FL - Byrd, 66, & Melanie Billings, 43, killed in home invasion, Beulah, 9 July 2009

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8 children found in home with dead parentsStory Highlights
Slain parents apparently were the victims of a home invasion

The parents were found shot Thursday in their Florida home, near Pensacola

Children ranged in age from baby to about 11, were unharmed

Authorities hunting three men in a red van in connection with slayings
updated 1 hour, 9 minutes agoNext Article in Crime »



(CNN) -- Eight children were found in the Florida home of their slain parents, who apparently were the victims of a home invasion, police confirmed to CNN Friday.

The couple was found shot Thursday night in their Beulah home, said Escambia County Police spokesman Sgt. Ted Roy. One of the parents was shot in the head, he said. Beulah is about 17 miles northwest of Pensacola.

Police received a call just before 8 p.m. about shots fired, Roy said. An employee of the couple found their bodies, he said.

When police arrived they discovered the children also in the house, Roy said. The children, who ranged in age from an infant to about 11 years old, were unharmed, he said.

Police are not releasing the names of the victims or the children.

Authorities are looking for three males in a red van in connection with the slayings, Roy said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/10/Florida.couple.killed/index.html?eref=ib_us
 
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/10/Florida.couple.killed/index.html

(CNN) -- Eight children were found in the Florida home of their slain parents, who apparently were the victims of a home invasion, police confirmed to CNN Friday.

The couple was found shot Thursday night in their Beulah home, said Escambia County Police spokesman Sgt. Ted Roy. One of the parents was shot in the head, he said. Beulah is about 17 miles northwest of Pensacola.

The victims were identified as Byrd and Melanie Billings by Jeff Martin, director of the District Medical Examiner's Office. Autopsies have not been completed, he said.

The Billings have 16 children; 12 of them adopted, some of whom have special needs, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

Nancy Markham, a relative of the family, told CNN affiliate WEAR-TV that her son was inside the Billings' home when the shootings occurred.

"He said that Bud and Melanie had, both of them had been murdered," Markham said.

Three men dressed in black were seen on surveillance video approaching the property in a late 1970s or early 1980s red van at around 7 p.m., authorities say.

Emergency personnel and police went to the home Thursday after receiving a call just before 8 p.m. about shots being fired, Roy said. An employee of the couple found their bodies, he said.

When police arrived, they discovered the children also in the house, Roy said. The children, who ranged in age from infant to about 11 years old, were unharmed, he said
I'm sorry, I missed the thread below.

________________________________________________________________________

What an absolute senseless tragedy. I suppose the one saving grace is that the children were unharmed, I can not imagine what their futures now hold in store.

ETA: I did not see the earlier thread, please feel free to delete.
 

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