the November 10, 2012 explosion that killed two people and damaged dozens of homes. Prosecutors say Leonard, his then-girlfriend Monserrate Shirley and his brother Bob Leonard are accused of planning to blow up her home as part of a plan to defraud the insurance company.
Leonard's trial was moved to St. Joseph County because of pre-trial publicity.
Jury selection is scheduled for the Thursday and Friday, June 4 and June 5, before the trial begins on Monday. The trial is scheduled for 1:00 pm through 6:30pm, Monday through Thursday. No court proceedings will happen on Friday.
In the past, prosecutors estimated the trial would take six to eight weeks. It is unclear whether holding court for only five and a half hours a day, four days a week would extend that time.
Prosecutors also estimate it may cost an extra $700,000 to hold the trial in St. Joseph County. They are planning to rent a large truck to transport all of the evidence. They also say they expect to have about 200 witnesses. However, Leonard's attorneys have filed a motion to reduce than number by simply agreeing what some of the testimony will be.
Judge John Marnocha, in South Bend, also ordered that all previous rulings made by the Marion County judge will stand, unless a change in the law relied upon those rulings.
Leonard will remain in the Marion County jail until he is needed for a hearing in St. Joseph County.
Shirley and Bob Leonard have also asked for a change of trial venue, and the Marion County judge has not yet ruled on those requests.
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