MISTRIAL FL - Six Bodies found in Deltona mass murder, Aug 2004 guilty mistrial 2023

Garnan · Jul 18, 2006

Thanks for the updates, please keep the news coming I really appreciate it.

13th Juror · Jul 24, 2006

Today (Monday, July 24th) closing arguments took place in the St. Augustine courtroom.

By 5:30 pm the Judge gave the case to the jury. He gave them the option to wait until tomorrow to begin their deliberations - the group declined and said they wished to begin deliberating and would continue to do so throughout the night until a verdict was reached.

By 9:30 pm - and 4 hours of deliberations under their collective belts .. the jurors were so exhausted that they opted to retire for the evening and begin again after a good night's sleep. They will return to the jury room at 9 AM tomorrow.

In addition to being sequestered at an unnamed hotel with court appointed deputies on duty with them .. the jurors were required to immediately relinquish their cell phones. The telephones in their hotel rooms have also been disconnected - No TV - No newspapers - No internet access - No contact with the outside world. They were not allowed to bring their notes taken in the courtroom & jury room with them to their hotel rooms.

One might think that this is a slam dunk case with so much evidence including DNA that 4 hours is plenty of time for a verdict to be rendered in this particular case, but - let me remind you that there are 3 defendants and a multitude of charges against each of them that need to be discussed & decided upon. I have no doubt there will be a verdict tomorrow.

Personal note: I've had my California family here in Florida for the past 10 days and really haven't had time to post any updates on this trial or much of anything else. My apologies - as I had intended to do so.

13th Juror

13th Juror · Jul 24, 2006

Originally appeared on July 19, 2006
on News-Journal Online

DNA testimony strongest yet in Deltona murder trial

ST. AUGUSTINE -- Some jurors directed hard stares at Troy Victorino, the accused ringleader in the Deltona mass murder, when an expert testified Tuesday she found the blood of three of the six victims on a pair of boots Victorino owned.

FDLE crime lab expert Emily Booth Varan prepares to show the jury one of four bats used to beat six people to death as testimony in the Deltona mass murder trial continued Tuesday at the St. Johns County Courthouse in St. Augustine. And Victorino will tell the jury today where he was on the night of the killings, his defense attorney said.

"He will take the stand. How could he not when he is accused of murder?" said Jeff Dowdy of his client who prosecutors say led a brutal attack in Volusia County, killing four men, two women and a dog inside a home at 3106 Telford Lane on Aug. 6, 2004.

Dowdy's revelation came as Tuesday ended with prosecutors delivering their strongest blow against Victorino, 29, Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, 20, accused of breaking into the residence and bludgeoning and stabbing the victims to death. Besides the blood on the boots, prosecutors said blood from some of the victims was found on some baseball bats.

A corrections officer testified Salas confessed to the killings, asking for protective custody as she booked him in jail on the morning of Aug. 8, 2004.

"He said he didn't know how he got caught because he tied up his hair and did not get any blood on him. He said he used a bat and didn't get any blood on him," corrections officer Eunice Williams testified. "He wrote 'I killed someone' on the protective custody request form."

Salas said he understood he had taken a human life, did not show any remorse and "appeared to be joyful and was smirking," Williams told jurors.

Then there was the DNA testimony. Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA expert Emily Booth Varan said she found the blood of three victims on a pair of Lugz boots prosecutors believe Victorino wore on the night of the killings. Varan testified she examined several brown stains she discovered on the suede shoes as she swabbed the inside with a cotton swab to collect material for DNA testing.

"Both stains had some DNA profile that matched Erin Belanger's standard," Varan said, adding it would take 750,000 times the world population of 6 billion to find a similar match.

A bloodstain found on the heel of the left Lugz boot matched that of victim Anthony Vega and another on the top toe part of the same boot corresponded to victim Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman's blood type, Varan said.

A Nike tennis shoe investigators believe belongs to Hunter also had blood on its tongue from victims Michelle Nathan, Roberto Gonzalez and Vega, Varan said.

The material collected from the inside of the boots yielded a dominant DNA source but contained other DNA whose source could not be determined, Varan testified.

"I compared the DNA profile of the wearer and it matched Troy Victorino," Varan told Assistant State Attorney Leah Case.

But Varan, who said she has testified 33 times before as a DNA expert, conceded under cross-examination by another of Victorino's attorneys that it is possible that someone else wore the shoes during the killings.

"Does this mean that someone other than Mr. Victorino was wearing the shoes, that two people or more could have been wearing the shoes?" Michael Nielsen asked Varan.

"Possibly," Varan said.

Blood from Gonzalez, Belanger and Ayo-Roman were found on two bats recovered in a tree near a retention pond in DeBary, Varan said. A hair found on a bat was Nathan's, said Megan Clement, a North Carolina Labcorps DNA analyst. Clement said Hunter cannot be excluded as a contributor to bloodstains found on shoelaces taken from a laundry basket.

"The DNA evidence was significant and we are very pleased," said Assistant State Attorney David Smith.

So significant "it was damaging," conceded Dowdy.
"It is the strongest piece of evidence in the Lugz boots," Dowdy said.

About the Case

WHAT: On Aug. 6, 2004, six people were found brutally murdered inside a Deltona home.

VICTIMS: Killed in the attack were Erin Belanger, 22; Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman, 30; Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28; Michelle Ann Nathan, 19; Jonathan Gleason, 17, and a pet dachshund named George.

WHY: Authorities say tensions escalated days earlier when Belanger found Troy Victorino, 29, was squatting in her grandmother's house across town. Belanger called authorities and removed his belongings. Acting in revenge, Victorino orchestrated the killings, investigators say, with the help of three other men -- Robert Cannon, Michael Salas, and Jerone Hunter, all 20.

THE TRIAL: Cannon pleaded guilty to the killings to avoid the death penalty and was expected to testify against the others. But on Thursday he refused, saying he was not guilty and he shouldn't have agreed to the deal. The other three suspects are on trial for first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

NEXT: Prosecutors will close their case after former Volusia County Medical Examiner Thomas Beaver testifies. Defense attorneys will then begin their case and could call up to eight witnesses, including Troy Victorino, the suspected ringleader in the killings.

13th Juror

Usher737 · Jul 25, 2006

It will be read at 1:00 pm.

More and photos at link.

http://www.wftv.com/news/9563696/detail.html#

Usher737 · Jul 25, 2006

You can watch it live on the link from my above post.

All 3 guilty on all the serious charges! 1st degree premediated murder!

Jury has tomorow off and will return on Thursday to start the penalty phase.

13th Juror · Jul 25, 2006

ALL 3 Guilty on all of the most egregious 1st degree premeditated felony murder charges and abusing a dead body, burglary.

Penalty phase to begin on Thursday at 9 am.

I typed out the entire proceedings as they were happening - all the charges and counts on each individual - but lost the whole thing thanks to a frisky cat that pounced on my keyboard. Grrrr

Damn - May try to reconstruct later ...

These defendants are toast!

13th Juror

fl_sun · Jul 25, 2006

They will all automatically appeal. Utimately, I believe Salas and Cannon will either be sentence to life or retried individually and Victorino will be on death row, running a in-jail gang. Hunter will not die either. He will end up like Salas and Cannon. Troy Victorino orchestrated the horrible events of that day and I honestly feel that these troubled young men had no idea that they were participating in a mass murder of 6 innocent people. If you were to study their backgrounds, they likely got into fights at school and ran with the wrong people. I don't think they were murderers by nature like Victorino. Troy Victorino was was spiralling out of control and he wasn't going down alone.

Garnan · Jul 25, 2006

THANK GOD!!!! Thank you all for the updates. Don't be too mad at the frisky kitty 13th, kitties will be kitties!!!!

13th Juror · Jul 25, 2006

fl_sun said:
They will all automatically appeal.

Utimately, I believe Salas and Cannon will either be sentence to life or retried individually and Victorino will be on death row, running a in-jail gang. Hunter will not die either. He will end up like Salas and Cannon.

Troy Victorino orchestrated the horrible events of that day and I honestly feel that these troubled young men had no idea that they were participating in a mass murder of 6 innocent people. If you were to study their backgrounds, they likely got into fights at school and ran with the wrong people. I don't think they were murderers by nature like Victorino. Troy Victorino was was spiralling out of control and he wasn't going down alone.

To the best of my recollection - the luxury of a tax-payer (state) funded "automatic" appeal is afforded exclusively to death row inmates. These 3 now convicted felons have not yet faced sentencing - so, from my perspective, while the death penalty is still a viable option for the jury to consider in the penalty phase - it is certainly not yet a foregone conclusion.

Fl_sun .. in addition to Victorino, the vicious ringleader - the conviction today was for Jerone Hunter & Salas. Cannon, who was not on trial was supposed to turn state's evidence and testify against the other 3 but made a dramatic declaration in court that he was retracting his guilty plea and refused to comply with the prior arrangement. I expect the state to file charges similar to those the 3 thugs were convicted of today on Cannon. His 30 year sentence in the plea deal is now history.

You mentioned that you thought Victorino would get the DP and the other 2 convicted today would get "life" but be retried individually. Just curious - on what grounds do you feel any of these morally bankrupt murderers deserve to win a new trial?

Victorino may have been the ringleader and the most vicious of the thugs - but, each individual had a choice. They all 4 chose to enter that home with aluminum baseball bats and brutally murder 6 innocent people and a pet doxie, 'little George'.

I don't have an ounce of sympathy or empathy for any one of the 4. Personally, I'd like to see all 4 receive the death penalty. We reserve that penalty for "the worst of the worst" in our society. IMO - they all meet that criteria and have earned their place on Florida's death row.

13th Juror

13th Juror · Jul 25, 2006

Garnan said:
THANK GOD!!!! Thank you all for the updates.

Don't be too mad at the frisky kitty 13th, kitties will be kitties!!!!

LOL Garnan .. you're right, of course!

I really wasn't angry with Tango - he's still just a little guy (3 mo. old Siamese) and didn't know any better. (I was actually ticked at myself for not being more diligent as to Tango's location and swishing tail. LOL)

My 5 older kitties all know that the keyboard is a "no-no place" and normally give me fair warning before they demand my attention at the keyboard.

13th Juror

Beyond Belief · Aug 1, 2006

Jury recommends death sentences for Victorino, Hunter
UPDATED The jury in the Deltona mass murder trial recommended four death sentences and two life sentences each for Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter. The jury recommended life sentences for Michael Salas. Circuit Judge William A. Parsons will make the final decision on sentencing.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/

Beyond Belief · Aug 31, 2006

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Attorneys for the convicted ringleader in the beating deaths of six people over an Xbox video game system asked a judge Thursday to spare him the death penalty because he has mental problems and was abused as a child.

However, Troy Victorino, 29, did not take the stand on his own behalf, saying only "No, sir" when Chief Circuit Judge Bill Parsons asked if there was anything he wanted to tell the court. His attorneys also presented no witnesses, saying they had already brought forth at trial all available testimony speaking to his character.

A jury last month convicted Victorino and two other men of first-degree murder for the 2004 slaughter of six people in the same Deltona house. Victorino, a 6-foot-7, 270-pound previously convicted felon, allegedly organized the attacks with three younger men to retrieve an Xbox video game system and other belongings from a house he was kicked out of squatting in.
http://www.wftv.com/news/9771497/detail.html

chicoliving · Sep 21, 2006

Troy Victorino's anger over a missing Xbox video game player and other items removed from a house where he had been staying illegally fueled a rampage in which he and three others used aluminum baseball bats to bash to death six people in a Deltona home.

Victorino, 29, and co-defendant Jerone Hunter, 20, were each sentenced to die today for their roles in one of Central Florida's worst mass murders.

Hunter becomes the youngest resident of Florida's death row.

Circuit Judge William A. Parsons followed the jury's recommendation in sentencing Victorino to die for the killings of Jonathan Gleason, 17, Roberto Gonzalez, 28, Francisco Ayo Roman, 30, and Erin Belanger, 22.

Parsons also agreed with the jury in ordering death for Hunter for the murders of Gleason, Gonzalez, Michelle Ann Nathan, 19, and Anthony Vega, 34.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-bk-sentencing-092106,0,3895612.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

YESorNO · May 2, 2017

Death row killers in Deltona mass murder likely to get new sentencing hearings

"The two men sentenced to death in the most horrific mass murder in Volusia County history will almost certainly get new sentencing hearings and a chance to escape a lethal needle in their arm.

Troy Victorino, 40, and Jerone Hunter, 30, were sentenced to death in 2006 for a mass murder in which they clubbed and stabbed six young people to death in a house on Telford Lane in Deltona. A third man, Michael Salas, 31, was sentenced to life in the killings. And a fourth, Robert Cannon, 31, pleaded guilty to avoid a possible death sentence and is serving life.

But following decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court, Victorino and Hunters death sentences will likely be struck down either by a trial court or an appeals court, according to Victorinos attorney Chris Anderson.

The higher court rulings require that jurors unanimously find and specify what aggravating circumstances they found justifying the death penalty. And a state Supreme Court decision requires that the jurors unanimously recommend death. In neither Victorinos nor Hunters cases did jurors unanimously recommend death...

The Real Story With Maria Elena Salinas on Investigation Discovery will focus on the Deltona massacre in which six people were clubbed and stabbed to death. The show airs at 10 p.m. on Monday on Investigation Discovery..."

http://www.news-journalonline.com/n...-murder-likely-to-get-new-sentencing-hearings

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MajorHoople · May 27, 2022

Two Men Connected To 'Xbox Murders' Back In Court

DeLand, FL - Two men convicted in the gruesome 2004 killings of six people and a dog in Deltona—commonly known as the Xbox Murders—are in court again. Both Troy Victorino and Jerone …

newsdaytonabeach.com

Posted Wednesday, February 16, 2022 - WNDB News

"Two men convicted in the gruesome 2004 killings of six people and a dog in Deltona—commonly known as the Xbox Murders—are in court again.

Both Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter were originally sentenced to death for the murders. But, because the verdicts in their trials were not unanimous, both men now have to be resentenced.

According to the State Attorney’s Office Spokesperson Bryan Shorstein, the court is now eyeing a possible trial date sometime in April 2023, but the court still has yet to issue an official order with the set dates. That’s expected to release sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Victorino and Hunter’s charges stem from a gruesome mass murder that took place in 2004 at a Telford Lane home in Deltona. There is where Victorino, Hunter, and two others—Robert Cannon and Michael Salas—murdered six people and a dog. Forensic analysis eventually revealed that the victims died from blunt force trauma to their heads. Their bodies were also found to be cut and stabbed."

maconrich · Apr 11, 2023

"Two men convicted of beating 6 people to death in 2004 are back in court this week, challenging their death sentences.

The so-called “Xbox murders," also called the Deltona Massacre, became one of Florida’s most notorious mass killings after the victims were stabbed and beaten to death with a baseball bat. A dog was also killed."

Full story:

Two convicted in Deltona Massacre will be re-sentenced

The 2 men were sentenced to death for the killings, where 6 were beaten to death over an XBox. A law change means they must be re-sentenced.

www.firstcoastnews.com

maconrich · Apr 12, 2023

Jury selection begins in Xbox murders penalty phase retrial

"On Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys started selecting the 15 jurors, including three alternates, who will ultimately decide whether Victorino and Hunter should be sentenced to death.

The judge and attorneys started out with 100 potential jurors. Rowe asked jurors who believed they had a hardship, such as a medical, personal or financial issue, that might prevent them from serving on the lengthy trial to let the court know, according to a live stream of the proceedings. Many did.

Prosecutors will face a tougher challenge in the new penalty-phase trial against Victorino and Hunter.

Unlike the original penalty phase in 2006 when prosecutors only needed a majority of jurors to recommend death, jurors must be unanimous this time."

Jury selection begins in Xbox murders penalty phase retrial

Prosecutors will try to convince a jury to unanimously recommend that Troy Victorino and Jerone hunter be sentenced to death for the Xbox murders.

news.yahoo.com

maconrich · Apr 23, 2023

"The year was 2004, and the crime came to be known as the "XBOX murders." Four men, Troy Victorino, Jerone Hunter, Michael Salas, and Robert Cannon were all convicted of the grisly killings. Deputies say they used bats and knives to kill the six roommates who shared the house."

"Now, with a *new* change in state law, there will be a *new* sentencing hearing set for Tuesday to see whether Victorino and Hunter will return to death row. "So if the jury recommends 8-4 for death, that's taken as a 12-0 for death. If the jury decides for life in prison as opposed to death, the judge has to impose life," Yonfa explained."