Indiana's high court to hear appeal in house explosion case

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Supreme Court will hear an appeal next month in the case of the alleged ringleader of a deadly Indianapolis house explosion.

The high court has set a Sept. 22 hearing for Mark Leonard's appeal of his murder and arson convictions and his sentence.

The 47-year-old is serving two life sentences without parole plus 75 years in the November 2012 natural gas blast that killed two next-door neighbors and devastated the neighborhood.

Prosecutors say Leonard spearheaded a plot to destroy his then-girlfriend's house to collect insurance money. One other person has been convicted in that case, two others have reached plea deals and another faces a November trial.

Leonard's appeal contends testimony about a separate murder-for hire scheme he's charged in should never have been presented at his trial.