we know that patrick gonzalez jr.ter of bud and melanie billings worked for cab tice right around '99-2000. >> reporter: tice's connections to gonzalez jr. and bud billings began the suspicions and they grew. he was arrested thursday night, grand theft, named a person of interest in the billings murders, and now he's talking -- to us. you want to share a photo nd with a flick, there's an app for that. if you want to share contact info with a bump, there's an app for that. or if you just want to share some down time, well, there's an app for that too, because there's an app for just about anything. only on the iphone. it sticks to your teeth so well... you can even drink water with it on. crest whitestrips advanced seal. get a dramatically whiter smile... while you do just about anything. satisfaction guaranteed. ♪ oh lolli, lolli, lolli.. ♪ ♪ (announcer) treat yourself to a dell inspiron laptop, with intelligent intel processors. dell. yours is here. >> reporter: since the murders of bud and melanie billings the quest

another in freaking connection, tice was close to patrick gonzalez jr., the man authorities portray as the ringleader in the killing of the florida couple that adopted children with special needs. >> he's had an ongoing relationship, he described it as a father and son relationship where they spoke on a daily business. >> reporter: the sheriff says he's surprised by information volunteered like connection to organized crime. >> he affirmed that because he got into financial trouble in the business and he needed some money that he made connections with what he referred to as the mexican mafia and secured a loan from them in order for the business not to fail. >> reporter: cnn was unable to locate tice but in an interview with nbc, he said he had nothing to do with the killing. >> anybody say that i had anything to do with the murder of bud or melanie is a liar. >> reporter: the billings family issued a statement saying we have faith sheriff morgan will be diligent in determining whether there's any connection with cab tice and the murders. the big break in the case came when someone inv

gonzalez jr. >> mr. tice is considered to have a father/son relationship with leonard gonzalez jr.urder but made shocking claims there may have been a contract hit out on billings. >> he made the statement that several local auto dealers wanted him wacked. >> reporter: the full truth continues to elude police as they push on in the investigate. >> there is a lot of interconnectivity among these people. how it played out is still a mystery. >> reporter: police say nine of the billings' 17 children were home during the slayings and several are believed to have seen the gunmen. but on the record reports from police are creating more questions at this point than answers. jeff? >> i'd say so. kelly cobiella, thank you. >>> joining us exclusively from pensacola is escambia county sheriff david morgan. good to see you again. thanks for joining us. >> good morning, sir. >> let's talk abouts hryen cab tice. tell us w he is and whahenv inv> se' h a local care' dealer who, agn,ai as your previous reporter stated, had business dealings with mr. billings and an ongoing friendship with patrick g

tice was also close to patrick gonzalez jr., the man authorities portray as the ring leader in the murders of the florida couple who adopted 13 children, many with special needs. >> he's had an ongoing relationship with patrick gonzalez jr. as he described it, a father and son relationship. where they spoke on a daily basis. >> reporter: the sheriff says he's surprised by the information that tice volunteered, like a connection to organized crime. >> he inferred because he got into financial trouble in the business that he made connections with what he referred to as the mexican mafia and secured a loan from them in order for the business not to fail. >> reporter: cnn was unable to locate tice, but he says he had nothing to do with the killings. >> that anybody would say that i had anything to do with the murder of byrd or melanie is a liar. >> reporter: the family issued a statement saying we have faith that sheriff morgan will be diligent in determining whether there is any connection between tice and the murders. authorities say the big break came when someone involved in the murders fa

and gonzalez jr., mike, are as anglo, or more anglo than you or i.so that doesn't really register at all. the mex ka mafia trusts people, their pie sans, if you will, good buddies, their relatives. so that one, that's a head scratcher. but i'll tell you what, $12 million rumor, it's a shame that those people were killed, if that was the real motive to get $12 million. that's enough money to fill a really big refrigerator. like a side-by-side freezer. that's huge. >> mark, as the grand jury looks at this, death has to be on the table here. premeditation, killed in cold blood. what are you seeing here, mark? >> i'm not certain the death penalty is automatic. if death penalty was handed out for all first-degree murders, then it wouldn't have any teeth. the law says you take all the first-degree murder cases and then you say which specific ones of those warrant the ultimate sanction? that's what the prosecutors have to evaluate. and they'll look at the history of each one of these people, who's cooperating and who's not. what their roles were. whether wh

adopted 13 children, many with special needs. >> he's had an ongoing relationship with patrick gonzalez jr described it as a father and son relationship, where they spoke on a daily basis. >> reporter: the sheriff said he's surprised by information tice volunteered, like a connection to organized crime. >> where he affirmed that because he had got into financial trouble in the business, and he needed some money, that he made connections with what he referred to as the mexican mafia and secured a loan from them in order for the business not to fail. >> reporter: cnn was unable to locate tice but in an interview with nbc, he says he had nothing to do with the killings. >> if anybody would say i had anything to do with the murder of bud or melanie is a liar. >> reporter: the billings' family issued a statement saying, we have faith that sheriff morgan will be diligent in determining whether there is any connection between cab tice and the murders. authorities say the big break in this case came when someone involved in the murders failed to turn off the billings' security system. cameras roll

leonard patrick gonzalez, jr. several co-defendants say he was the sole shooter. in a rambling interview after his arrest, he claimed that several of bud billings' competitors in the used car business wanted him whacked. he claims he was asked to kill billings but refused. this is about the killings i didn't do it. i can prove i didn't do it, but i may have known those who have done it. and it may be connected to mexican organized crime. what did we learn about him in the documents here? >> he is a guy -- you wouldn't believe. the things that he tells people, just -- i mean, it's unbelievable and probably shouldn't be believed. >> gonzalez like bud billings worked in the rough and tumble world of used car sales. and he owned world coe the finance company next door. the businesses are run by billings daughter, ashley markham. markhais now caring for the nine children. we interviewed her in july and talked about the rumors, hounding her father. there's this idea floating out there that your father had done something to provoke this, that he was the target here. not

police say the alleged ringleader leonard gonzalez jr. led two teams of thieves in last month's ninja-style heist. all seven pleaded not guilty. and this just in. the victim's family just filed an emergency motion to keep the public from seeing pictures of the crime scene. pictures of the autopsy. and video from inside the home. because we learned that the family had all types of cameras all over the property and inside the house. a video and other items are reportedly being released to the public. it's unclear what the new video shows. police also released the surveillance video from outside the home. seeing this, just minutes before the attack. some suspects broke in through the frost door. others through the back. and less than four minutes, byrd and melanie billings were dead. and for what. police now say that some of the men were actually there for a contracted hit. but they still are not saying why anyone would want byrd and melanie billings killed. the other apparent motive, robbery. so a lot of questions, mike. a lot of trying to

rob, we've got the alleged mastermind, leonard gonzalez jr.' telling a story now that a gang, the way he's putting it, of used car dealers, they didn't like byrd billings, wanted him dead. is that what he's saying? and that a guy named cab tice came up to him and said all right, do the job, kill byrd billings. is that what he's saying? >> a very, very convoluted story that probably changes every time it's told or every time it's heard. supposedly, pat -- we call him pad gonzales, gonzales the younger. justin, the billings' child, who is an estranged child, he said he acted as a hit man for various used car dealers around pensacola to maybe strongarm people into making their car payments or other people that disappeared -- >> rob, more on this after a break. >>> welcome back to "prime news." here's the story. two employees at best buy tackle a thief, shoplifter trying to get out of the place. so they go after him. well, they get fired. they broke store policy that forbids contact with shoplifters. basically, you're supposed to just let them go.

police say the alleged ring leader lenered a gonzalez jr. led two teams of thieves in last month's ninja-style heist. all seven pleaded not guilty. the victim's family has filed an emergency motion attempting to keep the public from seeing photos of the crime scene. pictures of the autopsy and video from inside the home, police already released this surveillance video from outside the home just minutes before the attack. the suspects broke in through the front door and others took the back in less than four minutes. byrd and melanie billings were dead and what for? police say some of the men were actually there for a contracted hit. they still won't say why anyone wanted the billings dead. the other apparent motive robbery. >>> a deadly moment of impact caught on tape. two aircrafts collided in mid-air above the hudson river. no one survived last weekend's disaster. now there's new video of the crash and two new jersey air controllers have been suspended. susan candiotti from our sister network cnn has the story. >> reporter: as investigator

prosecutors believe it was not only robbery but a contracted hit and only the alleged organizer leonard gonzalez jr. and a yet to be named suspect knew about the planned hit. the motive behind the hit, no one is sure. sources also say a second safe has been found at the home containing $100,000. investigators are not commenting. the couple were known for adopting special needs kids. >> to iran now and word that three american tourists have been arrest and detained by the iranian government, it happened along the border with iraq where americans went hiking. senior state department officials say the u.s. has identified the three too deta detainees and their families have been notified arwa damon has an update. >> the u.s. department of state has asked diplomats to look into reports on iranian tv they have in fact arrested three americans and if this is true to see if they could gain counselor access. iranian tv is reporting that the three were detained by the iranian military along the border with northern iraq for illegally crossesing into iran and failing to heed the border guard's warnings. the t

now what we are hearing is that the suspected ringleader in this case, identified as leonard gonzalez jr., who's been identified by other suspects as the sole gunman, may be the person behind the contract hit and possibly others and then those involved in the robbery would be those below him, other people who could be involved. now, for the first time at a news conference yesterday, the sheriff of pensacola, florida, escambia county, acknowledged for the first time that he has had some uncorroborated information, as he put it, from the very start that would lead, as he put it, a reasonable person to believe that this is something that the authorities should look at. but, he adds, we're not excluding any other possibilities and the state attorney's office issued a statement as well to say on the record that robbery is skill considered the prime motive, but that the office is looking at all over motives as well. >> that was cnn's susan candiotti. >>> and a developing story out of chicago tonight. six people shot outside a church on the city's west side. chicago police say a man approached

from the beginning investigators have fingered this man as the ring leader, leonard patrick gonzalez, jrn the police documents, several co-defendants say he was the sole shooter. in a rambling interview with a sheriff's deputy. he claims he was asked to kill billings but refused. if this is about the killings, i didn't do it. but i may know some people who may have done it. he also said it may be connected to mexican organized crime. >> gonzalez, like bud billings, worked in pensacola's rough and tumble world of used car sales. and he owned the finance company next door. the businesses are now run by his daughter, ashley markham. while the documents do refer to the sometimes shady world of used car sales and low collection, there is nothing in this document to suggestion ben rket had givenen doing something illegal. >> if yoyou could havave answer two onquestis,hree questions to help you ununderstand this case, wh would those queions be? >> jt one question is i think we need to k kw who put them up tohis. bubut, y youou know, so far it self-en guys robbing a house. >> a robbery that lef

now, what we're hearing, is that the suspected ringleader in this case, identified as leonard gonzalez jr., who has been identified by other suspects as the sole gunman, may be the person behind the contract hit, and possibly others, and then those involved in the robbery would be those below him. other people that could be involved. now for the first time at a news conference yesterday, the cher ever of pensacola, florida, escambia county, acknowledged for the first time that he has had some uncorroborated information, as he put it, from the very start, that would lead, as he put it, a reasonable person to believe that this is something that the authorities should look at. but, he adds, we're not excluding any other possibilities. and the state attorney's office issued a statement, as well, to say on the record that robbery is still considered the primary motive but the office is looking at all other motives, as well. >> who would have put out this hit. would it have been gonzalez or do they even know now? >> well, that is the big question, isn't it, that everyone wants to know. if this

only there to rob byrd and melanie billings but the alleged organizer of this whole thing, winter gonzalez jr. and other suspects may have been planning this hit all along. the state attorney's office says he cannot comment on that. >> my belief that the primary motive for this murder was robbery. however, we will evaluate and review all possibilities and we will consider abdomen review all evidence as it relates to motive. that's been my position from the beginning. that's my position now. because the investigation is ongoing and because of the magnitude of this matter, i do not believe that it would be appropriate for me to comment further. >> seven people altogether charged with murder in the billings case. >> a legal expert who spoke with anderson cooper last night spoke about the case. >> i think most people when they heard about this first, i think most people probably said, the way this was carried out seemed to be a little bit more than a robbery. it was planned. the ninja-style outfits, it was precise. they practiced a month before. i think generally people were saying it just doesn'

the state attorney's office were only there to rob the couple, but the alleged organizer, leonard gonzalez jr. and others might have been planning this hit all along. the state attorney's office says he can't comment on that specifically. >>> also, new information this morning. evidence in the michael jackson case that suggests the pop star shopped around for a doctor who would give him propofol. the brand name is diprivan. that is the drug that sources say dr. conrad murray is suspected of giving jackson hours before he died. the latest piece of information coming from a search warrant which names another doctor here who says he denied jackson's request for the drug. >>> we have a happy ending to a story we were following here that really didn't start the right way. it was the saddest thing to see these kids out of philadelphia, went to a swim club. predominantly african-american students. that's the group. you see those faces there. they were turned away from a country club that they could go swim at. told they couldn't swim there. some of the kids say they overheard people making racist co

. >> reporter: according to court documents two suspects say this man, 35-year-old patrick gonzalez, jred trig e. >> if you charge seven individuals with first degree murder most likely in a normal situation they'll be at least two of three individuals who will work out a deal. >> reporter: motive still appears to be robbery after a swafs stole frnt house. but little of value was found in it. left behind was another safe, in it, $164,000. adding even more mystery is the role of this man, henry "cab" tice a so-cled person of interest in the case. is involvement is unclear but he was arrested last thursday on an unrelated charges. you may remember that the sheriff in this case has said there is an aspect he can't talk about but called it a humdinger. a few weeks ago he said the stuff of movie scripts, now that the suspects have lawyers a state will reveal the evidence and we may finally know what the sheriff has been talking about. kate? >> okay. thank you. >>> we have a new message from the two american journalists pardoned after being sentenced to hard labor in north korea. laura ling a

also a close friend, a father figure, he says himself, to the alleged shooter, leonard patrick gonzalez jr tuesday evening cab tice returned to pensacola after a trip to colombia in south america. soon an announcement from sheriff david morgan. >> mr. tice is a person of interest in the billings case. >> reporter: tice is questioned for three hours. but so far, he is only charged with grand theft for allegedly writing $17,000 in bad checks to the billings finance company, whirlco. he's out now on $5,000 bail. >> there is no evidence that links me any way to this murder. if it had been, i would be in jail right now. >> reporter: now, in an exclusive interview with "dateline," cab tice tells his side of the story and defends himself. the name cab tice keeps coming up, you're the guy that's somehow behind all of this. why did they come up with your q no carrierlistort encoder cf10 >> the billings family's attorney says they never heard a word about any irs investigation. she says -- >> tune in to a special "dateline" nbc "no safe place," tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central time right here on nbc.

. >> reporter: alleged gunman leonard patrick gonzalez jr. now claims byrd billings' business competitors tried to hire him because they wanted billings whacked. but they haven't been charged. and then there's this twist. ms13, a notorious and brutal central american gang may somehow be tied to these murders. or so says gonzalez. when gonzalez mentioned ms13, is he sending people on a wild goose chase or do you believe that somehow this gang was involved in what took place here in these murders? >> we believe that they have an involvement. >> reporter: and that possible ms13 gang dekz may explain why investigators believe there will be yet more arrests in this case. matt? >> all right, kerry, thank you very much. kerry sanders in pensacola for us this morning. once again, here's ann. >> matt, thanks. >>> that's how jenny sanford describes her husband's affair. in her first in-depth interview since it was made public. nbc's norah o'donnell is in washington now with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. jenny sanford

investigation, who interviewed leonard patrick gonzales jr., the alleged mastermind in the home invasion and homicides. the investigators said gonzalez told him, his involveventnt w w anan n nded d to talalk to t th feds a aut this.s. cordrding tohe w wtt kig g e bibiings..deeded t sasa h hee hadhihin u u by whaccokekes becacaf his a grp p cararealersololiciced bubut he reddjoudud llllgs.. e jujuead s setetrialal d defofr tt flororsttorory y gegeral l cocolicacated, i imamayavave e b asasor t t cocoupuple's'sin seserely aececddodoptpt hohe theheirararentsts werer ththr ololderrsterer ashlhl.f >>>> j jeffr k kofit t dedetas.s. >>> lots of developing news. we'll continue to follow it here. >>> what's the latest on bill and claudette? those storms out in the atlantic. "gma" weekend marysol castro is in for sam champion. >> good morning, to you. good morning, everyone. want to show you video from tropical depression claudette. caused a little bit of a headache for some folks. 50-mile-per-hour winds in bay county. four inches of rain on the florida panhandles, even portions of alabama. for today, you are expected to see scattered showers.

investigation, who interviewed leonard patrick gonzales jr., the alleged mastermind in the home invasion and homicides. the investigators said gonzalez told him, his involvement was very deep. and he needed to talk to the feds about this. according to the written statement, gonzalez denied killing the billings. but said he had within use by car dealers in pensacola to whack cokes because of his record. a group of car dealers solicited him to whack bud billings. but he refused the job. the judge had set a trial date for november. but florida's attorney general says because this case is so complicated, it may have to be delayed. as for the couple's nine severely affected adopted children, they are back in the home where their parents were murdered, now under the care of their older sister, ashley. david? >> jeffrey kofman with the details. >>> lots of developing news. we'll continue to follow it here. >>> what's the latest on bill and claudette? those storms out in the atlantic. "gma" weekend marysol castro is in for sam champion. >> good morning, to you. good morning, everyone. want to show you video from tropical depression claudette