The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the murder and arson convictions of a man serving life in prison for blowing up a house in an insurance scam.
The court ruled unanimously to reject the appeal of Bob Leonard, 58. Leonard was convicted last year on 51 counts related to the November 2012 natural-gas explosion of a house owned by his half-brother’s then-girlfriend. Authorities said that the three planned to blow up the house as part of an insurance scam.
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The explosion damaged or destroyed dozens of other homes, and two neighbors were killed in the blast, according to local NVC affiliate WTHR. Leonard received two consecutive life sentences without parole, plus an additional 70 years.
Leonard’s appeal painted him as a bumbler who only wanted to burn a house for insurance money and couldn’t do it correctly, according to WTHR. The appeal argued that the prosecution had never proved Leonard knowingly and intentionally hurt people. It also argued that Indiana’s sentencing rules for life without parole were unconstitutional.
The Indiana Supreme Court, however, disagreed. The court’s justices ruled unanimously to reject Leonard’s repeal. They found that there was sufficient evidence for the murder convictions, and that Indiana’s statute allowing a sentence of life without parole was constitutional.
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