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2 held on murder charges in Fla. couple's slaying

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-13 13:32

This 2005 picture shows Byrd and Melanie Billings with their children, 10 adopted and two biological, at their home in Beulah, Fla. Melanie is holding a photograph of their late child, Bailey. Investigators asked the public to be on the lookout Friday, July 10, 2009 for a red van they believe carried three men involved in the deaths of the Florida Panhandle couple who were shot in their rural home while eight of their children slept. [Agencies]

PENSACOLA, Fla: Officials in the Florida Panhandle say they're holding two men on open murder charges in the slaying of a wealthy Florida couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities.

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Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan says day laborer Wayne Coldiron turned himself in around 9 p.m. EDT Sunday. He says Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr. was arrested later in Santa Rosa County.

Morgan says Coldiron was friends with 56-year-old Leonard P. Gonzalez Sr., who was charged earlier in the day with evidence tampering.

Authorities say the older Gonzalez tried to paint over and hide damage on a red van spotted on surveillance video leaving the home where Byrd and Melanie Billings were shot to death Thursday while eight of their children slept.

Morgan says more arrests are expected.