Surveillance cameras stayed on as Fla. couple was killed

The men were in the nine-bedroom house for just four minutes and on the property for 10, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. Video captured during that time led investigators to a red van used as a getaway car and eventually to the suspects.

Morgan said investigators have been pondering “the huge gap’’ in what was otherwise a precise, methodical crime for which the suspects had trained 30 days. They were a loosely connected group of mostly day laborers who knew one another through a power washing business and an auto detailing operation.

“The execution was basically flawless,’’ Morgan said. “The one gaping hole that would not have made this a perfect operation, if you will, was the fact that the surveillance system was not disabled. I guess the question was why was it not?’’

Investigators have not said what was in the safe or what else was taken from the house. Morgan said they also do not know why the camera system remained on. He speculated that maybe the person who was supposed to turn it off had an attack of conscience. “Who knows?’’ he said.

Meanwhile yesterday, Morgan said police in Orange Beach, Ala., had found a real estate agent named Pamela Laverne Long. Authorities had earlier sought the public’s help finding her, saying they were concerned about her safety because she hadn’t been heard from in about two days.

Police in Orange Beach, about 30 miles from Pensacola, found her at or near a marina yesterday afternoon, Morgan said. He said she was not in custody and was returning to Florida voluntarily. He said investigators believe she has “significant and substantial information’’ needed to conclude the case.

Morgan said Long is friends with and rents property to 35-year-old Leonard Gonzalez Jr., whom Morgan described as a “pivotal person’’ in organizing the crime.

Morgan also said authorities are looking for another person of interest who may have been assigned to turn off the surveillance system, possibly remotely, though he did not identify that person.

Nine of the couple’s 13 adopted children were home during the break-in. Three saw the intruders but were not hurt. The couple also had four children from previous marriages.