DELTONA, Fla. – Two men convicted in a gruesome mass murder in Deltona will appear in court Tuesday.
Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter, two of four suspects who beat six people and a dog to death inside a Deltona home in August 2004, will return to court for a hearing.
[TRENDING: VIDEO: Drunken woman on motorized suitcase leads police chase through Orlando airport, officials say | Kevin Hart is coming to Orlando| Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
The victims, all friends, died from blunt force trauma to their heads after being hit several times, a medical examiner said. Their bodies were also cut and stabbed, according to authorities.
Victorino and Hunter were sentenced to death for the murders on Telford Lane, however, both have to be resentenced because the verdicts at the time were not unanimous.
The crime became known as the XBox murders because the accused mastermind, Victorino, had gone to the house to get his XBox and other items after he was caught squatting in the home.
Prosecutors said Victorino organized the attacks after victim Erin Belanger, 22, had him evicted because he was living as a squatter in her grandmother’s home. She kept some of his belongings, including clothing and the video game system.
Victorino testified he was drinking with friends at a restaurant at the time of the killings, although DNA evidence tied him to the scene. Michael Salas, another suspect convicted of first-degree murder, and Hunter admitted hitting several victims, but denied inflicting the fatal blows.
In addition to Belanger, Nathan, 19, and Vega, 34, the victims were Francisco Ayo-Roman; Roberto Gonzalez, 28, and Jonathan Gleason, 17.