DELTONA, Fla. – Opening statements began Monday in the resentencing trial of two men convicted in the so-called Xbox murders, the deadliest mass murder in Volusia County’s history.
A jury was seated last week in the resentencing of Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter, who were convicted in the murders of six people in a Deltona home in a case that drew national attention.
[Video below covers opening statements in Xbox resentencing]
Prosecutors opened their case against Hunter and Victorino Monday with the argument that the death penalty should be sticking for the case.
“No matter how detailed I am, no matter what vocabulary I use, my words will not adequately describe what you’ll see and hear,” said prosecutor Andy Urbanek in his opening statement.
Victorino and Hunter are convicted of breaking into a Deltona home and beating six people to death with baseball bats and stabbing them back in 2004.
It’s been called the “Xbox murders” because it involved a dispute about some of Victorino’s belongings, including an Xbox system. Prosecutors said Victorino and Hunter were living in one of the victim’s grandmother’s houses before getting kicked out, but left items behind.
“They believed that Erin had their personal belongings, and they intended on getting them back no matter what the cost of doing so. The cost ended up being six human lives.
Prosecutors brought several witnesses to the stand today," argued Urbanek.
One of the men’s friends, Brandon Graham, testifying today too that there were a few other confrontations about the belongings between those living in the home, Victorino and Hunter before the one that ended deadly.
He was there when Victorino started planning their fatal attack.
“He wanted us to move through the household at which point in time Mr. Hunter asked about wearing masks and He stated we weren’t going to need any masks because we were going to leave no witnesses and leave no evidence,” said Graham.
Despite being asked by Victorino and Hunter to join them and two other men. He said he decided to ditch them and heard later what happened.
“That’s when it struck me that they did it,” he said.
Four men were ultimately charged with the murders, but Victorino and Hunter were the only two sentenced to death originally. Both of their defense teams decided to hold off their opening statements until the state is done with their case.
Jury selection had started in April 2023 in the resentencing of Victorino and Hunter when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new death-penalty law, which eliminated a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before defendants could be sentenced to death. Under the law, death sentences can be imposed after 8-4 jury recommendations.
On Thursday, a jury of 12 and two alternates was seated in the case.
[Watch video below for previous coverage of the case]
