Fla. couple who adopted 12 children found slain

[islandmonkey]

Suspects know each other thru auto detailing company......most suspects are from Okaloosa County (4 suspects from 5th dimensions auto detailing in Okaloosa County),  remind me to be careful who details the car from now on .

[islandmonkey]

Leonard Gonzales Sr charges will be upgraded to "open murder" charges  So father and son both arrested for open murder.....

[MuffyBee]

Thank you IM for bringing updates to this thread.  This case is just shocking.   

[islandmonkey]

Thank you IM for bringing updates to this thread.  This case is just shocking.   

Anytime Muffy~I was shocked to  learn this was in Beulah (one of the guys I work with lives 1 mile from this home), and this couple was well loved for their huge hearts....very sad indeed

[MuffyBee]

It's truly frightening to think there could be 6 or 8 people in on something like this.  Each and everyone of them HAD to know there were disabled children there.  Did any of them have a conscience at all?  Bad enough if it had been a robbery.  That would have jeopardized the family.  But a "hit"?!  And killing the heads of a household full of disabled children.     I wonder just how much money/drugs or whatever was promised to these people to do this?  Or did someone have something on them and that's why they did it?  May for the thrill along with some compensation?  Whatever it is, it makes me just sick.    

[islandmonkey]

It's truly frightening to think there could be 6 or 8 people in on something like this.  Each and everyone of them HAD to know there were disabled children there.  Did any of them have a conscience at all?  Bad enough if it had been a robbery.  That would have jeopardized the family.  But a "hit"?!  And killing the heads of a household full of disabled children.     I wonder just how much money/drugs or whatever was promised to these people to do this?  Or did someone have something on them and that's why they did it?  May for the thrill along with some compensation?  Whatever it is, it makes me just sick.    

I think finding people with conscience is getting more difficult every day 

This is absolutey an horrific case, on the news last night they mentioned that 3 of the kids witnessed the murders and one ran out to a neighbors house to get help (I just thank God the murders stopped with Byrd and Melanie)....Regarding the hit, that's just rumor spreading about somone who owed Byrd money and never intended to pay. I checked the Escambia county court cases and nothing civil except adoptions etc, but it could possibly be in Santa rosa OR another county or it's possible Byrd was getting ready to file a lawsuit and they took care of it before.........all pure speculation on the street here though.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/14/florida.couple.slain/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular
Police: Seven in custody in Florida couple's slaying
July 14, 2009
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, Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff David Morgan said Tuesday.
 Earlier on Tuesday, Okaloosa County sheriff's spokeswoman Michele Nicholson said the department had arrested two people in Okaloosa County. Both suspects face murder charges and were booked early Tuesday morning, she said.

Nicholson would not confirm their names, but the county's corrections Web site identifies one as Frederick Lee Thorton Jr.

A total of six arrests have been made in last week's deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

Three people were in custody in connection with the Billingses' deaths Monday afternoon, and Morgan told reporters a total of six to eight people are thought to be involved in the crime.

Gary Lamont Sumner, 30, was arrested Monday night. Morgan said Sumner was pulled over in an Okaloosa County traffic stop on Sunday and arrested after authorities discovered he matched a description of a person sought in Escambia County. He faces a murder charge, Morgan said.

Wayne Coldiron, 41; Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35; and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56, were arrested over the weekend. Authorities said Coldiron and the younger Gonzalez face charges of murder, robbery and residential home invasion. The elder Gonzalez faces charges of evidence tampering for allegedly trying to disguise a vehicle spotted at the home.

Police have called the slayings "a very well-planned and methodical operation." Video Watch experts describe the "military-style" attack »

Authorities 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 drivers remained in both of the cars. Video Watch surveillance video of the home invasion »

Investigators believe one motive in the deaths was robbery, but, "we believe there are other motives," Morgan said. He would not say what, if anything, was taken from the home. Video Watch a report on the arrests in the complex case »

Melanie Billings' biological daughter, Ashley Markham, told reporters 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 Ashley Markham say, "Love was never scarce" in Billings home »

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

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

Coldiron and the younger Gonzalez were being held on $1 million bond, according to records posted on the sheriff's Web site. The senior Gonzalez was being held on $250,000 bond. One of those three is believed to be the mastermind behind the crime, Morgan said, but would not say which one.

Although the Billingses were well known in the community, the sheriff said authorities are still trying to unravel why they were targeted. Both of the Billingses were shot multiple times, he said, but he would not release further details on their deaths.

Markham said earlier the family does not know any of the first three suspects. She said the children "are coping very well" and are being cared for.
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"They haven't asked too many questions," she said, noting that several have disabilities. While the investigation continues, the family is keeping the children's whereabouts a secret.

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

[Fanny Mae]

Island, or any other monkey that might know, what time of day was this when the murders happened? Why I am asking is it appeared to be daylight in the videos I have seen. It must have been early in the morning, and all the more confusing, because of that time of day, it may have been more likely that someone would have been awake and seen them. I thought I heard that they were murdered in their bedroom, which made me think they were still asleep. I wondered about the alarm system, and did they really have a dog, as there was a "Bad Dog" sign on a fence.

Possibly not asleep, though. Maybe they were taken to the room where the safe was, and it was probably in a closet of the bedroom. Also, for the number of people involved, it may have been for the size and weight of the safe.

It is all a very strange case. I am very familiar with the area. I used to live on the Alabama coast, and we were almost sister cities. The whole thing makes me very sad. We were looking today at a picture that was taken from the Dairy Queen parking lot overlooking the I-10 bridge that was destroyed by hurricaine Ivan later.

I saw the press conference today with the Escambia County Sheriff and thought it was very well done. At least this happened in Florida, where we will be getting more information further down the road due to the Sunshine Laws.

God Bless these people. 

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FLORIDA_COUPLE_SLAIN?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Jul 14, 10:04 PM EDT

7 charged with killing Fla. couple, stealing safe

By MELISSA NELSON and BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
 PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- An ex-convict who taught self-defense to children. A day laborer who served prison time for killing a man in a fight. An Air Force staff sergeant attached to an elite special operations unit.

Somehow, authorities say, they ended up part of a loosely connected group of seven men charged in the shooting deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a wealthy Florida Panhandle couple known for adopting children with special needs.

The suspects, some dressed as ninjas, stole a safe and other items during the break-in Thursday at the sprawling Billings home west of Pensacola. Nine of the couple's 13 adopted children were home at the time. Three saw the intruders but were not hurt. Authorities would not say what was in the safe or what else was taken.

Some of the masked men entered through the front door, while others slipped in through an unlocked utility door in the back. They were in and out in under 10 minutes. The crime was captured by an extensive video surveillance system the Billings used to keep tabs on their many children.

"It was a very well-planned and well-executed operation," said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan.

The last three of the seven suspects were arrested Tuesday, though Morgan said there still might be more arrests. State Attorney Bill Eddins said robbery was the main motive for the crime.

Adult daughter Ashley Markham - one of four Billings children from previous marriages - sobbed Tuesday as she hugged Morgan, who said he kept a promise made to her the night of the slayings.

"It is my honor today to tell you, Ashley, your family we have found them and they are in custody," Morgan said.

The suspects ranged in age from 16 to 56, and several were day laborers who knew each other through a pressure washing business and an auto detailer they worked for. One, Donnie Ray Stallworth, was with the Air Force Special Operations Command with an aircraft maintenance squadron at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach. It wasn't clear how he knew the others.

"We're dealing with a group of folks with rare exception - of course, there's a couple of people who are not - that again are basically day laborer sorts, folks that get odd jobs, part-time jobs and they drift," Morgan said. "With the exception of Mr. Stallworth you don't have any career-minded people in this group."

Morgan called 35-year-old suspect Leonard Gonzalez Jr. a "pivotal person" in organizing the crime, but stopped short of identifying him as the mastermind. He was charged Sunday with murder.

In court Tuesday, he read a statement proclaiming his innocence.

"The sheriff intentionally thrust me into the public's eye without any charges being filed and also intentionally placed me in a suicide ward to make me look even guiltier," Gonzalez said.

News clippings provided a very different picture of Gonzalez, a former National Guard member and martial arts expert who taught self-defense classes for women and children. In 2007, he and his wife founded a martial-arts course that taught children to defend themselves against sexual predators.

Gwinn Corley, a spokesman for a community group that gave Gonzalez and his wife an award for their program, said they brought their six young children to self-defense presentations.

"We were impressed with them," Corley said. "He was talking about children and their respect for their elders. They both seemed to have a passion to teaching the arts to abused women and kids, they had a vision for how to give free self defense."

But records show Gonzalez, who was arrested Sunday in the Billings case, served time in Florida State Prison on burglary and forgery charges in the mid-1990s.

His father, Leonard Gonzalez Sr., was also arrested. The 56-year-old was charged Sunday night with evidence tampering after authorities said he tried to cover up some damage on a red van seen on surveillance video pulling away from the house. Officials said the damage was unrelated to the crime. Tips from the public led police to the van Saturday.

The elder Gonzalez owned a pressure washing business and may have visited the Billings property once before. Another man arrested and charged with murder Sunday, day laborer Wayne Coldiron, 41, sometimes worked for him and also may have visited the property, Morgan said.

Coldiron, who appeared in court Tuesday and said he had lost his job as a plumber, served two years in a Tennessee prison in the early 1990s after killing a man during a fight. He also served nearly two years in prison in Florida on an aggravated assault charge.

The other four suspects were arrested Monday and Tuesday.

Authorities in neighboring Okaloosa County arrested 31-year-old Gary Sumner, another day laborer who was in a county jail on an unrelated traffic charge. On Tuesday, three more men were arrested: Stallworth, 19-year-old Frederick Lee Thornton, and a 16-year-old whom officials are not naming because he is a minor.

Eddins, the prosecutor, said he would seek first-degree murder indictments from a grand jury against all the suspects, including Gonzalez Sr. He would not say whether he will seek the death penalty.

Escambia County Judge Tom Johnson refused to set bail for the younger Gonzalez and Coldiron at the request of State Attorney Bill Eddins. Johnson set their arraignments for Aug. 6. Bond for the elder Gonzalez had already been set at $500,000. The suspects arrested Monday and Tuesday are due in court this week except for Stallworth, who must be extradited from Alabama, where he was arrested.

The Billings family attended the hearing Tuesday but made no statements. Some were in tears afterward.

Friends, meanwhile, struggled to understand how the couple could have been killed in such a horrific way.

"Melanie and Byrd both would give you the shirt off their back and maybe they were too trusting," said Patsy Brown, who had known Melanie Billings for 22 years.

---

[islandmonkey]

Island, or any other monkey that might know, what time of day was this when the murders happened? Why I am asking is it appeared to be daylight in the videos I have seen. It must have been early in the morning, and all the more confusing, because of that time of day, it may have been more likely that someone would have been awake and seen them. I thought I heard that they were murdered in their bedroom, which made me think they were still asleep. I wondered about the alarm system, and did they really have a dog, as there was a "Bad Dog" sign on a fence.

Possibly not asleep, though. Maybe they were taken to the room where the safe was, and it was probably in a closet of the bedroom. Also, for the number of people involved, it may have been for the size and weight of the safe.

It is all a very strange case. I am very familiar with the area. I used to live on the Alabama coast, and we were almost sister cities. The whole thing makes me very sad. We were looking today at a picture that was taken from the Dairy Queen parking lot overlooking the I-10 bridge that was destroyed by hurricaine Ivan later.

I saw the press conference today with the Escambia County Sheriff and thought it was very well done. At least this happened in Florida, where we will be getting more information further down the road due to the Sunshine Laws.

God Bless these people. 

I totally agree that something doesn't add up in this case; 30 days of these monsters "practicing", 7 arrested, one more they are waiting to arrest.....I'm starting to wonder if the rumors we are hearing are true.

Fanny, IIRC these murders happened sometime after 7pm last Thursday night which was perfect timing as last week was "Blue Angel's Week", with over 100m more people on the beach and so most of Escambia County and even Santa Rosa County cops were on the beach. Apparantly the murders are even on the video tapes the LE retrieved from the Billing's home.......SICK!!!!!!!!!!

Where did you live Orange Beach, Perdido Key, Gulf Shores????

Ivan did bring mass destruction here, although I wasn't living on the beach at the time but there are a ton of empty lots scattered along the beach still today.

[Blue Moon]

Island, how close is this home to Gulf Shores?  I read it was close to the FL/AL line. 

I am on my way to Gulf Shores in 3 weeks.  Always go to see the Blue Angels practice.  I love them.  Last year it was rained out.  So we will try again this year.

[islandmonkey]

Island, how close is this home to Gulf Shores?  I read it was close to the FL/AL line. 

I am on my way to Gulf Shores in 3 weeks.  Always go to see the Blue Angels practice.  I love them.  Last year it was rained out.  So we will try again this year.

It's about 40 miles from Gulf Shores, and it's about 40 miles from where I live also. Beulah is about 5 miles from the Alabama line.

Yes, last yr the show was on Sunday and even afterwards there was a huge lighning storm, but this yr I took my staycation because they practice all week over the beach and some of the practices are better than the show!!!!!!!  I woke up Wednesday morning and thought I was in the middle of a hurricane, then remembered the Blues were up, they practiced Thursday and Friday but at more civilizied hours, then on Saturday during the show my daughter and I were on surf boards out past the first sand bar when the sneak pass came...I thought she was going to break her neck trying to get off her board because she was petrified he was going to hit her, and it physically moved my board from the low (25 ft) flyover directly above us. It was incredible as always though.

[islandmonkey]

 

Heads up~News Conference at 12:00 CST to announce YET ANOTHER arrest, heard it was prominent member of community (wonder if the "hit" rumors are true)???????

[no rose colored glasses]

Heads up~News Conference at 12:00 CST to announce YET ANOTHER arrest, heard it was prominent member of community (wonder if the "hit" rumors are true)???????

I just heard this on the news    Also the investigation is going overseas 

[islandmonkey]

Heads up~News Conference at 12:00 CST to announce YET ANOTHER arrest, heard it was prominent member of community (wonder if the "hit" rumors are true)???????

I just heard this on the news    Also the investigation is going overseas 

Yes.......it just gets crazier every day, but now they say this prominent person has disappeared and they are putting out an APB for him, also saying as they have from the beginning that when it all unravels it will be a jaw-dropper. I'm so freaking curious WHO this prominet member is??????

[no rose colored glasses]

Heads up~News Conference at 12:00 CST to announce YET ANOTHER arrest, heard it was prominent member of community (wonder if the "hit" rumors are true)???????

I just heard this on the news    Also the investigation is going overseas 

Yes.......it just gets crazier every day, but now they say this prominent person has disappeared and they are putting out an APB for him, also saying as they have from the beginning that when it all unravels it will be a jaw-dropper. I'm so freaking curious WHO this prominet member is??????

I heard that also, wow 

[crazybabyborg]

This case is really shocking. Those poor children! 

[islandmonkey]

This case is really shocking. Those poor children! 

I know CBB~Beulah doesn't even show up on maps it's so small  and three of the kids witnessed thr murders and sheriff says the entire crime is on video

I'm frankly shocked they solved it so quickly with all the LE on the beach due to the Air shows etc......Thank God!

[Mere]

Link from N. Escambia News.... http://www.northescambia.com/

CNN saying that DEA is called in.

CNN will cover the update ... now.

[Mere]

Looking for Pamela Laverne Long as a person of interest.  Well known in Gulf Breeze area.

Numerous search warrants.

Someone who is a person of interest was to disable security but did not do this.

.......from CNN