Very little is publicly known about Donnie Stallworth’s life prior to his arrest in 2009 for the home invasion and double homicide. Reports suggest Stallworth had no serious criminal record before the Billings case and that he was a former military veteran. This background made his involvement in the crime even more shocking to those who knew him. Unlike some of the younger or more easily manipulated members of the group, Stallworth was older and seen as a physically imposing figure, reportedly brought in to help execute the robbery due to his strength and size.

Stallworth was recruited by Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., the orchestrator of the home invasion, and joined a team of men dressed in black tactical clothing — dubbed “ninja garb” by the media. Stallworth was one of the five men who physically entered the Billings’ home on the night of the murder. He was part of a planned operation that included two getaway vehicles and surveillance of the home prior to the robbery.

On July 9, 2009, Donnie Stallworth joined four other men — Leonard Gonzalez Jr., Wayne Coldiron, Frederick Thornton, and Rakeem Florence — in a military-style home invasion at the residence of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Beulah, Florida. The Billings family was well-known for having adopted multiple special-needs children and for installing a 16-camera surveillance system to monitor their household.

The group entered the house wearing masks and tactical clothing. While nine of the children were home at the time, none were injured. Inside the master bedroom, Byrd and Melanie Billings were both fatally shot. Though the exact trigger-man was identified as Gonzalez Jr., Stallworth and the others were charged equally with first-degree murder and home invasion robbery, under Florida's felony murder law, which holds all participants in a violent felony responsible for any resulting deaths.

The intruders made off with a safe containing personal documents, jewelry, and prescription drugs — not the large cash haul they’d expected. Law enforcement quickly identified the team responsible due to surveillance footage and confessions from accomplices Thornton and Florence, who both took plea deals and testified against the others.

Stallworth was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion robbery with a firearm. He received two consecutive life sentences, ensuring he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

His role in the case stands out because he was not a desperate teen or coerced participant — he was a mature adult with a military past who willingly participated in a brutal, premeditated crime. Despite the public sympathy for his background, the court found his involvement too serious to warrant any sentence other than life without parole.