Loading ...FL Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence in Xbox Murders
The Florida Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for the ringleader of a mass killing over an Xbox video game system.
The court ruled Wednesday that Troy Victorino’s individual claims of error in the 2004 case were without merit and that he was properly convicted of six counts of first-degree murder for killing six people in a Deltona vacant house.
Victorino and a co-defendant had moved into the vacant house without the knowledge or permission of the owner, the grandmother of one of Victorino’s victims, Erin Belanger. Victorino believed Belanger took some of his property, including an Xbox video game system, from the house. This started a feud which escalated to the murders of six people, all of whom were beaten to death with baseball bats and cut post-mortem.
Crime analysts said DNA evidence showed a pair of Lugz boots stained with the blood of several victims belonged to Victorino and that bloody prints matching the boots were found at the crime scene.
The case was moved from DeLand to St. Augustine after it was determined Victorino could not select an impartial jury because of intense news coverage.
Two co-defendants confessed their roles in the murders and testified against Victorino. Victorino testified on his own behalf and presented an alibi, claiming that he was at work at the time of the murders. Two friends corroborated his testimony.
After finding Victorino guilty on all charges, the jury heard additional testimony during the penalty phase of the trial and recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison for two of the murders and sentenced to die for the four others.
The trial court imposed four death sentences, finding several aggravating factors including the heinous and cruel nature of the killings, the fact that they were calculated and premeditated and the fact that Victorino had committed other capital crimes. Any mitigating factors considered were given very little weight.
Victorino appealed his conviction on many grounds, claiming error in both the guilt phase and the penalty phase of the trial. The Florida Supreme Court found each claim meritless and affirmed Victorino’s convictions and his sentence.