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Two Arrested And Charged With Murder In Billings Case
July 12, 2009
Two people have been arrested and charged with open counts of murder in connection with the murder of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., and Wayne Coldiron were arrested Sunday evening and charged with the murders of the Billingses. Gonzelez was arrested in Santa Rosa County and is being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail. Coldiron turned himself in to authorities in Escambia County.
Gonzelez, Jr.’s father, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Sr., 56, was arrested early Sunday afternoon for tampering with evidence — attempting to disguise the appearance of the red van seen in surveillance video from the couple’s Beulah home. The tampering charge is a third degree felony.
As NorthEscambia.com first reported Saturday, Gonzalez was the owner of the mobile home where the van was located Saturday afternoon.
More details will be posted as they become available.
(Original Story From This Morning Below)
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Saturday afternoon that they had interview two “persons of interest” in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. They were shot to death in their own bedroom in an apparent home invasion in Beulah Thursday evening.
The two people questioned matched images seen on surveillance video from the home. Investigators are still looking for a third person seen on the tapes.
Deputies were able to find the two persons of interest after locating a red Dodge van seen on those surveillance tapes. The van was found Saturday afternoon behind a shed at a residence at 318 Palm Court in the Brent neighborhood near Highway 29 and Beverly Parkway. The van was located afters tips from the public following intense media coverage.
One of those being quested in a relative of the van’s owners, but the van’s registered owners are not the persons of interest, Morgan said. The owners of the mobile home where the van was found are Leonard P. Gonazlez, Sr. and Carol S. Brant, according to records from the Escambia County Property Appraiser. Morgan would not confirm who owned the van.
Morgan said he believed the crime was committed by seasoned criminals due to the speed in which the incident occurred. “It suggests experience to me,” the sheriff said, adding that he was surprised by the “rapidity of this crime — in and out”.
The security footage reportedly shows the suspects dressed in black and entering the home through multiple doors and quickly carrying out the crime. Morgan said there was no clear motive for the shootings. “We are still working off the premise of a home invasion,” Morgan said without clarifying if he believed the Billings were targeted or the victim of a random act. Morgan said his department had “yet to determine a reason for, specifically, why the Billings were targeted”.
The sheriff would not confirm if anything had been stolen from the home during the murders.
The sheriff’s department said eight children ranging in age from 8-14 were in the sprawling, almost 10,000 square foot home at the time of the murders. A statement released by the family said there were nine children at the home at the time. All total, the couple had 12 adopted children and four of their own. None of the children were injured.
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at 436-9620.
Pictured top: Byrd and Melanie Billings were reportedly found shot to death in Beulah Thursday night. Pictured inset: The red van discovered Saturday in the Brent area (photo courtesy WEAR). Pictured below: A map showing where the van was found. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
37 Responses to “Two Arrested And Charged With Murder In Billings Case”
I personally knew both Melanie and Bud, and i will tell you they were terrific to all people, not just their adopted children. I took care of two of her children, and Melanie had them on a schedule that was the only way you can take care of that many children. Melanie and Bud both loved those children. I would also like to say that the biological children and i will not name names, would never do something like this. They were and are a very clode family. Many prayers to the children, and Melanie and Bud you are greatly missed.
I cannot believe that anyone would want to blame these children. I was a foster child and my twin sister and I were adopted when we were 16, my sister has Cerebral Palsy. I could never imagine thinking of doing something so awful to anyone. That being said some children can be extremely violent. I think the insurance could have been a motive. If we were going to suspect the 4 biological children, jealousy and money would be motive……In any event, I hope all people involved are charged and given a hefty sentence. *and by the way, I have a two year old and she is in bed by 8:00 whether it is dark out or not! I’M SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS BILLINGS CHILDREN (ALL OF THEM, GROWN BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN TOO!)
I think that is so sad that some one like the Billings open their heart and their home to take care of children in need and some low life can just walk in and devaste so many lives….I HOPE JUSTICE IS DONE…….
Good job North Escambia.com. You are on top of the news story with up-to-date information. Keep up the good work.
We question this story because none of us want to believe something like this could happen here. We want to think that it had to be a kid they’d tried to help, one of their own children, a vengeful business associate, anybody but a stranger. Because if it was a stranger – then it could happen to us too.
If we can explain it to our own satisfaction, if we can explain it away, then we’ll feel safer when we go to our own beds.
My apologies to anyone I may have offended with my stinking story comment. I would never demean the victims or their family – I meant it really STINKS to think something like that could actually happen in Beulah.
WOW, GREAT REPORTING! I just turned the site on and there it is. We are so blessed to have someone really on the job. I hope the law has the right people so others can sleep better at night. Of course we don’t know details but it is frightening to think that this could happen again. AGAIN, THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPORTING AND THE DILIGENCE OF THE LAW.
Those of you questioning the bed time. That is is no way unusual. My daughter is in bed by 7:30 and sound asleep by 8 most nights. There are parents that do make their kids get a good nights sleep.
This sounds like a hired hit. I wonder who the oldest four biological kids are.
i have a daughter with disabilities also…a schedule is good for her…shes in in bed at 7:30 for school…and i can see having a big family like this having these kids in bed fairly early…im soooo sorry for this family, and pray that there is someone good out there to take care of these kids!
I’ve added a map to the story showing the location were the van was found. Palm Court is between W Street and Highway 29, south of Beverly Parkway.
where is the palm court area?
Come on guys, let not over analyze the story. 2 good people are dead and kids have no parents. Why is the bed time a discussion. Seriously, you guys have nothing better to do but to nit pick a murder/ homicide story about the kids bed time. How about this. Say your God Blesses, and your goodbyes and pray tey find the guy who did this. And not worry about what time there kids go to bed. Thats more non sense chattr than a coffee conversation with my grandmother.
My Prayers are with the Kids
but i must say
This story stinks
We lived in the Beaulah area for 20 years and did not personally know the Billings but heard many people say what loving, caring, generous people they were. This was a senseless killing, done by people without hearts. They need to be caught because it will happen again. Surely, someone recognizes the van or has a clue to their identities.Our prayers go out to the family and to the precious children who are left behind.
They need to get the above Van photo on more sites like CNN or the Escambia County Sheriff site it took me 25 minutes to find the van photo above thanks for posting it.
GRITS wrote: “Something about that story stinks.”
I think that’s YOU you’re smelling.
My children go to bed at 7 and are asleep by 7:30 p.m. why is this so hard to believe? The point is they were good people and did good for other people and now they have a grieving family and children that need prayer. Don’t over analyze things.
I do foster care and just because a child has a rough back ground does not make him/her a bad person. You can not judge them because of how they are raising theirs ( or somebody else’s children). Please keep your negative comments to yourself. I will be praying for this family and all the children involved.
I just saw this on AOL also (national and international). I am praying for the children and families involved.
Ref. early bed time. Some children who are disabled do sleep odd hours. I have no way of knowing what level the children who have Downs are. As I recall from personal contact with the ARC there are many levels for those children. Some will never be mentally older than one or two years old while others will function at a teen age level. Some will have an adult body but have to wear diapers I hope the sorry people who did did this crime are executed. Now what happens to the children? Maybe some of the folks who are alluding to “things” smelling in this case will step forward and take one or two into there home. Pray for the children.
MY SISTER HAS FORESTER KIDS AND THEY DO HAVE A SET TIME FOR BED AND VERY STRICK RULES IAM SURE THESE KIDS HAVE BED TIMES AND RULES ALSO, YES THERE ARE SOME REALLY BAD FORESTER KIDS THAT YOU CAN’T HARDLEY CONTROL AND THERE ARE SOME GOODS JUST NEEDING A HOME BUT YOU CAN’T PIN POINT THE KIDS UNTIL PROOF
That looks like a 15 pax van. Is it not the Billings?
I knew some of the children because I did a teaching practicum at the school that the children attend. Please do not comment negatively on this because some of those children have been through some stuff and some have disabilities (that may be a reason why some were asleep) so if you’re not sure, then just don’t comment on the situation. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Billing’s family and especially the children.
I suspect that if their oldest adult kids were adopted from troubled homes originally, that they may know something about this. Otherwise, it seems rather random.
My prayers are with this family and those precious children. My son also has Down Syndrome and most of these children do not handle change well. (My son doesn’t.) I hope the scumbags who did this are caught quickly. I hope these men realize what they took away from these children.
Only several children were asleep in the same house. Where were the rest? If some were adults, could they have perpetrated the crime? The article does mention that most of the adopted kids came from troubled backgrounds. Not pointing the finger here, but have to cover the obvious first.
Why would someone be asleep? not all of us have 9 to 5s. If you get up at 4am your in bed pretty early. My daughter is a teenager and she goes to bed on her own at 8:30pm because she has to get up early. I am praying for you guys, this is a tragedy and please do not take any of the hurtful comments on this site to heart to heart.
FYI – If you go to the PNJ and read the article originally published on Christmas Day 2005 you will see that it was routine for all of them to be up at 5AM and lights out at 7PM. Most of us would do better to have a schedule to go by, however with a family that size it is a must. Proverbs 12:20 tells us that “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil,” so lets just pray for this family instead of trying to find fault in a household routine.
3 white males in a red van…lets see thats something little to go by…hope something comes out of that.sleeping at 7:30…my kids aren’t even no where near bedtime,somethings fishy about that.can’t believe this happened to these people,i hope there’s justice in finding the 3 males that r involved.
I’m afraid I agree with you Grits. Something here just doesn’t add up. It’s a tragedy though, and I hope and pray that someone will be able to step in and provide a stable home for these children. Older children have a hard time getting placed, especially if they’re already carrying a lot of troubled baggage with them. I didn’t know this family, but they had to have good hearts and alot of patience to have adopted 12 children. My prayers go out to the family left behind after this horrible tragedy.
GRITS maybe some of them were sleeping because they were infants. Babies sleep all times of the day. Maybe their diasibility caused them to sleep early.
Shot to death in their bedroom while several of the children were sleeping? Some were still asleep when deputies arrived? At 7:30 PM????
It’s not even dark at 7:30 PM.
Something about that story stinks.
This Is Horrible – Why Would Someone Want To Hurt Such Good People – I Bet They Did Not Even Get Anything
Oh, this is so terrible. One of the little girls was in my daughter’s room at school. They are such good people taking in all of these children. They have such a big heart!! I pray that they find these guys!
that is so sad. i hope that they find these guys.
Team Billings….. You’re in my thoughts and prayers.
How tragic! My condolences to the family.