Police find safe taken from couple's house

PENSACOLA, Fla., July 16 (UPI) -- Investigators have found a safe removed from a slain Florida couple's home and a gun believed used in their killing, officials said Thursday.

Police released few details -- including where the weapon, one of several guns recovered in the case -- was found, The New York Times reported. Police did not say what the safe contained, CNN reported.

Byrd Billings, 68, and his wife, Melanie, 43, were shot dead in their sprawling home in Beulah outside Pensacola last week. Nine of their 13 adopted children, some with special needs, were in the house, but the children were not attacked or hurt.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said the Drug Enforcement Administration was involved in the investigation. He said there was no suggestion the victims were involved with drugs, but some of the suspects may be.

Six men and a 16-year-old boy have been charged with murder. A woman faces charges as an accessory.

"There are obviously a lot of loose ends to tie up, but we believe that this concludes the major part of our investigation," Morgan said. "This was a home-invasion robbery where the people stole a safe, and we recovered the safe, and I personally think it's as simple as that in terms of the motive and what occurred."