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'Xbox murder' trio convicted

Life in prison or death by lethal injection yet to be decided for men who were found guilty of murdering six after a game console was taken.

Three men on trial in Florida for the murder of six people have been found guilty of first-degree murder today. The jury's decision concludes the "Xbox Murders" case, which began almost two weeks ago.

The case stems from a 2004 incident in which Troy Victorino, 29, Michael Salas, and Jerone Hunter, both 20, entered a house where Erin Belanger, 22, and five friends were sleeping and proceeded to kill them with baseball bats.

The prosecution argued that Victorino was infuriated when Belanger asked him to leave her grandmother's house, where he had been staying. Belanger held on to some of Victorino's belongings, which included an Xbox, further enraging Victorino, who gathered three accomplices to carry out the murders.

"That man," state attorney John Tanner said, pointing to Victorino, "killed these people because he was in a rage, a slow-boiling rage that finally boiled over," according to a video on CNN.

The defense for Salas and Hunter attempted to portray Victorino as the ringleader, saying that they were involved in the beatings, but that the six-foot-seven-inch Victorino intimidated them and coerced them into their actions. Hunter's attorney even compared Victorino to Charles Manson.

Victorino claimed he was out with friends drinking when the murders took place, but forensic evidence found blood that matched that of the victims on Victorino's shoes.

The jury will reconvene and determine whether the three men will be sentenced to life in prison or be given the death penalty by lethal injection.

The fourth member of the group, 20-year-old Robert Cannon, made a plea bargain with prosecutors to testify against Victorino in exchange for a lesser charge, but he withdrew his plea on the first day of the proceedings. His fate will be determined in a separate trial.

149 Comments

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 11:18 am GMT

    it's funny how the same lot of you who are concernd about how gaming and gamers are percieved in the media and society are the same ones that can so easily turn a blind eye to rac1al insensitivity, stereotyping, and other issues that you may or may not be directly exposed to. seems like you gamers that fake ignorance of other ppls feelings do have a soff spot or two of your own huh...

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 10:41 am GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • Ryze

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 10:38 am GMT

    Gamespot, could you stop using the tagline 'Xbox murder' now, please? You're sounding (reading) like a british tabloid newspaper (see 'The Sun' or 'The Mail').

    If one of the items taken was a Britney Spears CD, would it be the 'Britney Spears Murder'?

    How about a DVD player - you can view all kinds of death with one of those things - The 'DVD Murder' - would the tabloids use that?

    No - they use gaming because gaming is new, and it's easy to sell papers by bashing gaming.

    Just like bashing Rap music used to be used to try and get attention, and bashing Mariah Carey was the flavor of the month a few years ago - Video Games are still an easy target to try to sell newspapers and talk about how kids will ruin the world by being gamers.

    By the way, all of this bashing just gives media coverage to games, as the average 20-40 year old who reads the entire story will know how foolish the headline is, but then their attention is turned to the games.

    That's how Vice City sold so much - off of GTAIII's media coverage. Same thing happened with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and 2Pac in the early to mid 90s. Without constant bashing by the mainstream media and politicians, they'd have never sold so many records.

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 9:39 am GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • osirus824

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 10:55 pm GMT

    The X-Box doesn't really seem to be a key detail in this case. The point is, Belanger took some valuables from Victorino. The whole "X-Box murder" title is probably just a product of the media's need to hype everything with buzzwords and spark controversy.

    I think turning this into a crusade against video game violence or, for that matter, moving too quickly to defend video games, is taking away from the important part: six people were MURDERED. Using this as the launching pad for some relatively insignificant debate is just disrespectful to the victims.

    ...and I'm just going to ignore some of the more idiotic comments below.

  • Game-o_O

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 3:35 pm GMT

    HELLO?? Do they even make xbox's & games for it anymore? Was it really worth it. But, I can see how a 6'7" person could intimidate others. Oh and btw, why were 6 guys sleeping in the same room.. o_O. \_/, (j/k)

    Oh & anyone notice how fast that guy withdrew his testimony? Lethal injection is too good yes I agree. How about the chair? Everyone knows Life in prison is more like Life in quality Inn. Hell he'll get his own tv & xbox in his own cell o_O.

  • Ice_man_1985

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 2:54 pm GMT

    sniperwolf199 , this really isn't funny , you fuc*ked up real good on what you said , so shut the hell up .

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 2:04 pm GMT

    Shut up sniper wolf. This isn't funny people were murdered.

  • Writeous

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 11:41 am GMT

    i know theses kids... we went to the same school.. and my Brother went to School top Troy Victorino.. he used to call my grand parent from Jail back in the day...

    This trial is not what it seems.. it has to do more that just an Xbox and clothers..

    BTW i had a class with one of the victims, she used to flirt with me every day in class..

  • Merl57

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 11:23 am GMT

    Ok whos going to be the first politician to start to blame the gaming industry. Whos going to come out and act like a jack_ _ _ and take the focus away from the murderers? This is aboslutely horrible and the blame should be put on the 3 murderes. I suspect like almost all the time the blame is put on other things/ Why do we do that? Somehow we don't like to be responsible for our own actions. Two of the defendants allready blamed the big guy. I really hope politicians don't blame the game indsutry for this but I'm sure if no came forth allready that they will soon.

  • santana4064

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 11:00 am GMT

    there has to be something more than what is in this article, and why is this article tittle 'Xbox murder' ?? this should have been called the 'Baseball bats murder' Victorino could have taken his box with him, is his box.

  • sniperwolf199

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 10:42 am GMT

    And people think Ps3 will out sell the 360? look at the power of the box!!!!!

    BTW k1llswitch is right

  • Magna01

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 10:30 am GMT

    wth? this has nothing to do with XBOX.

    what is this crap gamespot?

    america!! **** NO!!

  • starcutter20000

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 10:12 am GMT

    I agree, I like how they note specificly that a xbox was part of the belongings that was kept from him. I'm sure Jack Thompson will here about this soon and use it as a way to show games make people kill. It must be that "pleasurable buzz" you get, according to him, when playing with a controller that has a rumble feature.

    http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?board_id=314159266&topic_id=24714701

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 9:22 am GMT

    because the xbox was among the belongings it's labled as the "Xbox Murders". I know they say there is no such thing as bad press but when murders are involved and it's labled this way "killing over an xbox", kind of unfair.

    I truly dislike that the media has to glorify things and label them in this way.

  • wenbin09

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 8:41 am GMT

    what has the world come to? this things shouldn't happen...

  • SugarWill

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 8:33 am GMT

    No wonder he bought friends with him to the house, he had to have help lifting the xbox and carrying it to the car.
    I hope to god they dont get the death penalty, I want them all to rot in jail for the rest of there lives. Lethal injection is over in a couple minutes, but raping, beating, raping, beating, raping, sleeping, raping, beating, eating a peice of bread etc.....lather, rinse repeat, will feel like forver. I cant believe this happens, i cant belive people can do this sort of thing. I really feel for the familys and friends, noone should have to die like that. God punish their souls. F'n pigs.

  • Slash_out

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 7:40 am GMT

    No death penalty, that's too easy.
    if you kill them, the only instant they'll suffer is before death, thinking of what sh*t they have done.

    Send them to prison for life, so that they'll drown in despair, knowing that they won't be able able to do anything else for the rest of their life, locked in between those walls.
    And then they'll understand that what they have done, will deprive them for life of the thing they killed for. Well I guess, that would be when their punishment truly begins.

  • DreTire

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 7:29 am GMT

    The most tragic moment in that town's history has finally come to an end. I wonder if that murder spot in Deltona will be some sort of ideal for a movie. I mean, it's the most talk about thing for a few wrong reasons, and the opinions made would be ideal for it to be a satirical true story film.

  • Destroyeron13

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 7:12 am GMT

    Hopefully the convicts will recieve the same fate, its a shame it happened. Microsoft bastards.

  • poliveto

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 6:32 am GMT

    GKBeetle wrote: Maybe this Victorino guy could be a spokesperson for the Microsoft. He could say that the XBox is so cool that he would kill for it or that he would go to jail for it. Microsoft should latch onto this guy right away.

    What the hell is wrong with you, 6 people are dead. Count 'em, one, two, three, four, five, six. 6 people were killed. Murdered. Most (if not all) in their 20s. That is practically kids.

    I don't see the humor in that. Think about your comments before you blurt them out like that.

  • fluffebunnie

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 6:22 am GMT

    That really sucks to die for such a crappy game console...

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 5:58 am GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 5:28 am GMT

    The Xbox is so awesome, people are willing to kill for it!!

  • redomegaz

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 4:56 am GMT

    nintendorocks :- "How about this...A new way to deal with crime. Murderers should now be killed the way they killed their victims. These guys should be beaten to death with baseball bats. One by one. Line them right up. BAM! In the head..."
    sounds good to me, definitley agree with that

  • shizwill03

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 4:48 am GMT

    They need to be sliced with a razor blade and dropped in alcohol.

    Rinse and repeat.

    I know I will get in trouble for this, but It needed to be said.

    That his horrid and they should get nothing short of a tortorous death.

  • relset

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 2:36 am GMT

    oh, my god i`ve never heard like this before! this horror, I`m gainst deadth penalty but when I see cases like this...I don`t know what ro say!

  • MasterAsh42

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 11:24 pm GMT

    I thought this whole incident had concluded long ago. . .

    Assuming they receive the death penalty, all's well that ends well. If not. . .I'm sure they'll get theirs in prison.

  • ivan_the_one

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 11:00 pm GMT

    that'ss a stupid reSON TO MURDER someone.......they should get life in prison rather than death.....life in prison is much worse.....

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 10:54 pm GMT

    I say life in prison. The death penalty is too good for these jackass. I hope they rot in there. Bastards...

    How about this...A new way to deal with crime. Murderers should now be killed the way they killed their victims. These guys should be beaten to death with baseball bats. One by one. Line them right up. BAM! In the head...

  • rynmls

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 10:50 pm GMT

    thats good news for the victims...

  • SOLIDUS_SNAKE

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 9:32 pm GMT

    these guys are weirdos. who does this?

  • MronoC

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 9:10 pm GMT

    I'm depressed now

  • chickenoverlord

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 9:00 pm GMT

    well the saves are on the harddrive! you dont mess with some1's savegames!

  • Valen_Ca

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 8:38 pm GMT

    Out of curiosity has Jack Thompson said anything about this case ?

  • grave_rob

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 8:25 pm GMT

    everyone knows: don't step between a gamer & their console

  • BlissfulGopher

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 8:13 pm GMT

    Six people? With baseball bats? Over possessions?

    Well, that's pretty much the saddest, most disturbing thing I've heard today.

    I know it's basically redundant, but how stupid would you have to be to keep the shoes??!!! Did he hang the bat up over his fireplace too?!

    Ultimate punishment: lock 'em away with their precious Xbox, and nothing to play but Barbie's Horse Adventures!

  • Platyphyllum

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 7:57 pm GMT

    ugh, Xbox superduperfanboys, no one kills a dog just for an Xbox!

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 7:42 pm GMT

    Yay, kill these morons! I'm sorry, but if you kill someone (even a dog) over a video game console then you're pathetic and deserve to die.

  • gamepunk86

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 7:35 pm GMT

    i knew it wasn't just about an xbox. it says they took his things that happened to include an xbox. there were probably others things and there was an argument before and then it happened.
    it wasn't like "hey, you took my xbox, *bam* you're dead." like the media makes it seem.

  • diablusx

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 6:38 pm GMT

    It is Florida not Texas so 2 of the 3 will get the life sentance. Victorino on the other hand is as much Charles Manson as he is Marilyn Manson. He was pissed and they were drunk. Anyone that has gotten really drunk would know about stories where someone had a stupid idea but it seemed really great at the time. The only real question that should remain is if Victorino was conscious enough of what he was saying to get the death penalty.

  • mgsninja

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 6:05 pm GMT

    Good job by the forensic team

  • the_junk

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 5:15 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • xelloss88

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 5:01 pm GMT

    I wonder what the GamerTags were.

  • msim

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:54 pm GMT

    give these wastes of life a one way ticket to hell. rehab? yeah right. lets let the psychopathic murderers sit on a couch and whine to a shrink.lethal injection is to good for these bastards. i'm in favor of bringing back public hangings. or setting them on fire. by the way its so damn stupid how the media has connected this with an xbox. wth? does anyone else see a certain clinton having a field day with this?

  • lpkilla79

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:53 pm GMT

    THE best thing to do is this.............SHOOT THEM INTO OUTERSPACE ON A SPACESHIP HEADED FOR PLUTO for the betterment of MANKIND. Give em enough food and water to laST 5 YEARS AND HAVE THEM communcatre what they see in space. ALL murder should be dealt with this way. SPACE EXECUTION helps mankind and serves up one SCARY-ASS WARNING. kill and you go to SPACE to die. PERIOD AND END OF STORY

    One day I will run for office and make this the new WAY TO DEAL WITH ultra-violent crime. NOBODY has ever thought of this GREAT IDEA. If the spaceship blows up when taking off then so be it. They died without our help.

  • alberto2045

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:33 pm GMT

    DAmn son u killed 5 tguys with a bat lol what is wrong with this SUPER FANS????? I think i dont know about u guys but these guys are going a little bit 2 far

  • 4BDN

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:29 pm GMT

    Xbox fanboys go too far...

  • Technoweirdo

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:28 pm GMT

    Xbox murder? Geez everyone in the press seems to be this bored or are lacking good material for news, so they mention an Xbox (any console or handheld would also be suitable) was involved in the murder so it would catch the reader's eyes much easier (well, it did work). They never really mentioned any of the other items so the focus is shifted only to video game consoles and handhelds (the Xbox in this case), therefore generating a bias which spreads to the reader. Is being Jack Thompson or Hilary Clinton the coolest thing to do right now? I sure as hell don't think so.

    Common sense would really help a lot of people, especially the murderers, Jack Thompson, and Hilary Clinton. Killing for items worth about $200 Canadian means you must be dumber than a rock. Doing anything drastic for something that small is pointless. Then again only those who were involved in the murder and the press (possibly the government) actually know what the worth of the items are and I only know about the Xbox.

    What should their sentence be though? Seriously Lethal Injection? Life In Jail? Ironic Death By The Xbox They Took Dropping On Their Head? Starved To Death? Bored To Death? Too many ways for me to list, but I think life in jail would be enough, if they don't die of boredom first. Then again, something has to be done about the families first, so they can't be immediately executed. Then again, it's not like they can do community service since they're convicts now, so death it shall be.

    Anyways...I have the feeling the government of the U.S is getting more involved with the press lately but what's the purpose? Is it somehow tied to someone running for a high-position in the government who wants to get the votes of anti-video gamers (there are few hardcores so the government would care a lot less about gamers), or was it just to make people watch or read the news more? Perhaps all the bias against video games in this article was some weird coincedence (0.0000......1% chance of that though).

    One thing's for sure though, nothing is making as much sense as it used to.

  • conkersbat

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 4:16 pm GMT

    That's terrible. This reminds me of the case in Europe where some kid killed another kid with a meathook after playing Manhunt.

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