The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed—only transferred from one form to another. For example, dynamite explodes when chemical energy is converted to kinetic energy. It’s an interesting metaphor for a kind of killer we see a lot on True Crime Campfire: the smart, dynamic charmer with everything going for them, who throws it all away by putting their energy into all the wrong stuff: Revenge, or greed, or a lust for power. And like a stick of dynamite, when these people go off, they tend to take innocent people with them. Monserrate Shirley was a bright, attractive ICU nurse with a loving daughter and a beautiful home. She had the potential to do anything she wanted to do. What she did instead was hook up with a guy named Mark Leonard, a con artist with a faux tan and a whole lot of bad ideas about how to get rich quick. Join us for the bizarre true story of a plan gone horribly wrong.

Sources:
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Neighborhood Inferno"
Oxygen's "Killer Couples," episode "Monserrate Shirley and Mark Leonard"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Hill_explosion
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/monserrate-shirley-sentencing-starts-monday/531-c1efed7f-5eff-4f1f-b989-d88067ee5a51
https://www.wrtv.com/longform/but-for-monserrate-shirley-she-was-a-neighbor-a-friend-a-nurse-she-betrayed-it-all
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiYqL-BnKD2AhU0JEQIHVx5AcQQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indystar.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2016%2F12%2F20%2Frichmond-hill-suspect-monserrate-shirley-gets-50-years%2F95657520%2F&usg=AOvVaw3jMrZL-YLV1R88znU7pUaj
https://fox59.com/news/richmond-hill-explosion-culprit-mark-leonard-dies-at-indy-hospital/
https://fox59.com/news/cause-of-death-of-richmond-hill-conspirator-mark-leonard-determined/
https://www.in.gov/apps/indcorrection/ofs/ofs?lname=Shirley&fname=Monserrate&search1.x=40&search1.y=12

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