Fla. couple who adopted 12 children found slain

[samanthajane13]

By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 31 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Investigators asked the public to be on the lookout Friday for a red van they believe carried three men involved in the deaths of a Florida Panhandle couple who were shot in their rural home while eight of their children slept.

Surveillance cameras showed the van at the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola near the Alabama border, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. The children were unharmed.

The sheriff's office released an enhanced but still grainy photograph of a red, 15-passenger van dating to the late 70s or early 80s.

Morgan said investigators did not know who killed the wealthy couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities, many born to drug-addicted mothers.

Investigators are also awaiting autopsy results on the couple to learn more about the killings, he added.

Morgan said eight of the children, ages 8 to 14, were in the home when the couple was killed Thursday evening. A woman who lives in an outlying building and helps care for the children called emergency dispatchers from the home.

Deputies had to wake some of the children after they arrived, authorities said.

Investigators interviewed the children, who are now staying with other family members, Morgan said.

The Billings had 16 children, 12 of them adopted. They married 18 years ago and each had two children from previous marriages. The couple then began adopting children with developmental disabilities and other problems.

The couple owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used car dealership.

In a 2005 story in the Pensacola News Journal, the couple said they wanted to share their wealth with children in need, but didn't imagine their family would grow so large.

"It just happened," Melanie Byrd told the newspaper. "I just wanted to give them a better life."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090710/...a_couple_slain

[samanthajane13]

Sheriff: Suspects in couple's slaying experienced

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Florida couple killed in their home had an extensive surveillance system in the house that recorded three apparently experienced criminals swiftly slip into the house before driving off in a red van, police said.

Several tips from the public led investigators to a red, 15-passenger van Saturday morning that they believe was used as the getaway vehicle by the three men, believed to be in their "late teens on up," Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. Authorities were questioning two people linked to the van, but no arrests have been made.

Byrd and Melanie Billings of Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola near the Alabama state line, were found shot dead in their home Thursday evening. The couple, known for their large family of adopted children, had an extensive surveillance system in the house and Morgan said authorities have reviewed the tapes repeatedly. The couple was killed as the children slept.

"I will share this with you — I think we were surprised by the rapidity of the crime," Morgan said.

"It suggests experience to me."

Officials still don't know why the family was targeted, Morgan said.

The couple was well-known locally for adopting children with developmental disabilities. They owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used car dealership.

The Billingses had 16 children, 12 of them adopted. Eight of the children, ages 8 to 14, were in the home when the couple was killed. Investigators interviewed the children, who are now staying with other family members.

The couple married 18 years ago and each had two children from previous marriages. They eventually started adopting children with developmental disabilities and other problems.

In a 2005 story in the Pensacola News Journal, the couple said they wanted to share their wealth with children in need, but didn't imagine their family would grow so large.

"It just happened," she told the newspaper. "I just wanted to give them a better life."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/...a_couple_slain

[One2Snoop]

How sad. Have the scumbags been caught yet?

[Marian Paroo]

http://us.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/12/f...ain/index.html

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by Marian Paroo

http://us.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/12/f...ain/index.html

For some reason I think this may be drug related and/or the wrong house. I do not know why. I am so glad they have suspects. this is just so sick.........sara

[RayStar]

Thank goodness for the cameras. I know someone (the killers) must have seen the kids. How cold can these men be. Just awful.

[Marian Paroo]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

For some reason I think this may be drug related and/or the wrong house. I do not know why. I am so glad they have suspects. this is just so sick.........sara

I was thinking drug related AND wrong house.

Unless we are about to find out something about a dark side this couple had.

[samanthajane13]

New arrests likely in Fla. adoptive couple slaying
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 7 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Investigators were hoping for more arrests Tuesday in the shooting deaths of a Florida Panhandle couple who had adopted a dozen children with autism, Down syndrome and other disabilities.

Authorities made three arrests over the weekend and a fourth Monday evening. Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said he hoped to make one or two arrests Tuesday. Morgan told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities have tied at least seven people to the crime but that nothing links any of the suspects to the family directly.

Morgan said day laborer Gary Lamont Sumner was arrested on a murder charge in a nearby county Monday after he was pulled over in a traffic stop. The sheriff said investigators have placed Sumner at the scene of the killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings, though he wouldn't provide details.

The couple took care to make their nine-bedroom house a safe place for their growing brood of children, wiring it with surveillance cameras in every room.

It was those cameras that captured images of the masked men who shot the wealthy couple Thursday in a break-in executed with chilling precision.

Morgan said that the crime appeared to have "numerous motives," though robbery was the only one he would mention.

"Mr. Billings was well-to-do. He was an entrepreneur and he opened his home to the community. You are asking me to speculate on a motive. That could have been one reason," Morgan said, likening the killings to the 1959 slayings of a Kansas farm family. In that case, chronicled by Truman Capote in the book "In Cold Blood," the killers mistakenly believed the prosperous family kept a safe full of cash at home.

When asked if the Billings kept much money at their home, Morgan replied, "That has not been verified."

The video from last Thursday showed three armed, masked men arriving in a red van, entering through the front of the house and then returning to the vehicle. Others dressed in what the sheriff called "ninja garb" went in through an unlocked utility door in the back. They were in and out in under 10 minutes.

The sheriff would not say what, if anything, was stolen.

Some of the nine children in the house at the time were sleeping, but several others saw the break-in, authorities said. One left the house and went to get a neighbor, who called 911.

"I think you'll find this particularly chilling and here's why: We have a team that enters at the rear of the home and another that enters at the front of the home," Morgan said. "It leads me to believe this was a very well-planned and methodical operation."

Morgan said, however, that there was no indication anyone had unlocked the door for the intruders, adding that people in the community felt comfortable leaving their doors unlocked. He also said he knew of no connection between the men under arrest and the Billings family.

The couple owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used-car dealership. They lived in Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line, in a house set deep in the woods. They had 16 children in all — 12 of them adopted.

Tips from the public led police to the van on Saturday. Day laborer Wayne Coldiron, 41, turned himself in on Sunday, and Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., 35, was arrested the same day in a neighboring county. They were charged with murder and home invasion. The two were expected to have their first court appearances Tuesday.

Authorities also jailed Gonzalez's father on a charge of evidence tampering. Police said the 56-year-old tried to paint over and hide damage on the van.

Ashley Markham, an adult daughter of the victims, said she plans to carry on with her parents' legacy. The husband and wife were 68 and 43, respectively.

"My mother always told me some people grow up wanting to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. She wanted to be a mommy," Markham said in a statement. "Her lifelong dream was loving her babies and being a voice for them."

___

Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090714/...a_couple_slain

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by Marian Paroo

I was thinking drug related AND wrong house.

Unless we are about to find out something about a dark side this couple had.

yes we do not really know the couple. Right now I think they are pretty wonderful for what they were doing with their kids. I wonder if the suspects really thought there might be a lot of cash in the home. sara

[JLette]

my hubby brought up an interesting theory last night while we were talking about this case.

the killers went there in disguise, i believe the term was "ninja garb" on the news last night, they went in the front AND back of the home, they were only their for about 10 minutes which is not a very long time at all, if they were there to steal stuff then wouldn't they have been there a little longer? or did they know where everything they wanted was already? or did they NOT steal anything and just walk in, kill the parents, and walk back out......if that is the case it sounds like a hit to me.....

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by JLette

my hubby brought up an interesting theory last night while we were talking about this case.

the killers went there in disguise, i believe the term was "ninja garb" on the news last night, they went in the front AND back of the home, they were only their for about 10 minutes which is not a very long time at all, if they were there to steal stuff then wouldn't they have been there a little longer? or did they know where everything they wanted was already? or did they NOT steal anything and just walk in, kill the parents, and walk back out......if that is the case it sounds like a hit to me.....

I heard there could be a safe and it was taken which is maybe why 3 people went in. I also heard one of the suspects was a teenager and he may have done all the shooting. Rumors no links IMO sara

[One2Snoop]

Police: Suspect sought after 7 arrests in Florida couple's slaying

* Story Highlights
* One suspect was ex-National Guard, another in Air Force, authorities say
* Police say they know name, location of eighth suspect being sought
* Suspects face murder charges in deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings
* Surveillance video shows five masked people storming home in Beulah, Florida

updated 2 hours, 55 minutes ago

PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) -- Seven people are in custody in connection with the shooting deaths of a Gulf Coast couple known for adopting special-needs children, and one more person is sought, the sheriff of Escambia County, Florida, said Tuesday.

All seven people will face murder charges in last week's deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings, authorities said. The suspects include a 16-year-old.

"We've got the primary individuals and suspects in custody today," Sheriff David Morgan said. The eighth person is believed to have aided and abetted the crime, he said, and authorities know that person's name and location.

But police would not divulge many details regarding the investigation into the deaths, saying only that the couple was killed during a home invasion robbery. Video Watch sheriff describe crimes »

Some information uncovered during the investigation, involving elements outside Florida, was turned over to federal authorities in a meeting Monday, the sheriff said.

He identified the seven suspects as:

• Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35

• Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56

• Wayne Thomas Coldiron, 41

• Gary Lamont Sumner, 30

• Fredrick Lee Thornton, 19

• Donald Ray Stallworth, 28

• An unidentified juvenile, 16

The younger Gonzalez, a former National Guard member, is believed to have been the organizer of the crime, Morgan said.

He has said the crime was "very well-planned and methodical." Video Watch surveillance video of the home invasion »

Gonzalez isn't the only suspect with military experience. Stallworth is a staff sergeant and maintenance mechanic with the 1st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, based at Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to Lt. Mark Lazane of Air Force Special Operations. He was arrested Tuesday in Alabama.

Sumner, Thornton, Stallworth and the juvenile are from Okaloosa County, Florida -- one county away from Escambia County, where the crime occurred -- and knew each other from an auto detailing group, Morgan said.

Authorities initially said the senior Gonzalez faced charges of evidence tampering for allegedly trying to disguise a vehicle spotted at the Billingses' home. However, charges against him were upgraded to murder, the sheriff's office said Tuesday.

Police have released two surveillance tapes taken from the front and rear of the Billingses' home. Each shows a vehicle pulling up to the property and five people dressed in black and wearing masks entering the home through two entrances, including a utility door left unlocked, something Morgan said is not uncommon in the community. Authorities believe that drivers remained in both of the cars.

Both the Billingses were shot multiple times, Morgan said.

Items were taken from the home "that you would normally expect to be taken in a robbery," Escambia County State Attorney Bill Eddins said. The items included a safe, but neither Eddins nor Morgan would divulge additional items or say whether any stolen items had been recovered.

Investigators know who the actual gunmen were, Morgan said, but he would not tell reporters. Video Watch experts describe the "military-style" attack »

Asked whether the suspects had expressed remorse, the sheriff said, "Everyone expresses remorse when they're caught."

Eddins said prosecutors have not decided whether the seven will be tried together or whether to seek the death penalty. Four of the suspects were to appear in court Tuesday, he said.

Melanie Billings' biological daughter, Ashley Markham, said the couple initially had 17 children. Byrd and Melanie Billings each had two biological children; the rest were adopted. Three have died over the years, she said. The couple had no biological children together .Video Watch Markham say, "Love was never scarce" »

Morgan, however, has said the couple had 16 children, with two who have died and others who have grown older and no longer live in the Billingses' home.

Nine of the couple's children was home at the time of the incident, Morgan said, and police believe that three of them saw the intruders. One managed to flee the home and seek help at a neighbor's house, the sheriff said.

The Billingses lived in Beulah, west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/14/...ain/index.html

[SaraSidle]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/15/...ain/index.html

Woman involved in robbery "Pam Long" picked up and questioned by LE. sara

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by JLette

my hubby brought up an interesting theory last night while we were talking about this case.

the killers went there in disguise, i believe the term was "ninja garb" on the news last night, they went in the front AND back of the home, they were only their for about 10 minutes which is not a very long time at all, if they were there to steal stuff then wouldn't they have been there a little longer? or did they know where everything they wanted was already? or did they NOT steal anything and just walk in, kill the parents, and walk back out......if that is the case it sounds like a hit to me.....

I am wondering if it was a hit and robbery now?!?!?!?!? sara

[JLette]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

I am wondering if it was a hit and robbery now?!?!?!?!? sara

doesn't it seem like SMART criminals would have waited until no one was home if the only motive was robbery? JMO but it seems as though their MAIN goal was murder and robbery was just a plus. otherwise why risk being ID'd by the children just to steal some stuff? they could have waited until the family was out one day and gone in and taken whatever they wanted, but no, they went in when EVERYONE was home and murdered that couple in complete cold blood.

[Wagsy]

Originally Posted by JLette

doesn't it seem like SMART criminals would have waited until no one was home if the only motive was robbery? JMO but it seems as though their MAIN goal was murder and robbery was just a plus. otherwise why risk being ID'd by the children just to steal some stuff? they could have waited until the family was out one day and gone in and taken whatever they wanted, but no, they went in when EVERYONE was home and murdered that couple in complete cold blood.

If the police believe the suspects knew there were handicap children living there and the parents were killed anyway, that makes this even more hideous. Just rumor...no link...just what I have heard elsewhere.

[Wagsy]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n5162013.shtml

This is quite tragic.

[JLette]

Originally Posted by Wagsy

If the police believe the suspects knew there were handicap children living there and the parents were killed anyway, that makes this even more hideous. Just rumor...no link...just what I have heard elsewhere.

well according to what i have seen on the various news shows that have covered this, they researched the job very well before they did it. i think it was on NG last night, a police officer was talking about how some of the suspects in custody had admitted that they had been preparing for months!!! they damn well knew about each of those kids, hell they probably even knew their NAMES. these people are not human IMO

[BeastofBears]

What a freaky horrifying crime.

Doesn't it sound a lot like some of the kidnappings/murders that have been making the news from Mexico? Here's one example, but there are lots of other military style raids ...http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_w...nticrime_.html I wonder if there was some inspiration there?

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by BeastofBears

What a freaky horrifying crime.

Doesn't it sound a lot like some of the kidnappings/murders that have been making the news from Mexico? Here's one example, but there are lots of other military style raids ...http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_w...nticrime_.html I wonder if there was some inspiration there?

I kind of had that feeling when the story broke BOB. like drugs might be involved in some way. Also they practiced the raid for about 30 days before it happened. And how did it happen so fast they stole belongings beside the safe unless they knew the places everything would be? IMO sara

[samanthajane13]

Spokeswoman: Slain Fla. couple's safe had jewelry
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 15 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A safe stolen from the home of a slain Florida couple contained only jewelry, family documents and children's prescription medication, a spokeswoman for the family said Friday.

Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot to death and a safe was taken from their nine-bedroom home west of Pensacola last week. Six men and a teenager are charged with murder, and a woman is charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Escambia County law enforcement said this week that robbery was a motive for the crime.

A funeral was held for the couple Friday. During a brief press conference outside the church, family spokeswoman Crystal Spencer said she announced the contents of the safe to put to rest intense speculation and rumors about the Billings family. She did not elaborate.

The couple was known for adopting 13 special needs children and Dr. Ed Brock, Melanie Billings' brother, praised the couple's selflessness and kindness.

"Their lives centered around children, their family and each other," said Brock. "They loved deeply and unconditionally. They embraced the complexity of raising children with special needs and they were their advocates. They gave these children a joyous childhood and a much needed voice."

Nine of the couple's adopted children were home during the break-in. Three saw the intruders but were not hurt. The couple also had four children from previous marriages. The adopted children are together and staying with family members.

A surveillance camera captured the break-in. The family had wired the home and the outside of the property with cameras so they could keep an eye on all of the children.

State Attorney Bill Eddins said Thursday the case was mostly wrapped up.

"In our opinion, this was a home invasion robbery where the people stole a safe," he said. "It was as simple as that as to the motive."

But Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said at a news conference with Eddins that other motives may emerge and there are still people investigators want to talk to.

"We have some people of interest that we're continuing to look at and I can tell you that those are now numerous people," Morgan said.

Surveillance cameras at the Billings home captured footage of masked men — some dressed as ninjas — slipping into front and back doors, and one of the people investigators want to talk to may have been someone who failed to carry out an assignment to disable them.

The surveillance videos led investigators to a full-size red van used as an initial getaway car and eventually to the suspects, a loosely connected group of mostly day laborers who knew each other through a power washing business and an auto detailing operation.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/...a_couple_slain

[samanthajane13]

As slain couple is buried, fuller portrait emerges
By BILL KACZOR and MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writers Bill Kaczor And Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writers – Fri Jul 17, 7:14 pm ET

PENSACOLA, Fla. – He was a 66-year-old entrepreneur who dabbled in used cars, boats and the adult entertainment industry before finally hitting it big. She was a 43-year-old country music lover who fed the homeless and was devoted to her MySpace page.

Together, they adopted 13 children with autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities and lived in a sprawling home west of Pensacola. And together they were slain there in a well-choreographed invasion captured on surveillance video.

On Friday, Byrd and Melanie Billings were mourned by hundreds of friends and family in a funeral that was closed to the media.

A fuller profile of the couple began to emerge, with interviews and court records portraying Byrd Billings as a former strip club owner-turned used car dealer who was once sentenced to probation for an adoption scam. He frequently crossed paths with "shady characters," according to an ex-wife, but police have offered no evidence linking his past to the killings.

This enigmatic portrait is in line with the case that has captured attention across the country. A week after the fatal burglary in which eight people were arrested — including a teenager, an Air Force Sergeant and an antique mall owner — there remain almost as many questions as answers.

Why would well-practiced thieves target a home with a security camera in every room? Who was Byrd Billings? And what does Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan mean when he says investigators expect motives to emerge beyond simple robbery?

One key question was addressed Friday when family attorney Crystal Spencer disclosed the contents of a safe the intruders made off with — details investigators had refused to release for days. Spencer said it contained documents, childrens' prescriptions and jewelry with "sentimental value."

"Hopefully this will put to rest the intense speculation and rumors that are swirling around the Billings family," she said.

That's hardly likely, as much of the couple's background remains shrouded in mystery. Early on, Morgan called the case a "humdinger."

Later Friday, Morgan confirmed the contents of the safe found buried in a suspects' back yard with bricks piled on top. He said the documents inside included adoption papers and birth certificates. He would not say if the killers expected to find other items.

Morgan said his department was still in the midst of a complex investigation that he likened to a chess match.

The sheriff also said that as his department releases information about the case, he is trying to "strike a balance" among a grieving family, the community and a constant demand for information from the media.

Asked by the Associated Press whether anyone paid the suspects to kill the couple, Morgan said that was "speculation I will not address."

Here's what is clear so far: Known around Pensacola as "Bud," Byrd Billings spent his early years in Mississippi and Tennessee. He owned a car dealership in Mississippi in the 1980s, and incorporated a boat company in 1976. The corporation was dissolved in the 1980s.

In divorce records from the end of his second marriage, in 1993, Billings reported a net worth of just $1,400, including total cash assets of $100 and a net monthly income of $1,190. Four months after the divorce, Melanie became his third wife.

At the time of their death, they were living in a $700,000 home — opulent by Pensacola standards — and associates say they employed several people to care for the children. But how they got there from such a humble beginning to their marriage is unclear.

Byrd's background also includes a strange criminal case. In 1990, he and his second wife, Cindy Reeve, pleaded nolo contendere — which means they did not admit guilt but agreed to a punishment — to charges they doctored birth records and tried to obtain a newborn for $2,100. They both received two years probation which was later amended to a year.

Reached by The Associated Press, Reeve said she wanted to be left alone and the adoption "got blowed out of proportion."

However, she said Byrd "always dealt with shady characters."


Continued...

[samanthajane13]

At the time of their divorce, the documents show, Billings was a consultant for Back Seat Inc., a holding company for a topless bar, which opened in 1990 and no longer exists. He had owned the company at one time. Arety Kapatanis, owner of the Pensacola strip club Arety's Angels, said Billings hired her as a waitress.

"Bud Billings was a man of integrity. He was generous," Kapatanis said. "He ran his business in the most professional manner. It could have been a shoe store or a bakery. I mean, this type of business tends to get a really bad rap. People expect shady dealings and they expect all kind of things like that. There was never any of that with Bud."

Billings later opened a used car lot, which according to state business records was registered to Melanie and her daughter, Ashley Markham. It sits on a worn-out slab, surrounded by pawn shops and bail bond companies. Next door is the Billings' Worldco Financial Services.

Ted Roy, the sheriff's office spokesman, says investigators do not believe Byrd Billings' current or former business dealings were related to the murders.

Melanie, in her second marriage, seemed to thrive helping disabled children.

"Their lives centered around children, their family and each other," said her brother, Ed Brock. "They loved deeply and unconditionally. They embraced the complexity of raising children with special needs and they were their advocates. They gave these children a joyous childhood and a much needed voice."

On her MySpace page, Melanie Billings said she was a "total Internet and ebay JUNKIE" and that her favorite song was "I Cross My Heart," by country music star George Strait. She loved the TV shows "CSI," "Law & Order" and "The Sopranos."

She wrote of her love of her family: "My heros (sic) are my children ... They overcome incredible odds each and every second of each and everyday ... And of course ... my hubby ... he is my knight in shining armor."

The MySpace page also showed photos of some of the couple's 17 children (13 adopted together and four biological children from previous marriages); three of the children had died over the years.

A 2005 story in the Pensacola News Journal about the couple said that Melanie, in particular, was inspired to care for disabled children after her daughter Nikki was born in the mid-1980s with cerebral palsy and autism. The paper said that a few days after Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, a toddler named Bailey snuck into the Billings' bathtub and was scalded by a malfunctioning water heater. He died in a Texas hospital when an air bubble accidentally entered a tube that went into his artery and stopped his heart, the paper said.

Melanie Billings wrote on her MySpace about Bailey, calling him and "angel," and told the Pensacola paper why she enjoyed caring for disabled children.

"They're as close to perfect as perfect can get," she said. "There's such a goodness about them, something so genuine, you know, no ulterior motive. They're very innocent."

Billings' friend Patsy Brown said that Melanie "was very organized with the children to the point of ironing nine sets of clothes every night before she put them into bed."

On Friday, the day of the funeral, a light rain greeted mourners. About 400 cars filled the parking lot of west Pensacola's Liberty Church for the service, which was closed to the media.

A funeral program featured numerous pictures of the couple and their 17 children.

"We'll be watching all of you from the heavens up above," the program read. "So take good care of each other and carry on our love."

___

Associated Press Writers Tamara Lush and Travis Reed in Miami, Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss., and the AP News Research Center in New York contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/...a_couple_slain

[samanthajane13]

Slain couple's daughter to care for 13 children


PENSACOLA, Fla. – The adult daughter of a slain Florida couple known for adopting 13 special needs children said she is planning to move into her parents' home and raise the children as her own. Ashley Markham, 26, told the Pensacola News Journal in Sunday's editions that she and her husband intend to care for the children, saying it was her mother's wish.

A phone message was left by The Associated Press on Sunday with her attorney, Crystal Spencer.

Markham also defended her parents, Byrd and Melanie Billings, whose lives and deaths had gained national attention since the July 9 attack.

Byrd Billings, 66, was an entrepreneur who had dabbled in used cars, boats and the adult entertainment industry. His 43-year-old wife was a country music lover who fed the homeless and was devoted to her MySpace page. They adopted 13 children with autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities and lived in a sprawling home west of Pensacola.

Markham said her father was able to build a comfortable life for the family through a lifetime of hard work and planning.

"My dad is a very smart businessman. My dad worked from 6 in the morning to 8 at night Monday through Saturday," Markham said.

The two were found slain at their home in what authorities described as a well-executed invasion captured on surveillance video. Nine of the couple's children were in the home during the attack, though none were injured. Eight people have been arrested in the case, including a teenager, an Air Force Sergeant and an antique mall owner.

The children were taken back to the house Saturday for the first time since the killings.

Markham said the house now has new doors and carpeting. A security gate is going in and locks have been changed.

"There were 20 family friends out there cleaning," she said. The children were anxious to get back home to their toys and go swimming, she said.

___

Information from: Pensacola News Journal, http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090719/...FpbmNvdXBsZXM-

[samanthajane13]

Fla. officials to talk to 3 in slain couple case

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Panhandle couple known for adopting 13 special needs children and killed in a home invasion by masked men dressed as ninjas had helped one of the suspects open a martial arts studio, according to court records released Monday.

In an affidavit for a warrant to search the home of Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., investigators wrote that Gonzalez told them he knew Byrd and Melanie Billings because he had received financial support from them to open a martial arts studio.

Monday's affidavit was the first indication that the couple had financial ties with any of the men.

The information is the latest twist in the strange murder case of the couple who raised 17 children, many with severe disabilities.

Byrd, 66, and Melanie 43, were shot to death July 9 in their sprawling west Pensacola home. Nine of their children were at home when the couple were killed, and one of the children went to a neighbor who called for help.

The house had an extensive surveillance system that authorities said captured the men entering, shooting the Billingses and leaving within four minutes.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has said investigators are still trying to figure out who, if anyone, was supposed to disable the camera system. Morgan has also said investigators plan to interview three additional "persons of interest" this week and one may have been responsible for disabling the system.

So far, investigators have arrested eight people including Gonzalez and his father, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr. Authorities haven't revealed how the suspects are linked, but investigators say two of the men may have done pressuring washing and maintenance work at least once at the family's home.

The couple were shot to death and a safe was taken from their nine-bedroom home west of Pensacola during a precisely executed break-in earlier this month. Six men and a teenager are charged with murder, and a woman is charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Also Monday, Air Force Sgt. Donnie Ray Stallworth, who is among the eight charged in the Billings' deaths, had a probable cause hearing in Escambia County, Ala. The airman, who is stationed near Pensacola at Hurlburt Field, the Air Force's special operations command, turned himself in to authorities in Brewton, Ala., and is fighting extradition to Florida. Court officials said Monday that he will remain in Alabama pending an extradition hearing, which hasn't been scheduled.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/...a_couple_slain

[samanthajane13]

Attorney: Slain Fla. couple donated to suspect
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The attorney for the family of a slain Florida couple said Wednesday they made a small donation to a martial arts program run by one of the men accused of killing them.

Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot to death earlier this month during a break-in at their home west of Pensacola. The couple was known for adopting 13 special needs children.

One of the suspects in the slaying, Leonard Gonzalez Jr., told investigators he had opened a martial-arts studio with financial help from the victims, according to court records released Monday.

But family attorney Crystal Spencer told reporters that the aid was just a small donation by Byrd, probably less than $1,000.

"He made a donation in a nominal amount. That would not have been out of his character," Spencer told a news conference.

The court records were the first indication that Byrd, 66, and Melanie Billings, 43, had financial ties with any of the suspects and the latest twist in the strange shooting deaths of the couple who were raising 17 children, many with severe disabilities. They were killed July 9 in their sprawling home by masked men — some dressed as ninjas.

Gonzalez and six other men are charged with murder in the killings. He has said in court that he is innocent, but other suspects have told investigators he planned the attack.

In an affidavit for a warrant to search the home of Gonzalez, investigators wrote that the suspect told them he knew the Billingses because he had received financial support from them to open the studio.

Spencer said there were no indications that Gonzalez had ever worked for the automobile businesses that the Billingses owned over the years.

Nine of the Billings children were home during the attack, and one of them went to a neighbor who called for help. None of the children was injured.

The house had an extensive surveillance system that authorities said captured the men entering, shooting the Billingses and leaving within four minutes.

A safe was taken from the home during the precisely executed break-in and authorities have said robbery may have been a motive.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/...a_couple_slain

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by samanthajane13

Attorney: Slain Fla. couple donated to suspect
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The attorney for the family of a slain Florida couple said Wednesday they made a small donation to a martial arts program run by one of the men accused of killing them.

Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot to death earlier this month during a break-in at their home west of Pensacola. The couple was known for adopting 13 special needs children.

One of the suspects in the slaying, Leonard Gonzalez Jr., told investigators he had opened a martial-arts studio with financial help from the victims, according to court records released Monday.

But family attorney Crystal Spencer told reporters that the aid was just a small donation by Byrd, probably less than $1,000.

"He made a donation in a nominal amount. That would not have been out of his character," Spencer told a news conference.

The court records were the first indication that Byrd, 66, and Melanie Billings, 43, had financial ties with any of the suspects and the latest twist in the strange shooting deaths of the couple who were raising 17 children, many with severe disabilities. They were killed July 9 in their sprawling home by masked men — some dressed as ninjas.

Gonzalez and six other men are charged with murder in the killings. He has said in court that he is innocent, but other suspects have told investigators he planned the attack.

In an affidavit for a warrant to search the home of Gonzalez, investigators wrote that the suspect told them he knew the Billingses because he had received financial support from them to open the studio.

Spencer said there were no indications that Gonzalez had ever worked for the automobile businesses that the Billingses owned over the years.

Nine of the Billings children were home during the attack, and one of them went to a neighbor who called for help. None of the children was injured.

The house had an extensive surveillance system that authorities said captured the men entering, shooting the Billingses and leaving within four minutes.

A safe was taken from the home during the precisely executed break-in and authorities have said robbery may have been a motive.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/...a_couple_slain

Sometimes I wonder about family involvement??? sara IMO

[JLette]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

Sometimes I wonder about family involvement??? sara IMO

i have had the same thought but i couldn't think of a good reason

[Marian Paroo]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

Sometimes I wonder about family involvement??? sara IMO

Originally Posted by JLette

i have had the same thought but i couldn't think of a good reason

Yeah. Lot's of weird stuff here.

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by JLette

i have had the same thought but i couldn't think of a good reason

I was thinking the usual motive. Who would benefit? IMO sara

[JLette]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

I was thinking the usual motive. Who would benefit? IMO sara

that's just it though, as far as i have heard all of the family were pretty well-to-do. its all just weird

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by JLette

that's just it though, as far as i have heard all of the family were pretty well-to-do. its all just weird

More so now I guess. sara

[Marian Paroo]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

More so now I guess. sara

You only have to look in various corruption cases, heck, look at our former PM Olmert here, to know for some people there is never enough.

[One2Snoop]

Florida couple's slaying was a contract hit, source says

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Escambia County sheriff says theory is not off the table
* Prosecutor does not deny theory is under scrutiny; calls robbery "prime motive"
* Source: Prosecutors believe most suspects thought they were pulling off robbery
* Alleged mastermind plotted hit on Byrd and Melanie Billings, source says

updated 57 minutes ago

By Ross Levitt and Susan Candiotti
CNN


(CNN) -- A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN the state attorney's office believes there were two motives in the home invasion murder of Florida couple Byrd and Melanie Billings -- robbery and a contracted hit.
Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35, is believed to be the organizer of Byrd and Melanie Billings' deaths.

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35, is believed to be the organizer of Byrd and Melanie Billings' deaths.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office had said it believed robbery was the prime motive, but that it would explore all avenues.

The source said the state attorney's office is working under the belief that most of the suspects in the case thought they were there for a robbery, but that Leonard Gonzalez Jr., the alleged organizer of the crime, and other yet-unnamed suspects were plotting a hit on the couple.

The source said that from "Gonzalez down" it was a robbery and that from "Gonzalez up" it was a hit. The source was not sure of the motive behind the hit.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office has said it believed robbery was the prime motive, but that it would explore all avenues, a position Sheriff David Morgan reiterated Friday night.

"We are, in fact, looking at this," Morgan said. "We want to ensure the citizens of Escambia County that we are not in any way, shape or form of the imagination taking that possibility or probability off the table in the conduct of the Billings murder."

Morgan said that early in the investigation, investigators had "uncorroborated information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that this was an avenue of the investigation that we should in fact pursue." He added, "We have and will continue to do that very thing."
Don't Miss

* Suspect in Florida slayings to be extradited
* Source: Safe in slain couple's home contained $100,000
* Documents: Florida slaying victims knew suspect

"I want the citizens of Escambia County to understand that this investigation will go where it goes, and anyone who aided or abetted in the commission of this crime will be brought to justice," the sheriff said.

Greg Marcille of the Escambia County Office of the State Attorney did not deny that investigators were considering a contracted hit, but said his office believes "that the prime motive was robbery."

"We will consider all possibilities and review any evidence that is brought forward regarding the issue of motive in this case," he said.

The Billingses, who were known for adopting special-needs children, were killed during a robbery at their Beulah, Florida, home July 9.

A small safe containing prescription medication, family documents and some jewelry was taken, and later found in the backyard of a woman who said she was a friend of Gonzalez, authorities have said.

Two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN that a second safe at the home contained at least $100,000.

Eight people have been arrested in the case. Seven are facing murder charges and one is accused of being an accessory after the fact.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has said Gonzalez once worked for a car dealership Byrd Billings owned, and court documents state that Gonzalez received financial support from the family for a martial-arts studio that he ran.

An attorney representing the Billingses has said that Byrd Billings made a nominal donation to Gonzalez's karate charity.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/31/...ain/index.html

[samanthajane13]

Snoop!!

Thanks so much for the update!!!

That's a BIGGIE!!!!

[One2Snoop]

Originally Posted by samanthajane13

Snoop!!

Thanks so much for the update!!!

That's a BIGGIE!!!!

Yeah but I think the details on it are still sketchy. The sense I've gotten with this entire situation and this is JMO, is a group of people were smoking dope and drinking one night while watching something on the "Lifetime Movie Network".

Something just isn't connecting here - IMO.

[samanthajane13]

The Pensacola Adoptive Couple's Murder: Was It Robbery or a Hit?
By Tim Padgett
Friday, Aug. 21, 2009

By most accounts, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. — the failed karate instructor who allegedly murdered a wealthy Pensacola, Fla., couple last month in front of their young adopted children — is a blowhard. "He's always got a big game," one friend told police, "he's always got some bullsh-t to talk about." Said another, "He's always blowing smoke up everybody's tail about, you know, 'I got this going on, we're gonna make some money,' da-da-da." As a result, "it would be easy to dismiss Gonzalez as a lying con man, which he is for the most part," notes David Morgan, sheriff of Escambia County in Florida's northwestern panhandle, who says he has heard some tall tales from Gonzalez since he was arrested. "But sadly there are instances in his life when his boasting had elements of truth."

Like the $150,000 Gonzalez, 35, claimed he was paid last year by a wealthy but bitter divorcee who lives near Pensacola. He said she hired him as a gumshoe to trail her ex-husband around the country and dig up anything illegal in his life that she could use to get him arrested. Gonzalez never uncovered anything incriminating; but the story, says Morgan, actually checks out.

Which makes the sheriff more inclined to believe that Gonzalez — who is charged with shooting Byrd "Bud" Billings and his wife Melanie in their spacious home as he and six others allegedly robbed it the night of July 9 — was hired to commit the murder by resentful local business rivals. In police documents released this week, Gonzalez says one used-car dealer, Henry "Cab" Tice, told him that he and other dealers wanted the 66-year-old Billings "whacked" and asked him to do the job. (Gonzalez claims he refused — although he boasted to police, without offering details, that he's taken part in other murders for hire.) Morgan tells TIME he expects to make more arrests soon in a homicide case that's become shocking and sordid enough to recall Truman Capote's In Cold Blood — and one that has orphaned the Billings' 17 children, 13 of them adopted and most with disabilities like Down Syndrome. "We'd all prefer it if this were a group of losers visiting a random act of violence on this family," Morgan says, "but with each passing day and each new witness, we're finding that's probably not the case."

Tice denies involvement in any conspiracy, insisting to a Pensacola television station this week that he "never wanted any harm to come to Bud or Melanie." Still, Morgan says Tice and "three or four other people" remain "persons of interest" in the investigation. Tice, 63, a former business partner of Billings, has acknowledged that he "hated Billings" and that they had a rancorous falling out over thousands of dollars Tice owed Billings' loan company, Worldco. (Tice, in fact, has been charged with grand theft after Billings turned him in last year for allegedly writing Worldco $17,000 in bounced checks. Tice denies the charge and claims he had an agreement with Billings to hold the checks until he could cover them.)

The new case documents do suggest the Billings murders were a "hit." Billings, for example, was shot six times with a 9-mm handgun — once in the back of each leg, twice in the face and twice in the back of the head, the kind of deliberate execution-style pattern often meant to send a message. One of the Billings' adopted special needs children, an autistic boy who was in the couple's bedroom where they were killed, told investigators via sign language that "bad men" burst in and told Billings, who briefly struggled with them, "You're gonna die." Melanie, 44, was shot twice in the chest and three times in the face.


Continued...

[samanthajane13]

Six other males — including Gonzalez's father, an Air Force sergeant and a 16-year-old — have also been charged with capital murder as well as home invasion and, like Gonzalez, have pleaded not guilty. (The teen has been charged as an adult but will not face the death penalty.) An eighth defendant, a woman charged as an accessory to the murder for allegedly providing a van used in the crime, has also pleaded not guilty. But investigators say Gonzalez's accomplices have fingered him as the sole gunman — and add that while they'd been lured by his promise of millions of dollars he believed Billings kept in a safe at the home, most of them didn't know Gonzalez allegedly planned a murder. As it was, the group —many of them captured on home security video in black ninja-style clothes and masks — hauled away one of Billings' empty safes instead of the one that contained money (about $164,000) and jewelry.

Morgan says "the one common thread" now expressed by Gonzalez's co-defendants, as well as their friends and family members, is a fear of being whacked themselves by figures who they believe contracted Gonzalez to organize the break-in and shooting. Making the investigation more baroque is the $20,000 that Tice, hoping to save his struggling car business, recently borrowed from people he says turned out to be "Mexican mafia" and wanted their money back more quickly, and at higher interest, than he could handle. The shadow of organized crime retribution, real or imagined, is another oft-mentioned anxiety in police interviews. Gonzalez even told investigators that he's in "very deep" and fears for his and his family's safety because of it.

Tice, a former employer of Gonzalez and one of his karate students, telephoned Gonzalez the night of the murders (for computer help, he told police) and again the next morning. Morgan admits that's not enough at the moment to bring conspiracy charges against Tice or any of the other car dealers who Gonzalez told police "just did not like Billings at all" and who described the deceased as a loan shark. But the sheriff believes "the pieces are coming together." Billings, like his competitors, many of whom owed him money, inhabited a Florida panhandle business world that resembled a tawdry cable TV drama series. "Bud Billings was a very hard-nosed, unyielding businessman because he had to be," Morgan says. "He was in a high-risk business, loaning money to the kind of people who can't get it anywhere else."

Gonzalez was one person Billings didn't loan money to. Gonzalez's wife Tabitha told police that Billings once donated $5,000 to their nonprofit program to teach people self-defense, but he refused them a loan to save their martial arts studio, which later went under. According to Tabitha, she and Gonzalez have six children.

Still, Morgan says he doesn't buy into the idea "that Bud Billings brought this on himself." He points to the fact that Bud and Melanie "opened their home and fortunes" to their adopted brood as proof of their charitable side. But even that admirable domestic picture has come under scrutiny in the murder's wake: Billings, who was arrested in 1989 for adoption fraud, tried earlier this decade to copyright his adopted children's names in a bizarre scheme to extract money from Florida's Department of Children & Family Services. He had also recently thrown two of his teen-aged children out of the house because he didn't like the people they were dating.

Morgan insists that if his department ultimately "can't prove a conspiracy, we'll drop it immediately. But as long as there are believable threads there, I have to pursue them. You can't have that kind of collective element operating in your community if it's true." Many Pensacola residents — including journalist Rick Outzen, who first broke the murder-for-hire story on his blog last month — now agree with him. Meanwhile, another friend whom Gonzalez tried unsuccessfully to recruit for the July 9 robbery told police the alleged killer "always acts like he's a thug, you know, a mafia wannabe." But unfortunately, there may be a tragic element of truth to this Wannabe's big game.

With reporting by Duwayne Escobedo /Pensacola


http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...l?iid=tsmodule

[samanthajane13]

Video of slain Florida couple shows final struggle
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – 45 mins ago

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Florida couple known for adopting special needs children struggled with armed intruders before they were led away to be gunned down, surveillance video shows.

The video viewed Thursday by reporters shows Byrd Billings first put his arms in the air, then grapple with armed men who entered the family's living room July 9. His wife, Melanie, is seen protectively grabbing what appears to be a child on the shadowy, time-lapsed video taken by the home's surveillance system. The couple are then led away from the room.

The two were shot dead in their bedroom, where there were no surveillance cameras. Video taken by investigators includes shots of the couple's bodies in their bedroom. The crime scene footage was also shown to reporters Thursday.

The viewing took place at the prosecutor's office under a compromise reached by the media and survivors of the Billings, who adopted 13 special needs children. A judge allowed the media to view but not copy or distribute security video taken from the home.

Six men and a 16-year-old have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the slayings.

Investigators say that in the weeks before the attack, alleged ringleader Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35, asked a few friends to help in the crime.

Gonzalez's stepmother told investigators that he persuaded his 56-year-old father, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., to drive the getaway car by telling him that the Billings children were being sexually abused.

Besides the Gonzalezes, also charged are Wayne Coldiron, 41; Donnie Ray Stallworth, 28; Gary Lamont Sumner Jr., 30; Frederick Lee Thornton Jr., 19; and Rakeem Florence, 16.

The surveillance cameras captured men wearing ninja garb and black masks entering the couple's sprawling house, stealing a safe that had little of value in it and leaving in less than four minutes. The robbers missed a second safe that held $164,000 in cash, a lawyer for the victims' family has said.

Nine children between the ages of 4 and 11 were at the home during the slayings. According to a sheriff's report, one child told investigators he heard a knock on the door and that "two bad men" said, "You're going to die, one, two, three" and then, "no way, no way."

According to autopsy reports, Melanie Billings, 43, was shot twice in her chest, and in the face and head. Byrd Billings, 66, was shot multiple times in the head and legs.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/...a_couple_slain