Xbox massacre trial set to start

Florida trio faces death penalty over slayings allegedly inspired by dispute over game system.

Twenty months ago, the nation was shocked by a brutal sextuple murder in South Florida. The case concerned an ex-convict and three accomplices seeking revenge for being kicked out of a Florida home. They got it by bludgeoning the six sleeping people in said home to death so brutally that several had to be indentified by their dental records.

Because 29-year-old convict Troy Victorino returned to the home in part to retrieve the Xbox he had left there, the media was quick to paint the horrific crime as another case of game-inspired violence. This, despite the fact that Victorino had been in jail nearly a full decade before the Xbox even hit the market.

Today, the case was in the news again--since the murder trial over the incident is only now just beginning. According to the Associated Press, Victorino and two of his accomplices, Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, 19, face the death penalty over six counts of murder. They also face eight other felony charges, including armed burglary.

The fourth person accused in the slayings, 20-year-old Robert Cannon, has pleaded guilty and will testify against his former associates. In exchange, he will receive a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

173 Comments

  • hart704

    Posted Jun 2, 2006 2:03 am GMT

    Drudaddy wrote:
    this has nothing to do with xbox. (*rolling eyes*)

    100% fact!!

  • Psykopete

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 8:29 am GMT

    What a deal that fourth guy gets...testify against your co-murderers and get imprisoned for life instead of the death penalty. I'd have to give serious reflection over that deal before taking my decision...

  • MasterManiac772

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 4:47 pm GMT

    Color me completely not surprised. I'm a lucky Kentucky resident, and if you think the media's out of control wherever you live, you should book a visit. Whenever hillbilly A runs over hillbilly B with his pickup truck over some dispute or another, you can bet that the news channels are all over it like ants on a fallen ice cream cone. So when I heard something about the so-called Xbox murders just yesterday, I immediately knew that said murders would actually have little or nothing to do with an Xbox to begin with. Maybe if he'd raided the fridge afterward, they'd be calling it the "Take Out Murder." Sounds catchy.

  • Khimarhi

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 11:03 am GMT

    he prob got his xbox and about 10 other things

  • skyvader

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 10:52 am GMT

    If the weapon used to commit the murders was the xbox then I could see having the tag line of xbox murders. However it is being used as a crutch to grab headlines in the wake of other legitimate video games media issues. There will soon be a posting about how a car crash killed people because of a psp was being played in the car. Doesn't state if the driver was playing the psp (or gba/ds) but that there was one found in the wreckage. The media is full of such bs that they need to put any kind of spin on a story to make it interesting. What happened to reporting REAL news they way it happens?

  • n2Deepeth

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 10:49 am GMT

    I hear that guy went to school when he was a kid. I blame education in general.

  • n64nut

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 6:49 am GMT

    Who wants to bet that Jack Thompson is cranking one off to this "news" story.

  • paullywog

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:02 pm GMT

    if they are trying to blame the xbox for those murders, it's all george bush's fault! (seriously)

  • BrandonW84

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:05 pm GMT

    If you reference Bowling for Columbine as a informational resource please check again. It doesn't give much in the way of information, it has too much slander to be even considered documenetary. People misquoted all over the place, but of course that is normal for Moore.

    Either way, it is always amazing how the far the depth of human stupidity can reach. I really don't understand so many of the choices even the most average American makes. People don't think with their brains, they think with their butts.

  • crazybleep99

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:26 pm GMT

    just link it to gta again

  • orionwolf

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 8:36 pm GMT

    Only a weak-minded idiot-savant would connect the Xbox and this crime together.

  • krs_bg

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 8:02 pm GMT

    It's interesting how a "brutal sextuple murder" (!) isn't enough these days so they have to hype it up with a dubious video game link.

    Oh, and about Jack Thompson and others like him. Logic and reason do not fare well in their imaginary world.

  • hurleyskate284

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 6:45 pm GMT

    This is absurd. The guy obviously had a vendetta against the people he killed, not because he walked in on them playing Halo 2 without him. He was an ex-convict and that fact should take precedence over the reasons he went there. It doesn't matter if he went there to use the bathroom or if he went there to RETURN an xbox. The fact of the matter is that over half of people arrested for a crime are rearrested after they are released. (Source: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/rpr94.txt) The xbox has nothing to do with anything except for tingle the salivary glands of right-wingers like our good friend Jack Thompson.

  • CripticChaos

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 5:26 pm GMT

    Why would they even bring xbox into this.

  • wolftw69

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 4:34 pm GMT

    Number one if people would spend time with their kids instead of leaving them in front of the tv and using it as a baby sitter they might not get influenced by games and television shows.

    Number two thats why video games have ratings, if its rated "M" dont buy the game for little Johnny. He might try to eat a mushroom and jump off a cliff.
    Number three people who blame games for violent behavior are just idiots looking for someone else to blame other than their own weak minded selves.


    and anyone who has a problem with my view can mail me at wolftw69@yahoo.com

  • Wolfwood_117

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 4:13 pm GMT

    The stupidity of people now a days scares me...

  • Miche1611

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 2:00 pm GMT

    And it's because of things like this is why I hate the media so much...Idiots.

  • errickid

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 1:55 pm GMT

    yeah, it's truely a shame
    that's all i can say...

  • kkkknaruto

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 12:51 pm GMT

    seriously dese ppl ave no life, i bet if a game was created to kill yourself dese idiots would be da first to die....A$$H0//&$....

  • Matth13

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 12:33 pm GMT

    I think it's time we blame the Television manufacturers for making TV's to begin with. If it wasn't for them, we'd never have video games, and then there'd be no killings over video games!!

  • YEPEE00

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 12:21 pm GMT

    always something bad, never something good...you sure where not stuck in some loop, agane-hee? "games will be games won't they." **shruging disenchanted-like** herd their making a secule to garth of war. didn't garth die at the end? i'm glad i iggied that one but no baggies there, guess? **shrugs confused**

  • the_junk

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 12:02 pm GMT

    "the media was quick to paint the horrific crime as another case of game-inspired violence."

    couldnt have said it better myself

  • halopower67

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 12:01 pm GMT

    wtf is wrong with the media i mean...hes an EX-CONVICT. and how can they relate this to an xbox??? i dunno.

  • skylinedude05

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:53 am GMT

    freaking idiots

  • x-wing20

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:43 am GMT

    Jack thopson please do not red this story

  • jrett

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:24 am GMT

    What did they think would come of this? Damn morons.

  • peterzhao333

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:17 am GMT

    If the Xbox is declared guilty, do we get a Price Drop??

  • peterzhao333

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:16 am GMT

    the Box

  • peterzhao333

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:13 am GMT

    ...

  • DarkSan00

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:13 am GMT

    COME ON! he was crazy! how can he kill for a fu****g xbox! stupid press

  • anubis8515

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:56 am GMT

    of course the only why to make it stop is if you are 18 need to vote those **** people out....and to vote for are right to game

  • anubis8515

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:53 am GMT

    i hope they all get the death penlatily.... for trying to blame that on a video game

  • Seraphim_24

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:46 am GMT

    Violent people are going to commit violent acts with or without the influence of video games. The fact that the killer in this case has already served jail time should show that. History has proven me right on more occasions than anyone could ever count, let alone care to. Violent crimes existed before the video game, they will continue to exist after video games are replaced by new forms of entertainment that are sure to spark similar controversy. Anything new gets attacked. Jazz music, Rock and Roll, Christianity... all of it persecuted when it was new... I bring up Christianity to illustrate the point that the "religious" aught to remember that and not support government attempts at regulating our personal lives because it starts with video games, and will not stop there. Soon they will want to regulate every aspect of our lives including our religion. The government should stop at our door step, and the press needs to stop scapegoating and blame freedom of choice for murders like these. These people chose to kill, and would have done so with or without the video games. Thier own history should show that.

  • Dace67

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:41 am GMT

    I agree with Kravyn81. Putting "Xbox massacre" as a headline is a dumb idea seeing as Xbox had nothing to do with the murders.

  • DamageCity

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:39 am GMT

    *he killed them all to get his xbox back. read both stories.*

    Says he also wanted his clothes back.

  • thekey

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:32 am GMT

    The media and those involved with the murder are stupid.

  • Megavideogamer

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:31 am GMT

    Video games do not make people violent. Individuals like this are sociopathic. They are born that way. Xbox and Videogames do not "Make" people want to kill. nor does Violent movies/Television shows either.

  • Uisquebaugh

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:25 am GMT

    he killed them all to get his xbox back. read both stories.

  • thEsl1ck3st1

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:16 am GMT

    i killed a ladybug the was crawling on my 360 guess im an xbox murderer too

  • Stlpopimpin007

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 10:11 am GMT

    WOW....These Guy's Need Jeues And A HUG RETARED PEOple like that should roit in every way possblie

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:59 am GMT

    Notice how they worded the title of this article: "Xbox massacre..."

    Hmmmm...thanks, GS, for doing your part to try and not further MISREPRESENT the facts of the case. The Xbox was NOT the cause of the massacre, it simply was THERE. So why name the article as if the Xbox was the cause for the tragedy?

    Throwing it up there as a major headline does nothing but support the fanatics' insane crusade. They can easily misconstrue the entire intent of this article and they don't even have to read it. All they have to do is reference the TITLE and they have their ammunition, however distorted, to say "See? Even a well known gaming site ADMITS that the Xbox was to blame" when that was not the case at all. People don't care about details all they care about are headlines. Try to think out better worded headlines next time.

  • boolow407

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:49 am GMT

    They were wearing Levi jeans too. Levi Strauss had a hand in it! No, they stopped for pizza before they did it. Pizza hut is to blame! ENOUGH OF THIS GARBAGE! I wish people would stop blaming video games for thier own stupidity.

  • notm3

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:31 am GMT

    They are really gonna try to pin that on an Xbox? Last time I checked into that story, they didn't get bludgeoned with the Xbox... They were killed by the idiots who should be in jail anyway.

  • jimbo102671

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:23 am GMT

    GS article above: "Because 29-year-old convict Troy Victorino returned to the home in part to retrieve the Xbox he had left there, the media was quick to paint the horrific crime as another case of game-inspired violence. This, despite the fact that Victorino had been in jail nearly a full decade before the Xbox even hit the market."

    This pretty much says it all.

  • MrPMPisBeefy

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:22 am GMT

    Unbelieveable. If any crime can be related to video games in any way, the crime was commited because of the game. The media has really become a sad pathetic industry hyping only what it wants dumb-minded people to hear and see.

  • DamageCity

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:17 am GMT

    Nice spin Gamespot gave this one, they did this for revenge of getting kicked out of a home not for an Xbox.

  • WolfSkill5544

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:15 am GMT

    some people are really messed up in the head.

  • bossjimbob

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 9:11 am GMT

    Woulnd't it be poetic if they gave this tool the chair, while holding a Controller-S. Ah, sweet irony.

  • DeuxHero

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 8:54 am GMT

    Morans someone could have gone to retrive a deep fryer OMFG deep fryed foods make people vilont OMFG

  • grayoldwolf

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 8:23 am GMT

    Honestly, if the guy had gone back for his iPod and killed six people for it, nobody would suggest that music made him do it. It's crazy to associate these murders with video gaming.

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