PENSACOLA, Fla., July 21 (UPI) -- The suspected ringleader of the home invasion and slayings of a Florida couple said he received financial support from one of the victims, documents indicate.
Court documents filed Monday in Pensacola, Fla., indicate Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35 -- one of seven people charged with this month's killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings of Beulah, Fla. -- told police he received donations from Byrd Billings for a martial arts academy for children that he ran, CNN reported.
Authorities say the Billings' were slain July 9 when armed men burst into their home, which they shared with 13 adopted special-needs children, shot and killed the couple and stole a safe filled with jewelry and documents that was allegedly discovered in a suspect's back yard.
"My understanding is, through speaking with the investigative agencies, that Mr. Gonzalez sought donations from a variety of community and business leaders and that perhaps Mr. Billings did not lend him money, but donated to this academy for children," Billings family attorney Crystal Spencer told CNN.
Newly released police documents also revealed the alleged gang cased the Billings' home for about a month before the slayings.
