PENSACOLA, Fla., July 17, 2009
Family: Slain Couple's Safe Held Jewelry
Family Papers, Children's Meds Also Present, Spokeswoman Says
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Byrd and Melanie Billings pose with their children in this undated family photo. (Pensacola News Journal)
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Play CBS Video Video Billings Family Mourns Parents Seven men and a woman were arrested in connection with the murder of Byrd and Melanie Billings. Investigators believe it was a robbery was the motive. Don Teague reports.
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Video New Fla. Murder Details An eighth suspect was arrested in connection with a Fla. double murder of a couple with many adoptive children, Terrell Brown reports. Sheriff David Morgan spoke about the status of the investigation.
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Video Fla. Murder Case Latest A couple murdered in their homes by a band of thieves was laid to rest in Pensacola, Fla. Don Teague reports that the safe that was stolen from their home had contents of little value.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan would not say Friday if the killers of Byrd and Melanie Billings expected to find other items in the microwave-sized safe. Morgan said investigators have not yet determined whether the killers even managed to open the safe, which was found buried in a Pensacola-area backyard with bricks piled on top.
The sheriff's news conference came the afternoon after the Billings' funeral. The couple was known for adopting 13 special needs children.
They were shot to death in their nine-bedroom home west of Pensacola last week.
Meanwhile, the children of Bud and Melanie Billings joined hundreds of friends and relatives at a Pensacola church Friday to say goodbye to a couple who devoted their lives to children in need.
The couple, known for adopting 13 special needs children, was shot to death and a safe was taken from their nine-bedroom home west of Pensacola last week. Six men and a teenager are charged with murder, and a woman, Pamela Long Wiggins, is charged with being an accessory after the fact.
"Their lives centered around children, family and each other. They loved deeply and unconditionally," said family member Ed Brock.
As CBS News correspondent Don Teague reports, eight days after the parents of 17 were murdered in a raid of their home authorities in Pensacola say their investigation is almost complete.
They've recovered the suspected murder weapon along with a safe stolen from the house and arrested 8 people. Despite the complexity and planning of the killing, investigators say the motive appears simple.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said the case was mostly wrapped up.
"In our opinion, this was a home invasion robbery where the people stole a safe," he said. "It was as simple as that as to the motive."
Authorities say more arrests could follow. They've brought the Drug Enforcement Agency on the case, but insist the DEA is investigating the suspects, not the victims.
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My god what a piece of shiite he is..
I hope he rots in hell.
RIP Billings'. You surely did not deserve this.
Lock em up, throw away the key!
They prepared for this event, and I believe it was a practice run for something much larger. I am glad they have been caught, and since Florida law allows for the death penalty, I hope they are tried, convicted and executed.
They are the scourge of the worst kind, and we need to start making a statement, 'an eye for an eye' type of statement. It is beyond its time to take back our society from the hoodlums.
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I understand the emotion, but bear in mind that mass media coverage paints an unbalanced picture. I think that it is a simplification to say hoodlums "have" our society. Things like this are not as common as they appear to be. The vast majority of people are good. Just being optimistic. Throughout history people have seemed to think that things are getting worse, and the end is neras, etc.
On the contrary, people are happier, healthier, live longer, have more liesure time, and greater freedom today than people in the past, on the whole. Just a century ago, children dies routinely of preventable illness, half the country couldnt even read, rape was virtually legal, women couldnt vote or own property. A tooth infection used to be a life threatening event.
In light of that, I think people might want to keep things in perspective before they run for their hanging ropes, and make claims that our society is in shambles.
Respectfully,
Me