Hours of surveillance video and photographs from inside the Pensacola-area home of Byrd and Melanie Billings were released for public viewing at the Escambia County Courthouse, but the State Attorney’s Office said it was surprised by how few people came to see them.
The recordings, pulled from 16 cameras inside the couple’s Beulah home, captured the moments during and after the July 2009 home invasion in which the Billingses were killed. Among the footage is a child watching as the suspects entered the house.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said only a handful of people from the general public requested to view the materials. One woman who did attend, who asked not to be identified, said she came simply out of curiosity. Eddins suggested that media coverage describing the footage had satisfied most of the public’s interest: after reporters viewed the video and described its contents, many people who had scheduled sessions canceled their appointments.
A judge ordered that none of the videos or photographs be reproduced. The materials show Byrd Billings confronted in his living room by armed intruders before he and his wife were led to the back of the home; both were later found shot to death.
Seven suspects await trial
All seven people charged in the murders — Leonard Gonzalez Sr., Leonard Gonzalez Jr., Wayne Coldiron, Donnie Stallworth, Gary Sumner, Frederick Thornton and 16-year-old Rakeem Florence — have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of first-degree murder and one count each of home invasion robbery. The six adult defendants could face the death penalty; Florence, because of his age, faces a maximum of life in prison.
Sheriff David Morgan has also confirmed that Henry “Cab” Tice, a former business partner of Byrd Billings, was questioned in connection with the case. Morgan said investigators believe Tice, who faces theft charges, owed money connected to the Mexican Mafia, though they do not believe Billings himself had any ties to that organization. Pamela Long Wiggins has been charged with first-degree accessory after the fact and is held in the Escambia County Jail on $500,000 bond.