PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Florida grand jury indicted seven men Tuesday in the robbery and killings of a couple known for adopting special needs children, and a lawyer for the family acknowledged that a safe in the couple's home contained $164,000.
Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot to death July 9. Surveillance cameras captured men dressed as ninjas and wearing black masks entering the couple's sprawling house, stealing a safe and leaving in less than four minutes.
Family attorney Robert Beasley said in a statement that a second safe was not stolen and contained the money, but no drugs, guns or other items to suggest illegal activity. It's not known if the suspects were looking for the second safe, Beasley said. The one they left with had little in financial value.
"Contrary to rumors of as much as $12 million in the home the night of the murders, the second safe contained $164,000 in cash, some antique jewelry and assorted legal documents," the lawyer's statement said.
The money was a cash reserve for the family's financing business, Beasley said. The family ran Worldco Financial Services next to a used car lot they operated. Authorities have removed the money as possible evidence, he said