Fla. couple who adopted 12 children found slain

[cece]

TY for the updates IM.

Here is my reply from PNJ:

Autopsy items are not public documents. All I can do is say stay tuned and read what we've got.

KW


(Now that's a laughable reply!!!)   

[cece]

http://www.pnj.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/90817024

Among the more than 700 pages of documents from the homicide investigation: interviews with witnesses and suspects, crime scene investigation reports, medical examiner’s reports.

Key points from the documents:

-- Byrd Billings struggled against the men who came into his home, grabbing one of them by the neck. He was shot six times: once in the back of each leg, once on the chin, once on the left of his face near the ear and twice in the back of the head. Investigators said he also had a white zip tie on his left arm. His body was found in the master bedroom.

-- Melanie Billings was shot five times: twice in the chest, once in the nose, once in the eye, once in the left temple. Her body was found in a hallway leading out of the master bedroom toward a study near the master suite of the couple’s Beulah home.

-- Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. told investigators that he had been used in the past by several car dealers in Pensacola to “whack” people. Gonzalez said a group of car dealers asked him to “whack” Byrd Billings, but said he refused the job.

-- Jimmy Seaton, 45, of Pensacola told investigators that in mid-June, Gonzalez Jr. contacted him asking if he would participate in a robbery, but he declined. Seaton said Gonzalez asked him to drive the getaway vehicle and Gonzalez “would take care of everything else.” Seaton said he had recently been released from jail after a DUI charge, and knew Gonzalez through the car business.

-- At least two of the Billingses’ disabled children who were in the house during the murders gave statements about the events to investigators. One said he heard a knock on the door, then two “bad men” entered. He said he heard one of them say “You’re gonna die, one two three.”
“Dad grabbed one of the suspect’s necks and mom got shot in her shirt,” he told investigators.

-- A witness at the Worth Marina in Orange Beach, Ala., told investigators that the day Pamela Long Wiggins and her husband Hugh Wiggins were found by police on the “Classy Lady,” they had tried to leave the marina but couldn’t due to engine troubles on the yacht.

[cece]

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10944241

FL officials: Weapons from Pensacola murders found in Moss Point
Posted: Aug 17, 2009 5:36 PM EDT Updated: Aug 17, 2009 5:36 PM EDT

MOSS POINT, MS (WLOX) - Weapons authorities believe were used in the murders of a Pensacola couple ended up in Moss Point after the crime. That information came out Monday when Florida authorities released a list of evidence against the seven people accused in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings.   

The couple was killed July 9th in their Pensacola home. The Billings were well known in the area for adopting special needs children.   

Escambia County Sheriff's Department told WLOX News the weapons were surrendered by Moss Point man who had received them sometime after the murders. The weapons collected in Moss Point include a half dozen shotguns and long guns along with ammunition, scopes and other gun accessories.   

Escambia County officials told WLOX News the Moss Point man who had the weapons is not considered a suspect in the murders.

[Blue Moon]

Just listening to WEAR 3, and the SA believes Pam Wiggins IS a significant flight risk, two different witnesses testified that she was looking for help to flee the country.

Also, they showed the CD that has some of the 1000 pages of evidence, and it had statements in the 1000 pages that were from the kids in the house I knew Bud or Melanie had been ziptied, but they just stated it was Bud and that he was shot in the back of each leg and then twice in the back of the head.......heartbreaking statements from those children

IM, I know you aren't here right now, but have you heard anything from the local coverage on when or if the media will release the documents and autopsy?

I just saw on HLN that, according to the autopsy, Byrd was shot in both legs & the back of the head.  They said Melanie was shot multiple times in the chest & face.


There are some interesting comments at this article, but I would rather see the documents.

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=pluckcomments&key=20090817.pnj.DP90817008.article.NEWS01&s=d&s=d

This is just awful for those kids to have witnessed these killings.  This is some "BAD" people who don't fool around.  I am still amazed at the shear number of people involved in this.

[cece]

Just listening to WEAR 3, and the SA believes Pam Wiggins IS a significant flight risk, two different witnesses testified that she was looking for help to flee the country.

Also, they showed the CD that has some of the 1000 pages of evidence, and it had statements in the 1000 pages that were from the kids in the house I knew Bud or Melanie had been ziptied, but they just stated it was Bud and that he was shot in the back of each leg and then twice in the back of the head.......heartbreaking statements from those children

IM, I know you aren't here right now, but have you heard anything from the local coverage on when or if the media will release the documents and autopsy?

I just saw on HLN that, according to the autopsy, Byrd was shot in both legs & the back of the head.  They said Melanie was shot multiple times in the chest & face.


There are some interesting comments at this article, but I would rather see the documents.

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=pluckcomments&key=20090817.pnj.DP90817008.article.NEWS01&s=d&s=d

This is just awful for those kids to have witnessed these killings.  This is some "BAD" people who don't fool around.  I am still amazed at the shear number of people involved in this.

Hi BlueMoon.  Long time no see & welcome back.

I agree.  This is just terrible for those children.  These are very bad characters & I hope justice is served.

I'm hoping the local media will release some more of the documents.  I guess I am used to the Caylee case where all the media is competing to release what they get.

[cece]

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/florida/Evidence_Released_In_Billings_Murders


Evidence released in
Billings' murders

Updated: Monday, 17 Aug 2009, 5:09 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 17 Aug 2009, 5:09 PM CDT

    * Hubert Tate
    * Liz Nelson
    * Photojournalist: Franz Barraza

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The discovery documents in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings reveal more about the incident surrounding the couple's murders. That document is a staggering 700-plus pages long.

Documents show the accused ringleader in the crime, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., pointed the finger at a gang called MS-13. He also claimed that gang members were upset with Byrd Billings.

New developments also show the victims were shot in the head. Melanie Billings was shot three times, and her husband was shot twice. They were also shot in multiple places on their bodies.

Gonzalez, Jr. also noted that he had been used in the past to quote, "whack folks."

One document says that a cell phone picture of a stolen safe was taken before the crimes and sent by Gonzalez, Jr. to the other defendants.

As FOX10 News reported last week, family members requested that the court not release inside surveillance video of the murder.

"Of course, it gets on the Internet and its permanent out there, and it's just too much for the family to endure," said family attorney Robert Beasley.

The Billings murder case continues to unfold. Eventually, prosecutors say a jury will hear why the two were gunned down in their Beulah home.

As for video of the murders, attorneys say they expect the court to rule on the family's motion by the end of the week.

[Blue Moon]

Just listening to WEAR 3, and the SA believes Pam Wiggins IS a significant flight risk, two different witnesses testified that she was looking for help to flee the country.

Also, they showed the CD that has some of the 1000 pages of evidence, and it had statements in the 1000 pages that were from the kids in the house I knew Bud or Melanie had been ziptied, but they just stated it was Bud and that he was shot in the back of each leg and then twice in the back of the head.......heartbreaking statements from those children

IM, I know you aren't here right now, but have you heard anything from the local coverage on when or if the media will release the documents and autopsy?

I just saw on HLN that, according to the autopsy, Byrd was shot in both legs & the back of the head.  They said Melanie was shot multiple times in the chest & face.


There are some interesting comments at this article, but I would rather see the documents.

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=pluckcomments&key=20090817.pnj.DP90817008.article.NEWS01&s=d&s=d

This is just awful for those kids to have witnessed these killings.  This is some "BAD" people who don't fool around.  I am still amazed at the shear number of people involved in this.

Hi BlueMoon.  Long time no see & welcome back.

I agree.  This is just terrible for those children.  These are very bad characters & I hope justice is served.

I'm hoping the local media will release some more of the documents.  I guess I am used to the Caylee case where all the media is competing to release what they get.

Hi cece, couldn't find out anything in Gulf Shores.  No One was talking about it.  The Mobile TV stations always had plenty to report on it.  We did ride out Fort Morgan road and I couldn't find the car lot out that way that was talked about but that doesn't surprise me as most buildings/homes are back in the tress and brush and you can't see it unless you drive into the driveway and come upon it.

I guess I don't understand WHY these two people were targeted and killed.  Just because someone doesn't like someone why would they bring in the mob/gangsters to wack them?  Was there shady dealings going on with that loan company?  Was Byrd part of this scheme or did he unknowingly get involved with the wrong people?  Lots of questions concerning this whole deal. You don't involve that many people in a hit and expect it to come off smoothly with no problems.  The less people the better.  Just appears to me to be more to this.

[cece]

Hi cece, couldn't find out anything in Gulf Shores.  No One was talking about it.  The Mobile TV stations always had plenty to report on it.  We did ride out Fort Morgan road and I couldn't find the car lot out that way that was talked about but that doesn't surprise me as most buildings/homes are back in the tress and brush and you can't see it unless you drive into the driveway and come upon it.

I guess I don't understand WHY these two people were targeted and killed.  Just because someone doesn't like someone why would they bring in the mob/gangsters to wack them?  Was there shady dealings going on with that loan company?  Was Byrd part of this scheme or did he unknowingly get involved with the wrong people?  Lots of questions concerning this whole deal. You don't involve that many people in a hit and expect it to come off smoothly with no problems.  The less people the better.  Just appears to me to be more to this.

TY BlueMoon.  All very good questions that we need the answers to.

I would rather the media release the documents to us (like they did in the Caylee case) rather than pick what they want us to know.  Out of 1000 pages we've only gotten a few comments of bits & pieces.  I guess they have the choice to report only what they want.  I'd rather read it for myself & make my own conclusions than take the media's word for what is in the documents.
 

[Blue Moon]

Hi cece, couldn't find out anything in Gulf Shores.  No One was talking about it.  The Mobile TV stations always had plenty to report on it.  We did ride out Fort Morgan road and I couldn't find the car lot out that way that was talked about but that doesn't surprise me as most buildings/homes are back in the tress and brush and you can't see it unless you drive into the driveway and come upon it.

I guess I don't understand WHY these two people were targeted and killed.  Just because someone doesn't like someone why would they bring in the mob/gangsters to wack them?  Was there shady dealings going on with that loan company?  Was Byrd part of this scheme or did he unknowingly get involved with the wrong people?  Lots of questions concerning this whole deal. You don't involve that many people in a hit and expect it to come off smoothly with no problems.  The less people the better.  Just appears to me to be more to this.

TY BlueMoon.  All very good questions that we need the answers to.

I would rather the media release the documents to us (like they did in the Caylee case) rather than pick what they want us to know.  Out of 1000 pages we've only gotten a few comments of bits & pieces.  I guess they have the choice to report only what they want.  I'd rather read it for myself & make my own conclusions than take the media's word for what is in the documents.
 

I imagine that most of the evidence is those home monitoring system and the killings are on tape.  Because of that I am sure that that would be held back and not released.  But  I am surprised some tv station hasn't filed something to try to get this info released.  I am like you, I would rather see it myself and decide from there or pick it apart here with others than taking the word of the media.

[kc1234]

I'm not sure if these are all of the documents in evidence, but here are many docs uploaded to the PNJ website.  I am still sifting throught them, a lot of info, but a lot has been redacted.  http://www.pnj.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/90817024

[Blue Moon]

I'm not sure if these are all of the documents in evidence, but here are many docs uploaded to the PNJ website.  I am still sifting throught them, a lot of info, but a lot has been redacted.  http://www.pnj.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/90817024

Thanks.  I have just started reading them.  Didn't know these were out there.

[islandmonkey]

I'm not sure if these are all of the documents in evidence, but here are many docs uploaded to the PNJ website.  I am still sifting throught them, a lot of info, but a lot has been redacted.  http://www.pnj.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/90817024

Thanks kc1234~I'm working on reading thru these myself!!!

[islandmonkey]

Home About Independent News Outtakes Interviews Top Issues of 2007 Video Walker Holmes     ricksblog.biz
News, Politics, Opinions and Views that make you think
Reports reveal more on the Billings’ murders
August 18 200913 Commented
Categorized Under: Escambia County, May 11 2009

The interviews by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office with dozens of witnesses give the picture of a horrible, grisly double homicide that defies the motive a simple robbery.

Seven men invaded the Billings’ home and while some may have thought the motive was robbery, the investigators’ reports give a far more brutal picture of the crime.

On early evening of Thursday, July 9, a red van pulled in the front yard of the large home owned by Byrd “Bud “ and Melanie Billings. Friend and neighbor April Spencer had left the residence about 90 minutes before after helping Melanie bathe two of her daughters. Bud Billings was watching TV and Melanie was getting dinner ready in the kitchen as Spencer walked out the door.

Around 7:30 p.m. Adrianna Billings was pounding on the Spencer’s door, yelling, “Come, Mom and Dad are dead.” Leaving the young girl at her home with her daughter, Spencer ran to Billings’ residence to find the laundry room door, which is on the north side of the house, kicked in.

Jake Billings, a 10 year old with Downs Syndrome was standing in the living room pointing to his parents’ bedroom. Jake can’t speak and communicates only through sign language.

Spencer walked into the master bedroom and found Bud lying in front of the dresser, face down in pool of blood. He was dressed in blue shorts with no shirt. Melanie was lying in a hallway that led out of the master bedroom towards a nearby study, face up. Both had been shot multiple times. Spencer grabbed Jake, ran to her house and called 911.

The forensic report revealed that Bud had been shot in the backs of his right and left legs. He had been shot twice in the back of the head with exit wounds to the forehead and above his left eye. Billings was also shot twice in the front of the face on the right and left sides.

Melanie Billings was shot twice in the chest. Her white Elton John shirt was covered with blood. She was also shot three times in the face and head. She had an abrasion to the left side of her nose and bruising near her left eye.

Ballistic evidence showed that the Billings were shot with a 9mm.

Ali Stanley, a specialist in child disability interviews, assisted the investigators in questioning some of the Billings’ children. Jake told her that his dad, Bud, was in the room sleeping when he heard a knock on the door. Jake signed to Stanley that two “bad men” wearing masks that covered their faces said, “You’re gonna die, one, two, three” and then he heard, “No way, no way.”

Jake also told Stanley that his dad grabbed one of the suspects by the neck and “mom got shot in the shirt.” He remembered a name being called out, but he could only sign “BJA” and told Stanley that he could pronounce the name.

When Wayne Coldiron was arrested and questioned about the robbery/murders, he said that on the day of the crime he was with Leonard Gonzalez, Sr. when Patrick Gonzalez drove up in a red-mini van with four black males–Donnie Ray Stallworth, Gary Lamont Sumner, Rakeem Florence and Frederick Lee Thornton Jr.–who were following in a tan or gold Explorer. All were dressed in black–in garb that Sheriff David Morgan would describe at later press conferences as ninja-like.

The red mini-van was driven to location across the Alabama-Florida border. Patrick Gonzalez and Coldiron were dropped off behind a church near the Billings’ home. Gonzalez Sr. drove a red Dodge van to the front of the house with three of the black males inside. Stallworth stayed in the Explorer driving up and down the road.

Patrick Gonzalez and Coldiron ran across the backyard. Gonzalez was armed with a 9mm. Gonzalez and Coldiron enter through the laundry room door. The three black males entered through the front door. Bud Billings was shot immediately in the legs by Gonzalez and dragged into the bedroom where Coldiron says Gonzalez killed both Melanie and Bud.

The robbers grabbed a medium-sized safe and a small briefcase, ran to the Dodge van parked in front of the house and drove off the property. The van entrance and exit from the property, as well as Coldiron and Gonzalez’s running across the backyard, were captured on a camera surveillance system. The photos were released to the media in the days after the crime.

The safe, briefcase and weapons were switched to the red mini-van. The Dodge van was taken to the home of Leonard Gonzalez and was later recovered when neighbors called the police about the vehicle fitting the description of the van in the videos. Gonzalez Sr. was arrested and his interviews led to the arrests of his son, Coldiron and later the other home invaders.

Those arrested linked Pamela Long Wiggins to the crime. Her husband, Hugh Wiggins, told investigators, after being granted limited immunity, that the safe had been hidden under bricks in the backyard of their residence in Gulf Breeze. He said that his wife had told him that a 9mm handgun had been hidden in the backseat of their 1971 Buick Gran Sport Convertible that had been taken to a repair shop and hidden under a tarp. Both the safe and the murder weapon were recovered in the places identified by Wiggins.

When asked about the other weapons used in the crime, Wiggins admitted that he dropped the guns off near Moss Point, Miss. with a friend, Ed Denson. Special agents of the ATF found Denison and recovered 2 Mossberg .12 gauge shotguns, a MAK 90 assault rifle, a Ruger mini-14 and a .223 cal AR variant rifle along with several magazines and ammunition for the various rifles

When Patrick Gonzalez was arrested, Chief Deputy Bill Chavers interviewed him in the Santa Rosa County Jail before he was transported to Escambia County. Chavers knew Gonzalez as Pat Poff – the last name of his stepfather– and had taken karate classes with him in the 1980s.

During the course of the interview, Gonzalez denied any involvement in the Billings’ murders. However, he did tell Chavers that he was involved in something “very deep” and that he and his family was in danger. He said that he had been used in the past by several Pensacola car dealers to “whack folks.”

Then Gonzalez mentioned that the car dealers didn’t like Billings and had met a couple of times to discuss the problem that they were having with Bud Billings. He said that Cab Tice came to him and indicated that the group wanted Billings “whacked,” but he refused the job.

Gonzalez isn’t the only person to mention Tice and his possible involvement with the murders. The Billings’ son-in-law, James Markham, told investigators that Tice owed Billings more than $100,000. The eldest son, Justin Billings, told them that Cab Tice had “double crossed my dad with car business or something.”

Tice told WEAR TV 3 that Patrick Gonzalez’s remarks are those of a desperate man.

Leonard Gonzalez, Patrick Gonzalez, Donnie Ray Stallworth, Gary Lamont Sumner, Rakeem Florence and Frederick Lee Thornton Jr. have all been charged with first-degree murder. Pamela Wiggins has been charged with a first-degree felony of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

I spent most of the afternoon and evening pouring through the over 700 pages of reports. I will have more later.

Popularity: 3% [?]

http://ricksblog.biz/?p=7204#more-7204

[islandmonkey]

http://www.pnj.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/90817024


Billings details revealed
Kris Wernowsky • kwernowsky@pnj.com • August 17, 2009

  New details about the slayings of Byrd and Melanie Billings were revealed Monday when the State Attorney’s Office released more than 700 pages of statements, interviews, arrest warrants, crime scene reports and other documents.


 
The investigative documents shed light on the raw brutality of the attack on the couple at their Beulah home just before dusk on July 9.


Several interviews point to Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. as the leader of seven suspects, who have been charged with first-degree murder and home invasion.


The documents also include an interview with Gonzalez Jr. in which he suggests that Billings, a used-car dealer, was having problems with other dealers.


Gonzalez Jr. said one of those dealers, Henry “Cab” Tice, told him the group wanted Billing “whacked,” but he had refused the job. He also made grandiose claims about the involvement of the “Mexican mafia.”


“If this is about the killings, I didn’t do it. I can prove I didn’t do it,” Gonzalez told an investigator. “But I may know some people who may have done this, but it wasn’t me.”


Sheriff David Morgan has called Tice “a person of interest” in the murders. Investigators have questioned Tice several times, and he has not been charged in the slayings.


The documents released Monday reveal:


--Byrd Billings struggled against the five intruders in his home, grabbing one of them by the neck. Two suspects remained outside.


--His body, found in the master bedroom, had six bullet wounds — one in the back of each leg, two in the face and two in the back of the head. A white zip tie was on his left arm.


--Melanie Billings was shot five times — twice in the chest and three times in the face and head. Her body was found in a hallway leading out of the master bedroom.


-- A child — one of the couple’s nine adopted children with special needs — said that “bad men” woke his father and told him “You’re gonna die.” He watched as his mother was “shot in her shirt.”


--While intruders drove away with a small portable safe containing only medicine and family jewelry and papers, a second green gun safe with $164,000 in $100 bills sat undisturbed in a second-floor room.

(2 of 4)



-- Pamela Long Wiggins, charged as an accessory after the fact, and her husband, Hugh Wiggins, who has limited immunity, took several assault-type weapons to an acquaintance in Mississippi. After Hugh Wiggins told officers where the guns were located, the Mississippi man turned them over to federal agents.


--Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., Gonzalez’s Jr.’s father, was recruited by his son late in the planning process as a getaway driver. Gonzalez Sr.’s wife, Carol Brant, told investigators that her husband said the group was robbing a man who had been abusing children. There is no such evidence against Billings.


Fingers pointed


Gonzalez Jr. was identified by several of his co-defendants as the sole shooter, according to the released documents.


Gonzalez Jr., 35, agreed to talk with Bill Chavers, chief deputy of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, after he was picked up by deputies. Chavers had learned karate from Gonzalez Jr. in the 1980s.


In that July 12 interview, Gonzalez Jr. suggested that Tice was involved in the shootings.


Gonzalez Jr. told Chavers that he had been used in the past by car dealers in Pensacola to execute people.


He said the dealers “just did not like Billings at all.” That’s when he brought up Tice allegedly approaching him about killing Billings.


While Tice has not been charged in the murders, he has been arrested on a charge of writing bad checks to Billings’ finance company, an arm of the used-car business.


Gonzalez Jr. told Chavers that what he was involved in was “very deep” and that he and his family were in danger.


“Maybe I need to talk to the feds about his,” he said, according to Chavers’ report.


It was Gonzalez Jr. who planted the seed that investigators should look into the powerful and violent organized Mexican crime syndicate known as MS-13 for connections to the Billings homicides.


To date, Morgan has refused to say whether investigators have uncovered any other links between MS-13 and the slayings.


However, Morgan said Tice told investigators he has some $50,000 in debt to the Mexican mafia.

(3 of 4)



Lonnie Smith, who described himself as a longtime friend of Gonzalez Jr. through the used-car business, said he was asked to participate in the robbery but refused.


He said Gonzalez Jr. called him 13 times the day of the murders and claimed there was a couple of million collars in the safe to be robbed.


But Smith, like other Gonzalez Jr. acquaintances who were interviewed, regarded him as a liar and a boaster.


“I don’t know where he gets his information from, I don’t know where he comes up with these crazy ... things that he says he’s going to do,” Smith said. “Well, I got a security job, oh, I’m gonna go be somebody’s bodyguard and we’re gonna ride off on this yacht.”


Smith said that two years before the murder he began having discussions with Gonzalez and Hugh Wiggins, the husband of a Pamela Long Wiggins, who is charged as an accessory in the slayings,


About a year before the slayings, Smith said, he met Gonzalez and Hugh Wiggins on the couple’s 47-foot yacht “The Classy Lady,” parked at a slip off Palafox Pier in Pensacola.


Smith said he overheard Hugh Wiggins tell Gonzalez Jr. that he was a gun-runner.


“‘He said, ‘Man, I can get you anything you want,’” Smith recalled, though he admitted that he was skeptical of Gonzalez Jr. and anyone with whom he might be friends.


“... If you don’t know him, you’ve got to really read between the lines to figure out what’s true and what’s not true...” Smith said


Gonzalez Jr. asked Smith several weeks before the murders to take part in what was described as a “security job.” When he learned that the security job involved a robbery, Smith balked.


“I said, ‘No, dude, I’m not riding with nobody. I ain’t kidnapping nobody. I ain’t driving no damn get-away vehicle. That’s it. That’s the end of it. Don’t ask me again,’” Smith said in his statement.


Smith suggested to the investigators that the six men who went along with Gonzalez Jr. had no idea that the robbery would turn into a deadly double homicide.


“I read between the lines,” he said. “Ya’ll got seven other guys in there and I bet you all three of their stories, or all seven of their stories are somewhat remotely the same.

(4 of 4)



“I don’t think they went there to go do this,” he said referring to a photograph from the crime scene of what one investigator called an execution.


Smith learned from a friend in the used-car business that Tice was interviewed by investigators after the murders. Aware of the close relationship between Gonzalez Jr. and Tice, Smith said he immediately thought his friend might be involved.


“When I heard Cab was being talked to, I knew, I knew in my heart that had something to do with Pat,” Smith said.


Investigators made contact with Tice who said he had a legal dispute with Byrd Billings and that it was no secret that he “hated” him, according to arrest reports.


On the night of the murder, Tice said he was home checking his e-mail, but had problems doing so.


Knowing Gonzalez Jr. was computer literate, he called him between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., about the same time as the murders.


Gonzalez Jr. called Tice back the next day. Tice told Gonzalez Jr. that he had already taken care of his e-mail problem, according to his statement.


Many of the statements of Gonzalez Jr.’s co-defendants are missing from the voluminous paperwork released Monday by the State Attorney’s Office.


The law exempts confessions from public disclosure.




 
 

[islandmonkey]

  I have been reading thru the reports  and looks like Pam Wiggins WAS trying to leave the marina....too f@cking bad her boat had troubles and she couldn't get help to start the batteries

[cece]

I have been reading thru the reports  and looks like Pam Wiggins WAS trying to leave the marina....too f@cking bad her boat had troubles and she couldn't get help to start the batteries

 

[cece]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/national/south/interactive_lin_timeline_billings_murders_2776215

Interactive Timeline:
Billings Murders

[cece]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540141,00.html?test=latestnews

10-Year-Old Son With Down Syndrome Was Sleeping With Florida Couple During Murders

PENSACOLA, Fla. —  A 10-year-old adopted son with Down syndrome was sleeping with his parents when masked gunmen burst in and shot and killed the Florida couple in their bedroom last month, according to documents released Monday.

The boy was among nine children between the ages of 4 and 11 at the home when Byrd and Melanie Billings were slain July 9. The couple was known for adopting numerous children with special needs

According to a sheriff's report, the child in the bedroom 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."

The documents say investigators struggled to interview the boy because of a speech impediment and other disabilities. The child witness said his dad grabbed the neck of one of the gunmen and that his mom "got shot in her shirt."

The more than 700 pages of witness and suspect interviews, crime scene reports and autopsy information released by State Attorney Bill Eddins detail a gruesome scene. Six men and a 16-year-old boy charged as an adult face two counts each of first-degree murder. Eddins and Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan have said more arrests are possible.

Pamela Long Wiggins was taken into custody Monday after being arraigned on a charge of accessory to first-degree murder. Prosecutors claim she hid a safe stolen from the Billings' home in her yard. She has pleaded not guilty.

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

Investigators asked the boy whether his father called out any names before he was killed, but he could only use sign language to spell out three letters.

A 9-year-old boy asleep in another bedroom told investigators that he heard "seven booms and a scream."

Investigators have said the extensive surveillance system in the family's sprawling west Escambia County home captured the men, some of them in ninja garb, entering and leaving in less than four minutes.

The dozens of witness and suspect interviews reveal a complex investigation involving the suspects and their ties to Byrd Billings, his used car financing business, gangs, drugs and the Mexican underworld.

The safe taken from the family's home contained nothing of value, but a second safe that wasn't stolen had $164,000 in cash. An attorney for the family has said the suspects might have been targeting the second safe.

In his initial interview with investigators, Patrick Gonzalez, 35, the man investigators have described as the ringleader of the home-invasion and killings, suggested a group of car dealers with a grudge against Billings wanted him "whacked."

Gonzalez also told investigators that he and one of Byrd Billings' grown sons, Justin, had worked together as "enforcers" to get payments from people who had gotten behind.

Justin Billings and his friends were extensively interviewed. One friend said the son also believed his parents' deaths were a hired hit. Justin Billings told investigators he knew of gang members who wanted his parents dead.

The most heart-wrenching interview was April Spencer, who helped Melanie Billings care for the children and lived on the property.

Spencer said she spent the afternoon with the family and left after Melanie Billings had bathed two children and fixed dinner for the others.

Around 7:30 p.m., the couple's 11-year-old daughter came to her home and told her "mom and dad are dead."

Spencer ran to the couple's home and could smell gunpowder.

"As I was walking toward the staircase you could see drops of blood," she said.

"Her son ... He's 10 years old and he's got Down syndrome, he was standing in the living room and pointing to um, his mom and dad's room. I went into the bedroom, Byrd Billings, 'Bud' was laying in front of the dresser, face down, it looked like he had had been shot in the head and Melanie was lying in front of the closet face up."

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http://www.wkrg.com/crime/article/alleged-masterminds-friend-talks-about-billings-murder-plot/271969/Aug-18-2009_4-23-pm/

Threats And Meetings In Billings Murder Plot

4:15 pm
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan confirms Hugh Wiggins, husband of Pamela Long Wiggins, is a person of interest in the Billings murder.

Pamela Wiggins, who investigators say helped hide a safe stolen during the home invasion and double murder, is charged as an accessory after the crime.

12:15 pmA friend of alleged mastermind Leonard "Pat" Gonzalez, Jr. told investigators he knew his buddy was up to no good.

In an interview with Escambia County sheriff's deputies on July 24, Lonnie Smith, 32, said three weeks before Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot and killed in their Beulah, Florida home he witnessed a meeting between Gonzalez, Jr., Gary Sumner and Hugh Wiggins.

Smith, who said the meeting took place in a condo in Gulf Breeze, told investigators Gonzalez, Jr. asked him to go along on a "security job." Smith denied knowing many details of what he believed was a robbery, but said Gonzalez Jr. told him "this guys got a safe over there," to which he replied "no, dude, I'm not riding with nobody, I ain't kidnapping nobody, I ain't driving no damn get-away vehicle."

Smith said in the weeks leading up to the murders, Gonzalez Jr. repeatedly asked him to get involved, even calling him thirteen times the day the Billings' were killed.

"I was like dude, I don't know what the hell you keep calling me for, you're not gonna get me to, to do this thing," said Smith. When asked how much money Gonzalez Jr. thought was in the safe, he said "a couple million dollars."

In the 97 pages of the interview released Monday by the State Attorney's office, Smith said Gonzalez, Jr. introduced him to a man with a pony tail several times. According to investigators, Smith identified the man in a photo line up as Hugh Wiggins, who is not charged in the case. Wiggins' wife, Pamela, is charged as 'an accessory after the crime' after investigators found a safe stolen from the Billings' home buried in the backyard of her Gulf Breeze home.

Smith says after the meeting at the condo, Hugh Wiggins threatened him saying "if I got wind that you said anything, you know me....you'd go on a vacation you'd never come back from."

During the interview with investigators, Smith also mentioned a man named Henry "Cab" Tice, who has been named a person of interest in the case. Smith told investigators he has never met Tice, but said Gonzalez, Jr. and Tice "run when it comes to doing dirt." He said he has heard stories of Gonzalez Jr., and Tice going to Costa Rica "and getting escorted out with AK-47's."

Smith reluctantly discussed Tice with investigators saying on July 23, the day before the interviewed, he was warned about testifying against Tice. Smith says a friend, Chris Jones, told him "even if he does get locked up, you'd probably have to look over your shoulder for a while." Smith told investigators many men in the Pensacola car business believe Tice killed someone in Alabama ten years ago, though according to court records, he was never charged in Alabama with murder.

Byrd and Melanie Billings, who were well known in the Florida panhandle for adopting special needs children, were killed July 9. Melanie Billings was shot five times, including three times to her head and face. Byrd Billings was shot six times, including twice in the back of his head.

Nine of the children were in the house during the home invasion, and at least one of the couple's children witnessed the murders. The child, who is autistic, said his dad was asleep in the bedroom when two men knocked on the door. He said his dad then went into the hallway and the men screamed at him saying "you're going to die." He also described a struggle saying "dad grabbed the back of one of the guy's necks."

Leonard "Pat" Gonzalez Jr., 35, Leonard Gonzalez Sr., 56, Gary Sumner, 30, Wayne Coldiron, 41, Florence Rakeem, 16, Fredrick Thornton, 19 and Donnie Ray Stallworth, Jr., 28 are charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of home invasion robbery.

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http://www.pnj.com/article/20090818/NEWS01/908180327/1006/NEWS01

Boater tells of locating Long Wiggins

Court documents released Monday shed light on the events leading to the questioning of Pamela Long Wiggins in the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

Timothy Dale Powell has his boat in a slip at the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Ala. Long Wiggins' yacht, "The Classy Lady," was moored next to Powell's at a slip registered to Patrick Gonzalez. Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. has been accused of killing the Billingses during the July 9 home invasion.

Powell said that early July 15, his wife received a voicemail from Long Wiggins that said, "We really want to go out today."

That same day, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office announced that Long Wiggins was a "person of interest" in the double homicide in Beulah.

The Powells recognized her from the news.

Powell said he tried to call the Escambia County Sheriff's Office but couldn't get through, so he called Orange Beach police, who took his information.

He hung up on the police as Long Wiggins and her husband approached on the dock. Powell ran inside the boat and tried to call the police. But before he could dial his phone rang.

He could see Hugh Wiggins standing behind the boat looking in and trying to see him.

He noticed the call was from an 850 area code and assumed the Escambia County Sheriff's Office was trying to get through.

He answered. It was Hugh Wiggins.

Powell came out of the boat, and they hung up their phones. Powell said he nervously walked up to Hugh Wiggins, who also appeared "nervous and very cautious looking down at the docks," Powell said in his statement.

Hugh Wiggins wanted Powell to come on the boat and help him get it started, but Powell said he couldn't because he had to go to lunch.

"I was trying to buy time to get back to you guys," Powell said, referring the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

Powell walked away as the Orange Beach Police Department arrived and detained the couple. Long Wiggins eventually was charged as an accessory after the fact to the double homicide.

Hugh Wiggins has not been charged in the ongoing investigation.