2 questioned in slaying of Fla. couple

BEULAH, Fla., July 11 (UPI) -- Police said Saturday they were questioning two people in the slaying of a Florida couple that had adopted 12 children, some with special needs.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said detectives were interviewing the "persons of interest" in the killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The two people being questioned match images caught on video-surveillance equipment at the home at the time of the killings Thursday night, and investigators were still searching for a third person seen on the tapes, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

The tape shows three people entering the home through multiple doors.

"It was a very short time span -- in and out," Morgan said. "It suggests experience to me."

Police said they also found an aging red Dodge van recorded on the surveillance tape, and the van led investigators to the two people being questioned, Morgan said. He stressed neither had been arrested.

Morgan said investigators linked the pair "to enough significant events and instances in this case that would lead a reasonable person to believe that they have an association with these murders."

Police said the couple died in the home invasion, but would not say whether they had been robbed.

Twelve of the Billings' 16 children were adopted and some had special needs, the News Journal said. Eight adopted children were home at the time of the shootings but none were injured.

Members of the Billings family could not be reached Saturday. John Markham, a spokesman for the family, released a statement to ABC News.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that have occurred," the statement said. "Our first obligation is the children. They are surrounded by many family and friends. The children have not been separated nor will they be. Bud and Melanie's world revolved around the children. ... Our second obligation is finding the people responsible for this."