“The Videos Of The Children Ripped My Heart”: Billings Murder Videos Released

August 28, 2009

Surveillance video from inside home of Byrd and Melanie Billings provides a second by second record of what happened the night the couple was murdered in their Beulah home. The State Attorney’s Office released detailed written information about what was recorded on each of 16 cameras around the home on July 9.

Those surveillance tapes were shown to the media on Thursday, and they will be available for the public to view beginning today. The videos show the red van entering the driveway, masked men forcing their way into the home and Byrd Billings being shot in the leg. The actual murders were not recorded; there were no cameras in the master bedroom.

The videos show at least two of the children and their fear and confusion. One camera shows one child sitting on a coffee table watching Byrd Billings as he is shot in the legs. Another camera shows the fear young girl upstairs. She hears the gunshots and runs back and forth from her room door to her bed, hiding under her covers. She was still hiding under her covers when deputies arrive.

“The videos the children ripped my heart,” Rick Outzen, publisher of the Pensacola Independent News, wrote on his blog after viewing the videos Thursday.

Read Outzen’s “What I Saw…” by clicking here. Outzen also describes the 2,076 crime scene photos here.

Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Geeker ruled that the two thousand crime scene photos and the surveillance video from the Billings home would be made public, but no copies of the video or photographs could be made. He issued his order after a motion to block the visual evidence was filed by Billings family members.

According to the information from the State Attorney’s Office, here is what happened the night of July 9:

  • 7:05:42  –Red van is visible entering driveway
  • 7:05:58 — Offenders exit van
  • 7:06:13 — Two offenders exit wooded area on north side of residence and approach house
  • 7:06:16 — Byrd Billings looks toward front door and raises his hands
  • 7:06:22 — Byrd Billings is shot in leg, escorted to bedroom; Melanie Billings remains in living room with child and offender
  • 7:07:34 — Byrd Billings visible back in living room
  • 7:07:42 — Both victims exit living room toward master bedroom area
  • 7:07:55 — Offender carrying a bag visible going from back of van toward house
  • 7:09:52 — Offenders return to van
  • 7:10:16 — Van departs yard
  • 7:10:27 — Last view leaving driveway
  • 7:26:36 — First deputies arrive on scene

For a detailed account of what was recorded by each camera at the Billings home, click here (pdf).

Comments

One Response to ““The Videos Of The Children Ripped My Heart”: Billings Murder Videos Released”

  1. A. Davis on August 30th, 2009 8:46 pm

    Look at that time I guess the police finished what they was doing at the Tom Thumb (at 9mile and beulah rd) 16min how far did they have to come from? I guess thats good timing though. Not really any one who lives in Beulah and has tried to get help knows they might come within 30min if they are not to busey. These people was killed and the children had to see this its awfull that a bunch of killers can organize there time better than the officers. Beulah just needs a diffrent bunch of officers if not maybe split the ones up get new faces that are not afraid to do there jobs.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News