Couple With 16 Kids Found Dead During Home Invasion

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WALA) – Police are investigating the deaths of a Florida couple found shot in their bedroom in what authorities are describing as a home invasion.

Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputies were called out to a home in the 9700 block of Mobile Highway around 8 p.m. Thursday.

When they arrived, deputies say they found a man and woman dead in the bedroom of their home in the Beulah community. Both had been shot.

The victims have been identified as Byrd and Melanie Billings. The couple had 16 children, 12 of them adopted. The Billings were known for helping children with disabilities and troubled backgrounds.

Family members say all of the children were at home at the time of the shooting, but they were not hurt. Deputies say they want to question three men in a red van about the shooting.

Deputies are looking for a red full size van and three white males. The house did have a security surveillance system. They are hoping to pull images of the suspects and their van off the video.