The latest update in the execution-style murders of Byrd Billings and Melanie Billings in Beulah, Florida seen in the surveillance video below is the arrest of three additional suspects, bringing the total in custody to six men.
The shooting deaths of the Billings, a popular couple who adopted 13 special needs children, shocked the Florida Panhandle area.
According to Okaloosa County sheriff’s spokeswoman Michele Nicholson, two men were arrested in Okaloosa County, Florida early Tuesday morning and charged with first degree murder. Only one of those suspects has been identified so far, one Frederick Lee Thorton Jr.
The first arrests over the weekend were Wayne Coldiron, 41; Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35; and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56. Authorities said Wayne Coldiron and the junior Gonzalez face charges of murder, robbery and residential home invasion. The senior Gonzalez faces charges of evidence tampering for allegedly trying to disguise a vehicle spotted at the home.
Late Monday, authorities arrested Gary Lamont Sumner, 30, in Okaloosa County and charged him with murder. A seventh suspect who drove the second getaway vehicle is still being sought by police.
The break-in was captured by an extensive video surveillance system the Billings used to keep tabs on their children.
The surveillance video below shows three armed, masked men arriving in a red van, entering through the front of the house and then returning to the vehicle.
Another group of men dressed in what the sheriff called black “ninja garb” went in through an unlocked utility door in the back of the house
Police say they were all in and out of the Billings house in under 10 minutes, but have not released any information on what was taken during the well-planned home invasion and execution-style murders.
Billings Murder Surveillance Video
And that’s the latest Billings murders update.
Tags: billings murder latest update, billings murder surveillance video, byrd billings, melanie billings, murder, shooting
July 14th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan 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 previously said the crime was “very well-planned and methodical.”
July 16th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Sheriff David Morgan said Thursday that Pamela Long Wiggins led them to evidence, though he would not be more specific.
“We have obtained a lot of physical evidence as a result of the arrest of this witness,” he told NBC’s Today Show.
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:38 am
Billings Murder Suspects
Composite photo from Escambia Sheriff’s Office of the suspects in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:27 am
Give them all the electric chair!!!!