Motive probed in slaying of Florida couple with 16 kids
Last Updated: Monday, July 13, 2009 | 3:08 PM ET
The Associated Press
Wayne Coldiron, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr. are charged in connection with the killings of Byrd and Melaine Billings, who were found shot to death on Thursday. (Escambia Sheriff's Department/Associated Press)Investigators are looking at business ties, among other leads, for a motive in the slaying of a wealthy Florida couple who adopted 12 children with developmental disabilities and other problems, authorities said Monday.
There may be multiple motives and more arrests are possible after three men were jailed Sunday, two of them on murder charges, in the shooting deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings at their sprawling home near Pensacola, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.
"It began as what we thought was a home invasion. At this point because of the complexity and the ties this family had through the business community, we're moving many other directions. Could be money, could be a whole host of things," Morgan said on the NBC show Today.
Morgan also cited the family's business ties in an interview on the CBS Early Show but declined to be more specific. He said investigators are working on "multiple motives."
Byrd Billings, 68, and Melanie, 43, owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used car dealership.
Three men arrested in connection with the slayings were scheduled to appear in court Monday and Tuesday.
Day labourer Wayne Coldiron, 41, turned himself in to Escambia County authorities and Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., 35, was arrested in neighbouring Santa Rosa County. Both were charged with murder and home invasion, according to their arrest warrants. The two were set to have a first court appearance Tuesday.
Authorities also jailed Gonzalez's father, Leonard P. Gonzalez Sr., on a charge of evidence tampering. Police said the 56-year-old tried to paint over and hide damage on a red van that was spotted on surveillance video leaving the Billings's home after the shootings Thursday. Gonzalez was due in court Monday.
Children with friends, family
The Billings had 16 children, 12 of them adopted. Eight of the children, ages 8 to 14, were in the house when the shootings took place on Thursday.
Ashley Markham, an adult daughter of the Billings, said the adopted children are together with friends and family at an undisclosed location. The Pensacola News Journal reported that Markham told a news conference Monday that she planned to carry on with her parents' legacy.
Asked about the three men arrested, Markham said she had no knowledge of any connection between those men, her parents or any of the children in the household.
"The people who have been arrested, we have no knowledge of them," she said. "That's all I know."
The Billings were well-respected in the area for providing a home for children with autism, Down syndrome and other developmental problems, and "especially Melanie has been referred to as an angel," the sheriff told CBS.
The surveillance video shows three armed, masked suspects arrive in the van, enter the house and then return to the vehicle, the warrants said.
The Billings's nine-bedroom home in a rural area west of Pensacola near the Alabama state line had an extensive surveillance system that authorities said captured the break-in. Tips from the public led police to the van Saturday.
Morgan said the investigation involves a complex web of relationships between suspects, though he declined to elaborate on them. He said it did not appear that the suspects knew the victims. The younger Gonzalez and Coldiron are friends, the warrants said.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim’s husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Serial carjacker gets life term for fatal crash
- An Ontario judge was moved to tears while delivering a life prison sentence to a serial carjacker who killed a woman and injured five others after driving a stolen van into her car during a 2010 police chase. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Everest victim’s husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- Canadian restrained on flight to Miami arrested
- A 24-year-old Canadian man is in federal custody for rushing toward the front of an American Airlines flight from Jamaica after the plane landed in Miami. more »
- Suspect in Etan Patz death charged with murder
- A New Jersey man accused of luring six-year-old Etan Patz into a New York City convenience store in 1979 and killing him has been charged with second-degree murder. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest

- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
Dispatches »
- Foreign slaves serving the U.S. military machine May. 24, 2012 3:33 PM How does a hairdresser recruited for work in Dubai, wind up slaving for the U.S. military in a war zone in Iraq? There are tens of thousands serving in what's come to be known as America's "Invisible Army."
Connect Newsroom Blog
Etan Patz Arrest, Helene Campbell & Facebook Flop May. 24, 2012 8:54 PM Three decades after a U.S. child Etan Patz disappeared, an arrest has finally been made.
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim’s husband says family not seeking government help
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Brave cat makes epic leap of faith
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada

