Trial begins in 'Xbox slaying' case

The high-profile Florida murder trial branded by the mainstream media as the "Xbox slayings" began today in St. Augustine. It was relocated there after officials decided that the Central Florida town of Deltona, where the murders occurred, would not be able to handle the media attention, which has focused on both the lurid nature of the crime and the fact it was apparently committed over a game console.

Just a day after the 12-person jury--five men and seven women--was selected, the prosecution presented its opening statements in the case that will decide the futures of Troy Victorino, 29, Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, 20.

While most media reports have focused on the Xbox connection to the mass murder, few have outlined Victorino's extensive criminal history. According to the Associated Press, Victorino spent eight of the last 11 years in prison and was on probation when he allegedly committed the murders. Since he was first arrested for grand theft auto at 15, he has been convicted of a string of violent crimes, including arson, burglary, theft, and assault and battery.

Victorino and his associates are accused of taking the lives of Erin Belanger, 22, Michelle Nathan, 19, Francisco Ayo-Roman, 30, Anthony Vega, 34, Roberto Gonzales, 28, and Jonathan Gleason, 17, in August 2004. The trio, along with Robert Cannon, 19, allegedly beat and stabbed the victims to death after Belanger took an Xbox from the house where Victorino had been squatting.

Prosecuting attorney John Tanner described the gory details he is building his case around. "The girls are screaming, the solid, sickening sound of bats on flesh and bone. You hear the screams of the dog being smashed in the face. It will come alive for you in this trial." He claims the events all happened "in a matter of minutes."

Tanner is going to need to make more powerful remarks like that, as his side was dealt a devastating blow today. Cannon, the alleged fourth participant in the slayings, refused to testify for the prosecution. The 19-year-old had previously made a plea to cooperate and testify against Victorino, Salas, and Hunter, in exchange for being spared the death penalty. Cannon would not take the stand and asked to withdraw his plea.

The defendants are facing six counts of first-degree murder, five counts of mutilating a dead human body, and other felonies.