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The horrific murder of Pensacola residents and parents of twelve children, Byrd Billings and Melanie Billings, made the news after they were brutally murdered. The Billings were in their $700,000 Mobile Highway home on July 9, 2009, when two groups of men invaded their home from the front and back doors simultaneously and shot them to death in front of one of their children.
The incident shook the community as the pair were greatly loved and well-off in the neighbourhood. The Final Moments season 2 episode 9 looks into the double homicide of Melanie and Byrd Billings as the synopsis reads:
"Bud and Melanie Billings lovingly adopt a houseful of special-needs kids; when a home robbery ends in Bud and Melanie's murders, police look for clues in the couple's home security camera system and find a video that is both horrific and heartbreaking."
The House of Horror episode will re-air on December 9, 2023, at 10 pm EST on Oxygen.
Children left unharmed, and 4 other details about Melissa and Byrd Billings' murder in Pensacola
1) The Billings couple had 9 adoptive children with special needs
Melanie and Byrd Billings had four biological children - two from each of their previous relationships.
Byrd's children Michael and Melissa Billings and Melanie's daughter Ashley Markham had moved out of the house while their parents lived with nine of their adoptive children with autism, Down Syndrome, and other developmental disorders.
They raised 16 children in total, out of which three had succumbed to death due to their disorders before their murder in 2008.
Melanie Billings' brother, Ed Brock, spoke about the victims at their funeral, saying:
"Their lives centered around children, their family and each other. They loved deeply and unconditionally. They embraced the complexity of raising children with special needs and they were their advocates. They gave these children a joyous childhood and a much needed voice."
The Billings' wanted to share their wealth with children with special needs more so due to the passing of Melanie's daughter Nicole "Nikki" Billings in 2008. Presently, Ashley Markham takes care of the children.
2) The children were left unharmed during the invasion
The group of seven armed men who intruded the house zip-tied Byrd Billings and shot him in each leg. They dragged the couple to their bedroom and allegedly shot them in front of one of their children.
Melanie Billings was shot five times - twice in the face, while Byrd Billings was shot in the head twice.
The child witness had a speech impediment, according to CBS News, who mentioned his father grabbing the neck of the gunman while his mother "got shot in her shirt."
3) The perpetrators allegedly fled with the wrong safe
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office investigators noticed the men who invaded the Billings' home flee with an object in the surveillance videos recovered from the premises.
The object was later identified by Ashley and Justin to be a safe containing legal documents, prescriptions, and some jewellery of sentimental value from the bedroom, as reported by Oxygen.
The investigators assumed that the perpetrators had picked up the wrong safe as they left behind the more valuable one. As WKRG reported:
"One of those safes contained around $160,000 in cash, some antique jewelry and legal documents."
The convicted allegedly believed that Melissa and Byrd Billings had approximately $12 million in the home. The incident triggered one of the biggest manhunts in recent times.
4) Pamela Long-Wiggins, a real estate agent, allegedly hid the safe in her backyard
As the investigation brought seven names up to the surface, another big piece of the puzzle was the real estate agent named Pamela Long-Wiggins who seemed to have an agenda in the murder plan.
She used to allegedly make use of the mastermind of the murder plan, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr, to evict tenants and collect debts.
She was arrested from Orange Beach, Alabama, about 30 miles from Pensacola, per the New York Daily News. Upon interrogation, Wiggins refused to speak without an attorney.
However, her husband, Hugh Wiggins, divulged that she had the safe and small guns buried in her backyard.
5) 8 were convicted of various charges
The eight convicted in Melissa and Byrd Billings' murder include Donnie Stallworth, Wayne Coldiron, Frederick Thornton, Rakeem Florence, Gary Sumner, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., Pamela Long-Wiggins and the main accused, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr.
Gonzalez Jr was sentenced to two death penalties for first-degree murder of Melissa and Byrd Billings and life imprisonment while Donnie Stallworth and Wayne Coldiron were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and a lengthy prison sentence.
Frederick Thornton, Rakeem Florence, Gary Sumner, and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr. entered a plea agreement and testified against the others. Pamela Long-Wiggins was charged with accessory to murder.
Both Wiggins and Gonzalez Sr. passed away in 2015 during their time in prison while Gonzalez Jr awaits his execution.
