In her quiet moments, Elaine Sgorcea can hear her son screaming. Some nights, John Longworth dreams of trying to save his son from burning alive in his demolished home.

They are haunted by the horrific last moments of their son, Dion Longworth, and his wife, Jennifer Longworth.

The couple burned to death when their home was destroyed in the blast that leveled much of the Richmond Hill neighborhood on Indianapolis' the city's southeast side. Their neighbor, Monserrate Shirley, who conspired to blow up her home for the insurance money, will be sentenced on Tuesday after witness after witness on Monday detailed the devastation wrought by the plot.

The explosion orchestrated by Shirley and her accomplices damaged dozens of homes, some of which have been rebuilt in the past four years. But the blast burned psychological scars in the neighborhood, the residents say, leaving a trauma that still remains and the effects of the trauma remain.

On Monday, more than a dozen Richmond Hill residents, along with family members of the Longworths, took the stand to tell of their losses that day, some of them describing the intangible — a loss of the feeling of being safe in their your own homes.

A young boy's dog was killed when the walls of his home collapsed around him. He grappled with anger issues after that. One of his neighbors, a wife and mother, couldn't be alone for a full year after the blast. A man shook violently on the witness stand as he described having to seek out a psychiatrist after he lost his home. A woman spoke frankly about the struggles in her marriage after the destruction. There are children who now fear fireworks and sirens.

The neighborhood residents measure time in one way: Before the blast. And after the blast.

"The scars for every single one of our neighbors ...," Nicole Weathers said, pausing. "They still remain."

The most permanent loss is that of belongs to the Longworths and the Buxtons, Jennifer's family. Sgorcea wonders, she told the judge, whether her son's soul hovered above her as the coroner reported that the only way to identify her son and daughter-in-law was with their teeth.

"Please give her the maximum sentence," Jennifer's father, Don Buxton, told Marion Superior >Court< Judge Sheila Carlisle, adding that his daughter, a teacher, believed in consequences.

Shirley's potential punishment varies wildly. At maximum, she could spend 50 years in prison. At minimum, she could walk free, if the judge decides to suspend the minimum sentence of 20 years.

Shirley was the first to plead guilty in the case and nearly the last to be sentenced because she agreed to testify against her former lover boyfriend, his half brother and her other co-defendants. She admitted to two felony counts of conspiracy to commit arson.

Shirley; her then-boyfriend, Mark Leonard; his half- brother Robert Leonard; and their friend Gary Thompson conspired to set fire to Shirley's home for the insurance money. Another friend, Glenn Hults, pleaded guilty to a felony for failing to call the police after when he learned of the plot. The Leonard brothers are both serving life sentences without parole. Thompson is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Hults will be sentenced on Dec. 28.

Most of the couple's loved ones and the residents of Richmond Hill echoed Buxton in asking for the maximum sentence. John Longworth, Dion's father, asked the judge to do what she believes is just.

The witnesses seemed to anticipate that when Shirley makes her case for of leniency Tuesday today (for print) she will tell a tale of victimization and say she was coerced by her boyfriend. One co-worker, a fellow nurse, described Shirley as intelligent but lazy. Neighbors said the woman was overly preoccupied with money and possessions.

Because of the large number of witnesses, the hearing spans two days. On Tuesday, Today, (for print) Shirley's lawyer will present witnesses in her defense. Shirley herself is on the witness list. Her attorney, Jim Voyles, noted while cross-examining an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective that Shirley had fulfilled her promises to testify truthfully against her co-defendants.

Shirley, 51, The 51-year-old woman sobbed through much of the testimony, sometimes audibly. She was gaunt, with her hair tied back in a long ponytail, and handcuffs linking her wrists across the front of her body.

Her former neighbor Glenn Olvey gave her a long, deliberate look as he walked away from the stand after testifying. He had recalled for the judge how he was trapped under debris after the explosion, frantically listening for noises from his two daughters.

"As a father," he said, "you don't know what it's like to not be able to get up to help your family."

Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.

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