Explosion destroys homes in Ind., 2 dead

[KissMy]

Looks like a natural gas explosion.

There was one here 2 streets away. The home owner was asleep on his living room couch when it happened. It blew the couch with him in it out into the driveway. He was basically ok considering his roof was in the neighbors yard & his house was in pieces.

 

[KissMy]

They still do not have a reason for the explosion.

Deadly Indianapolis house blast ruined 31 homes, officials say - latimes.com

He probably ate some of my wife's chili & farted near an open flame.

 

[CaféAuLait]

Looks like this may have been intentional. Whats strange is the home owner ( who owned the home with her ex husband or soon to be ex) and her boyfirend happened to be out of town. Her adult daughter who lived with her was also out of the home, spending the night at a friends home the night of the explosion and the cat was even boarded at the vet. I wonder if it was a insurance scam of some sort, which ended up taking out more than just their home.

Indiana home explosion now homicide investigation

INDIANAPOLIS -- The investigation into the Nov. 10 explosion that killed two people and damaged dozens of homes in the Richmond Hills subdivision is now a criminal homicide investigation that includes a hunt for a white van seen in the neighborhood before the blast, authorities announced Monday night.

"At this time we're here to inform you that we're turning this into a criminal homicide investigation," Gary Coons, chief of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety's Homeland Security division, told the media at a press conference.

Indiana home explosion now homicide investigation | ksdk.com

 

[waltky]

Indiana Blast Probe Now a Homicide Case...

Authorities call Richmond Hill explosion a homicide case, seek details on white van
Nov 19, 2012 - Blast that killed 2, hit 86 homes was no accident, investigators say

Law enforcement officials Monday confirmed what many residents at the site of a deadly blast on the southside Nov. 10 suspected: foul play. Officials made clear that they think the home explosion that killed two people and damaged 86 houses in the Richmond Hill subdivision was not an accident. “At this time we’re here to inform you that we’re turning this into a criminal homicide investigation,” Gary Coons, chief of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety’s Homeland Security division, said a news conference. But Coons and other officials declined to say why investigators from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Indianapolis Fire Department came to that conclusion.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said that the continuing investigation includes witness interviews and search warrants and that authorities are seeking information about a white van seen in the area. Officials also announced two rewards are being offered — one for $1,000 from Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana and another for $10,000 from ATF — for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the blast. “If anyone has information about a white van seen in the Richmond Hills subdivision the afternoon of Nov. 10 ... we ask that such information be communicated,” to authorities, Curry said.

Richmond Hill residents were told about the developments during a meeting at Southport Presbyterian Church to update them on rebuilding. Some of those who attended said they were saddened but not surprised. “Most people figured that something like this had to be more than an accident,” said Doug Alridge, who runs a crime watch program in the area. “Especially with the large police presence that’s been there all week.” For about three weeks, Alridge said, he had seen a white van in the neighborhood and in front of the house that is considered the epicenter of the blast.

He said it was a windowless work van, about 15 years old. “It was out there about every other day,” said Alridge, who did regular patrols of the neighborhood. “But you don’t just see a van and automatically say, ‘That’s suspicious.’” Chris Sutton, 29, an electrical engineer who lives in the neighborhood, said it “was kind of scary” that the explosion might have been criminal. “But people were beginning to think that way anyway,” he said. At the same time, he said, “it gives us peace of mind.” “We wish it didn’t come to this but it is beginning to answer some questions,” he said.

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[CaféAuLait]

SWAT team with manned tanks decend on suspects home related to Indiana Explosion:

The couple says their neighbor Bob Leonard was led away for questioning. Leonard is the brother of Mark Leonard, who is dating Montserrate Shirley, who along with Mark Leonard, lives in the home that exploded.

Indiana Neighborhood Explosion: Two Questioned in Connection to Blast - ABC News

 

[CaféAuLait]

3 charged in deadly Indianapolis home explosion

(CNN) -- Three Indiana residents were arrested Friday on charges of arson and felony murder in a fatal house explosion in Indianapolis in November, according to the Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor's office.

Monserrate Shirley and brothers Mark Leonard and Bob Leonard Jr. were arrested Friday morning and charged with two counts of felony murder in the deaths of John and Jennifer Longworth, the neighbors of Shirley and Mark Leonard who were killed by the explosion at Shirley's home in the Richmond Hill area on November 10.

3 charged in deadly Indianapolis home explosion - CNN.com