05 November 2025 :
November 3, 2025 - Florida. Judge sentences Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter to death
On Monday, Judge Dawn Nichols at the Volusia County sentenced to death two people convicted earlier this year in the 2004 so-called Xbox murders in Deltona.
Considered by many to be the deadliest mass murder in the history of Volusia County, Troy Victorino, 48, and Jerone Hunter, 38, were convicted of beating six people and a dog to death with baseball bats in 2004.
Investigators at the time said the men were taking revenge against one of the victims, Erin Belanger, who kicked Victorino out of her grandmother’s home. Investigators say Victorino and a group of people were squatting there and that he accused Belanger of stealing some of his belongings, including an Xbox. Killed in the massacre were Erin Belanger, 22; Michelle Nathan, 19; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28; Jonathan Gleason, 17; Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman, 30; and Anthony Vega, 34. A dog was also killed.
Two other people involved in the murders, Michael Salas and Robert Cannon, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Victorino and Hunter were sentenced to death in 2006 for their roles in the killings, but according to information from the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Judicial District, their sentences were nullified in 2018 after Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty.
In May 2025, a Volusia County jury voted in favor of recommending the death penalty for Victorino and Hunter.
Despite the recommendation, it was ultimately up to a judge to make the final sentencing decision, who agreed Monday morning to hand down the death sentence. On their case see also HoC 01/08/2006, 21/09/2006, 14/06/2017 and 07/05/2025.
