billings gave financial support for leonard patrick gonzalez jr. for a martial arts studio. do you know how far back that relationship goes? >> we understand that was within a year. i have nod reat those documents. my staff briefed me today. they are currently working with the state attorney's office to

>> there was an amount of practice that was involved. >> leonard patrick gonzalez jr. the sheriff here says he has a military background. stallworth is an active duty staff sergeant in the air force. >> it was a very well planned and well executed operation. >> good evening. i'm nancy grace. want to thank you for being with us tonight. the mystery surrounding the sudden death of music super star michael jackson intensifies. >> there is word that jackson family's negotiating behind the scenes with lawyers for debbie rowe. >> are you ared to fight for your children? >> are you ready to get your butt kicked. don't touch me. >> the lawyer for jackson's ex-wife debbie rowe is denying there is any custody in the works. an attorney for debbie rowe calls the newspaper report false she agreed to take $4 million not to challenge catherine jackson's custody rights. >> latoya is quoted saying these are not debbie's kids. they don't know she's their mother. like everyone else in his life she was motivated by money. >> michael jackson's death really changes the whole situation. and

patrick gonzalez jr. on an open count of murder. so we have two arrests on an open count of murder, mr. wayne coldiron, mr. leonard patrick gonzalez jr. >> reporter: earlier in the day police arrested 56-year-old patrick gonzalez sr. saying he was trying to paint the red van that was found behind a shed a few miles from the murder scene. >> at this time he will be charged with tampering with evidence in a murder investigation. >> reporter: the van and three suspects were captured on surveillance video at the couple's home last thursday at the time of the killings. >> we're satisfied with the progress of the investigation. we anticipate additional arrests will be made. >> the community is shocked by the murder of the couple who have 16 children. 12 of them adopted with developmental disabilities. >> they said that they're going to do everything in their power to keep them together so i hope that happens but that will be a huge commitment. >> reporter: the billings have installed the extensive surveillance

leonard patrick gonzalez jr. and that is why she became a suspect, a person of interest,s is a landlord and through her realty company. and she also was very good family friend, transporting him and his wife and children around. and so that's how she became a person of interest. we wanted the find out exactly what is that tie between the two of them and, of course, she was with him we have developed on up through the day of the murder. so one thing led to another. we'll be holding a joint press conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. central time with the state attorney's office and he will release the specifics on that. >> can you say if she turned herself in? >> yes, sir. she did. she was located in orange beach, alabama, at a marina there. we put out earlier today a bolo, a be on the lookout order and the orange beach pd received a call-in tip and also i want to thank you, mr. cooper, and your station. you were one of the station that is published the photo and put it on the air. people are watching this new

. >> reporter: also announced with leonard patrick gonzalez jr. who was escorted by investigators on saturday before being questioned as a person of interest in the case. walking next to him was his own father who is also charged with tampering with evidence after allegedly trying to alter the appearance of this red van by painting it after officials say the van was used during the killings. in a warrant, investigators say gonzalez sr. confessed to being the getaway driver of the van and also said that bold coldiron and his own son entered the billings home carrying handguns to commit a robbery without offering details officials said this murder case is very complex. much like a movie script. >> we are very anxious to share this story with the citizens of escambia county and with the nation if you will. >> reporter: byrd and melanie billings were well known in the pensacola area. they owned several businesses and had 16 children, 12 of them adopted. local residents were stunned by news of the murders and placed flowers and cards outside of the bil

. >> we know that she was associated with leonard patrick gonzalez jr. up until the day of the murders. >> what do you have to say for yourself? >> it is a combination of friendships, casual business relationships that brought this group together. >> did you know the billings were going to die? >> the investigators have found some key evidence in the killing of byrd and melanie billings. >> this is the vehicle that wiggins was riding in when she came to visit with investigators. >> apparently it was parked near the mansion before the robbery happened. >> a safe was removed from the billings' residence at the time of the murders. >> we've recovered the safe. we've recovered several guns, one of which we believe is the murder weapon. this was a home invasion robbery. think it is as simple as that in terms of the motive and what occurred. >>> good evening. i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us tonight. the mystery surrounding the sudden death of music superstar michael jackson intensifies. >> the lapd has now come forward and said, this is

wayne thomas coldiron and leonard patrick gonzalez jr. have also been charged with murder. according to arrest warrants, patrick gonzalez sr. was the getaway driver in the red van. law enforcement sources tell cnn that coldiron and gonzalez sr. had done odd jobs on the billings property in the past. both men worked as day laborers in the pensacola area. but authorities say they haven't positively determined what drove the intruders to murder the billings couple. >> we have identified a motive. a mote sieve robbery. but there are other motes we believe that will develop. >> reporter: the billings' home is filled with surveillance cameras that the family uses to monitor the adopted children throughout the house. federal authorities have been enhancing those video images to learn what happened during the four minutes that five men broke into their home. as for the billings children, we're told that they are being kept in a private location, being cared for by family members and they will continue to do that. christi? >> i wanted to ask you about some other surveillance video.

they say they only recently learned it was actually his father leonard patrick gonzalez, sr. who's now one of the codefendant's charged in the billings' double murder. >> he had his father posing as the chief of police. >> reporter: he was posing as the chief of police the. >> and told us he was wendell hall and we believed him. he was sitting down on the couch next to me. >> reporter: gonzalez jr. was articulated and seemingly credible in stating the innocence but not enough to get a county judge to lower his million dollar bond. >> there is no hard evidence that links me to the scene of the crime. all i ask for is an opportunity to clear my name. >> david, gonzalez jr. had a previous history including prison time. how did he fool the community so easily. >> reporter: you saw how comp e composed he was in laying out the case saying that this case is built on circumstantial evidence and doesn't belong in prison. we know of at least ten arrests, one for including violent crimes, some robberies, some drug possession and has has a long history on the wrong side of the law. when

leonard patrick gonzalez. sheriff's deputies hope to make numerous arrests soon in that case. >> california has had to issue ious to cover some bills. state lawmakers and governor arnold schwarzenegger has made progress on closing their $26 billion budget deficit. they are back at work this hour looking at ways to squeeze savings from education, welfare and expensive social programs. today's talks are expected to last for several hours. >>> it is known more for cars than for movies but with unemployment at more than 14% and the auto entry struggling the state is rolling out the red carpet to hollywood film crews. there is just one problem. poppy harlow has more. that caught my attention. hollywood film crews. are they trying to get their cars in movies, free advertising? what is going on? >> not exactly. this is about bringing jobs to michigan. we could see detroit changing from the motor city to the movie city. you have over 14% unemployment in michigan. a huge underemployment problem there is help coming fro

his name is leonard patrick gonzalez. race, white male, 5'4", brown hair, brown eyes, born in 1953. that is his picture. michael humphrey e-mailing me. here is what they are saying in all of this. that he has been charged not necessarily with the murder. it could go beyond that but he is charged with tampering of evidence. specifically what sheriff's deputies said he was doing was trying to paint the van or fix that red van that had been in the news, there is that picture. i will take this one down. he had been doing that. maximum five years in prison. this is a felony. he had no connection with this billings family and they are confident that this investigation will lead them to an arrest. at the very end the sheriff said this will expand much larger than anyone had anticipated. they are believing this will go beyond the borders of escambia county and florida and in pensacola area. press conference, an arrest for tampering of evidence. a second or third degree felony, maximum five years. they think they will get more results. there will be more arrests. no motive. there ear very in

authorities say leonard patrick gonzalez jr. was the ringleader of the seven suspects that allegedly murdered byrd and melanie billings. but in a short court hearing, gonzalez surprisingly used the moment to declare him innocent. it's the first time we've heard from any of the accused. >> it's circumstantial evidence and the confessions of a mentally challenged person with a long history of making false statements and false confessions. >> reporter: we don't know who gonzalez is talking act exactly, but investigators say they've arrested all the men who they say carried out what they call the methodical and chilling murders of the couple. these are the suspects who face murder charges. one we can't show because she's a 16-year-old juvenile. three are from pensacola and the other from ft. walton beach area. gonzalez jr. and donald ray stallworth have a military background. stallworth is currently an active-duty staff sergeant. >> it was a well-planned and well-executed operation. >> reporter: after saying that robbery was one of

his name is leonard patrick gonzalez. he was arrested but charged with tampering with evidence and could spend up to five years in prison for

patrick gonzalez, jr. he has maintained his innocence. but it's still not clear why. why did the perpetrator spend 30 days planning a lightning fast home invasion that left two parents dead and nine severely disabled children orphans? >> hello. >> ashley markham can't answer these questions either, but as the eldest daughter of the billings she met with us at the home of her lawyer to talk about the future and what happened to her parents. >> it has been very overwhelming. i don't think i have had my personal time. there's a lot more to worry about right now than stopping and grieving. >> you haven't had a chance yet? >> i really haven't. i have to keep going for the children. >> and there are a lot of them. bud and melanie billings had a staggering 17 children. all but four adopted. the nine still living at home have down syndrome, autism and fetal alcohol syndrome. what motivates a couple to adopt many children with such challenging needs? >> i believe their motivation came from giving these children a b

leonard patrick gonzalez jr. he has maintained his innocence. but it's not clear why. why did the perpetrators plan 30 days for a lightning-fast home invasion, to leave two parents dead and nine children orphans. >> i think i've had my personal time. there's a lot more to worry about right now than stopping and grieving. >> reporter: you haven't had a chance yet? >> i really haven't. i have to keep going for the children. >> reporter: and there are a lot of them. bud and melanie billings had a staggering 17 children. all but four adopted. the nine still living at home have down syndrome, autism, and feetle alcohol syndrome. until this week, ashley was running the car dealership that her father started. but billings also owned a strip club that he sold years ago. that has fueled rumor and speculation, that he was involved in having unsavory that made him a target. what's it like for you to hear these things said about your parents? >> there's not much anything could say that would break down any perception i have of them. i know who they were. >> reporter: can i throw s

the one pivotal person in this organization is leonard patrick gonzalez jr. he's the organizer. >> he's the mastermind you talked about yesterday? >> one moment. >> we'll not speak to that issue at this time. >> you said that there's one more person that you're sort of looking at. >> yes. >> ways the nature of the thing that you're concerned about? was that individual -- >> anyone that aided or abetted in the commission of this crime. >> sheriff, did any of these suspects flat-out confess? >> they did. they did. i just stated, the last four individuals from oskaloosa county. >> -- what his goal was in this? >> no, he did not. >> what was the last time the suspects were [ inaudible ]? >> that information we won't release at this time. >> sheriff, what about the -- can you clarify on the connection with the county people and the power washing company, whose company was that? >> you're confused -- you confused my statement. the power washing company was owned by leonard patrick gonzalez sr., senior, the elder. we have tied wayne coldiron to him on a day laborer

one of the suspects, leonard patrick gonzalez jr. on the left and donald ray stallworth, on the right is currently an active duty staff sergeant, according to the air force. authorities have been saying, military style training was used to rehearse the attack which they planned for weeks. >> that is so mind-boggling to me that some of these folks were in the military. it just doesn't go with what you expect. richard, the murders have been described as very calculated but they did make some mistakes. >> they did. in one decision, actually led to cameras reporting their actions you see here. officials say the person assigned to disable the billings security system abandoned that mission. >> i believe that the compound, this is the theory we are working on, they entered the compound with the belief that they were not under surveillance. we are now looking at anyone that may have had an involvement with the security system, everyone from the company that installed it on back. >> perhaps another mistake too here robin. a 78-year-old grand

his name is leonard patrick gonzalez. he was arrested but charged with tampering with evidence and could spend up to five years in prison for trying to paint the van so no one would recognize it. again, they're expected to announce a new arrest in this case on who murdered a florida couple. details on "american morning." i'm don lemon.

leonard patrick gonzalez jr. and wayne coldiron are accusing of killing the couple in their home on thursday. eight of their 16 children were in the house at the time. none of them was hurt. authorities say the suspects had multiple motives. >> we are very anxious to share this story with the citizens of the county and with the nation, if you will. it's going to be a humdinger. this is like a movie script, all right? the more we devillvvilelvedelved worked this case, the different avenues that it would go down. >> wow. a humdinger, he says. earlier yesterday police arrested gonzalez's father, leonard gonzalez sr., he's accused of tampering with evidence. a surveillance camera recorded a red van leaving the couple's house on the day of the murders. >>> in a few hours the supreme court confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor begin. she won't do much talking today. 19 senators give opening remarks and then she will read a statement. the tough questions start tomorrow. legal analyst jeffrey toobin says considering

. >> reporter: police believe the ringleader was this man, 35-year-old leonard patrick gonzalez, jr. described by friends as a loving husband and father, his passion: teaching caratti to young children. just last month he won an award from an community organization for service to mankind. >> he was not a bully type guy that went out looking for trouble. >> reporter: gone less, swrr, also once served in the national guard and it was that experience that police say helped pull off the attack with military-like precision. surveillance cameras captured two teams covering front and back exits. authorities say that in the four minutes the suspects were in the house, they shot and killed the couple and stole a safe. police say several of the nine children in the house during the attack saw their parents' killers. one went next door for help. >> the children are with family members. i've state misdemeanor times they are in a safe, loving, and secure environment. >> reporter: the motives behind the attack: a simple robbery. thefts committed by men whose crimes extend beyond pensacola, the sta

she is being asked about her reported friendship with leonard patrick gonzalez jr., one of the men accused of in the attack. meanwhile, investigators say they have always wondered why the attackers who seemed so careful in plank the raid, did not first turn off the billings' security cameras which recorded the home invasion and led to their arrests. well detectives say they believe that some one was supposed to have turned out the cameras by remote control but failed to do so. now a person of interest is being sought by the authorities. as for those nine adopted children who lost their new parents, a relatives say because of such a large outpouring of public support, a trust fund is now being set up for those children's care. >>> mark potter with what continues to be a sad story out of florida. mark, thanks. >>> when we continue in a moment, would you want to know? who tried activia would recommend it. julia tolbert, tell me your story. well, my irregularity was only occasional and i honestly thought it was just a part of life. what made you first try activia? i saw this ad, and i said, ok

air force special operations and that leonard patrick gonzalez jr. arraigned today in front of grieving billings family members used to serve in the national guard. morgan says in the same pensacola neighborhood, where this red van used in the operation was found by investigators, some of the suspects trained for the raid on the billings home for as long as a month. >> the safest, easiest, clearest thing to say is that the primary motive in this case is robbery. >> reporter: officialsay a safe was taken from the house but will not say whether any money or valuables were in the safe. or why the billings had to die in a robbery. their nine adopted children, who were in the house, are now in the care of relatives. and officials say federal authorities have now been brought into the case to see if any of the alleged killers were involved in other crimes, in other states, maybe even out of the country. brian. >>> mark potter in pensacola for us tonight. thank you. >>> overseas now to the war in afghanistan. as of today, there are 57,000 u.s. military forc

this gentleman right here, leonard patrick gonzalez jr. this person is saying that he's the organizer of the home invasion and according to documents he named gonzalez as the person who shot the couple. prosecutors say the men charged in the case gathered at a nearby mall after the robbery and killings and allegedly handed off what they had stolen to a woman police now identify as suspect pamela wiggins. >>> an american has been indicted on charges of aiding al qaeda and helping attack a u.s. military base in afghanistan. 26-year-old bryant neil venice was arrested in pakistan. he's charged with conspiracy to murder u.s. citizens, providing material support to an international terrorist organization and also receiving military-type training from that organization. court documents show venice and others fired rockets at the american base during an attack last september. prosecutors also say he gave al qaeda information about the new york transit system and the long island railroad. >>> finding common ground among iraq's political, religious

right now leonard patrick gonzalez sr. has been charged with tampering, but the state attorney is saying he wants to upgrade that to murder. it appears across the board all the people will be facing murder charges at some point. >> do we know any more about the specifics of what went on inside the home in that four minutes they were in there? >> you know, that's the part that's really been hard to gather from these investigators, and they have been keeping it very close to the vest. we did ask for video images inside the home that was helping them, and they did say that was happening. the billings' home is just covered with surveillance cameras they used to keep tabs on all the children, special needs children who needed to be honored around the clock. that's what the cameras were used for. in this terrible situation, it was used to document their murder. the investigators here had told us they had been sending off the video images to the authorities and they were enhanced and that helped to piece together who was inside t

we know that she was associated with leonard patrick gonzalez jr., up until the day of the murders. >> the drug enforcement administration confirms that it is assisting in this probe. >> seven suspects dressed in ninja garb plan an incredibly elaborate and precise break-in. but investigators now say the person assigned to turn off the surveillance cameras never showed up. >> detectives say the hunt is on for at least one more person. >> we've identified the seven people that entered the complex. we have those folks in custody. i believe that they entered that compound with the belief they were not under surveillance. we are now looking at anyone that may have had an involvement with the security system. so, we're wondering, again, why was this system left on in an otherwise perfectly executed murder? obviously, there is an eighth or ninth person that we have yet to identify. >>> good evening. i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us tonight. the mystery surrounding the sudden death of music superstar michael jackson intensifies. >> the video from that ill-fated pepsi com

. >> he's been taken into custody in santa rosa county, our leonard patrick gonzalez, jr. on an open count of murder. so we have two arrests on a open count of murder. >> reporter: earlier in the day, they arrested gonzalez, sr., saying he was trying to paint the van. >> he will be charged with tampering with evidence in a tampering with evidence in a murder investigation. >> reporter: the van and three suspects were captured on surveillance video at the time of the killings. >> we're satisfied with the progress of the investigation. we anticipate additional arrests will be made. >> reporter: the community is shocked by the murder of the couple who have 16 children, 12 of them adopted with developmental disabilities. >> they said that they're going to do everything in their power to keep them together. i hope that happens. that will be a huge commitment. >> reporter: the billings had installed the extensive surveillance system with a camera in almost every room to watch over their children. eight were in the house asleep when the crime was committed. all of the children ar

. >> we know she was associated with leonard patrick gonzalez jr. up to the day of the murders. >> what do you have to say for yourself? >> it's friendship, casual business relationships that brought this group together. >> did you know they were going to die? >>> we've recovered the safe. we recovered several guns. one that we believe is the murder weapon. this was a home invasion robbery. we think it's as simple as that in terms of the motive and what occurred. >> good evening. i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us tonight. the mystery surrounding the sudden death of music superstar michael jackson intensifies. >> we might learn what caused michael jackson's death. his life cut short at the age of 50. toxicology reports expected to be relief. was his death an accident. how many of his doctors are related to his death? >> they haven't said it's not a homicide. they haven't said it is. they said they're open to this as a homicide. they said if diprovan was in the house, then you could have a homicide investigation and you could pote

billings gave financial support to leonard patrick gonzalez jr. for the opening of a martial arts studio. do you know how far back that relationship goes? does that financial relationship help you with your investigation? >> we understand that was within a year, i believe. i have not read those documents. my staff briefed me today. they are currently working with the state attorney's office to get documents and evidence together in preparation for the grand jury. to the best of my recollection, that was within a year ago he helped finance the opening of a martial arts school for mr. gonzalez jr. >> is it a possibility that mr. gonzalez had a debt he was unwilling or unable to pay and perhaps the murder was related to that? >> we have yet to determine that. again, as i've stated to many people many times we are not investigating the billings family. we are investigating the subjects we currently have incarcerated. the investigation may, in fact lead to that. we will be asking those questions. was the death he made ever satisfied? our focus is on mr

leonard patrick gonzalez jr. told police the couple actually gave him money for a martial arts studio. you've actually seen video from that studio. the affidavit also says that gonzalez told police he owns a red dodge cargo van similar to the one seen on the surveillance video leaving the billings home the day of the murders but, he said, it's not running. surveillance video captured mass intruders breaking into the couple's home on july 9th. investigators say the primary motive was robbery. the safe was taken but there wasn't anything valuable in it. police are trying to figure out who if anyone was supposed to disable the home security system. they're searching for three people they would like to question. well, the video led to the arrests of eight suspects including a woman and a 16-year-old. the victims have 13 adopted children, many with special needs. >>> to another horrible case now. six dead in two states and police have charged this man with killing all of them. jacob shaffer was arrested in fayettevill

two other suspects, wayne coldiron and leonard patrick gonzalez jr. were arrested yesterday, both charged with murder. >> once we had located the van, developed an address of where the van had been registered to, interviews with associated neighbors, friends, and family, then led us to two persons of interest. >> reporter: florida police don't believe the suspects knew the couple. meanwhile, the mystery behind the killings continues. >> motive and motives in this investigation are still being developed. >> reporter: and you may notice something interesting about the names of the suspects in this case. leonard rodriguez sr. and leonard rodriguez jr., they are father and son and had a chance to talk to authorities here in pensacola this morning. this investigation still well under way, and many more arrests expected in the coming days, harry. >> cbs' terrell brown, thanks. also joining us from pensacola is escambia county sheriff, david morgan. sheriff, good morning. >> good morning, sir. >> are you ready to talk about a motive in this case yet? >> not

a family member of leonard patrick gonzalez sr. says that he and his son were involved with drugs. >> we have no information at this time, meredith, that would lead us to believe that that was one of the primary motives, no. >> did it appear that the billings put up any resistance? >> that's information that would be contained on an interior tape that we're not prepared to release at this time. >> and i understand that you're looking for up to seven people. can you tell us anything about the other people that you're looking for? >> well, again, they have an association, of course, with this. those seven people that we have identified and, of course, four we've currently have under arrest, are those that we have tied specifically to the home invasion itself. that we will tie directly to the deaths of the billings family. and we have another individual, of course, who's an individual of interest that, again, may have had some part in this but we've yet to develop that information. but these seven people we tied directly to the deaths

. >> reporter: leonard patrick gonzalez jr., the alleged organizer of the home invasion that left byrd and melanie billings brutally murdered used to practice commando -- in his backya backyard. he watched him run his wife and kids through drills with toy guns and fatigues. was it serious? >> it was serious. the reason why i say that, they did it and went back in the house and did it again and again and again and again. >> reporter: o'donnell says gonzalez also once grabbed a real gun to complain about the placement of a pile of hurricane debris. >> he told me don't ever do it again. he was holding the gun when he said this. actually he had it right -- he was going one of these numbers. >> reporter: it's not the first time he tried to intimidate. picked up intoxicated in 1996, gonzalez threatened the officer who arrested him. the deputy wrote he stated that he knew my mother, my family and where i lived. he said when he got out, they were through. later that same night, gonzalez put a jail guard in an arm lock. he spent almost a year behind bars. gonzalez says he's innocent of the doub

leonard patrick gonzalez junior. cbs found this marriage certificate. it was pamela long. and her witness was patrick gonzalez. like gonzalez, wiggins had money troubles. >> i know that the mortgage company is also foreclosing on her condo unit. >> court documents from 2008 showed the couple sued their own son michael for child support after they took in his daughter, their granddaughter in twict 2006. they also asked for $50,000 worth of life insurance on the then-18-year-old girl, with themselves as beneficiaries. >> i get the strong sense that there was a financial issue here for the billings. that they may have been living way above their means or their stated income. >> besides a safe stolen from the couple's home, investigators have also found several guns and believe one of them was used to kill melanie and bert billings. what was in the safe or where it was found, has not yet been released. >>> if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, let's chicago on the roads with sharon gibala at wjz traffic control. >>> good afternoon, everyone. we're continuing to