Six Bodies Found in Florida Home [Archive] - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

Newswolf

08-06-2004, 08:34 PM

http://www.wftv.com/news/3623903/detail.html

(This link, you can hit refresh and it gives you the latest story)

"

A friend checking the home of a Burger King employee who missed Friday's early morning shift discovered six adults slain in a scene investigators called exceptionally violent.
~~
Davidson said the bodies were found in different rooms in the house. Deputies sealed off the area and were conducting a search.
Burger King, in a statement, said "the victims of the tragedy are employees" of a Deltona franchise, and said the franchisee was working with local officials and the corporation during the investigation. A company spokeswoman would not clarify whether all the victims worked for Burger King. The franchisee did not return calls for comment.
~~~~
At the scene, Steve Nathan said his daughter, Michelle Ann Nathan, 19, was one of the victims. She moved into the house about three months ago, and her boyfriend joined her last month. She and the other housemates worked at Burger King, he said.
"She was a fun-loving kid," he told the Orlando Sentinel. "She liked her car; she liked boys. She had just gotten a used Camaro, and she was really excited about her car."
His daughter had been stationed in Missouri with the U.S. Army but was recently released because of a medical condition, he said.
~~~

I know Eyespy, the dog is a sad note. Horrible for all these people to die and
the dog bothers me. Sicko creepazoid killer/killers

Rum Tum Tugger

08-06-2004, 09:34 PM

This story about the Deltona *Mass Murder* has been on our local news all day.

The 7 victims (I'm including the poor dog!) were discovered a few minutes after 6:30 am by a Burger King employee when one of the occupants in the home didn't show up for work. WKMG News said that 5 of the 6 human occupants worked for the Burger King just 2 miles away. The Sheriff's Dept arrived by 6:45 am. The scene is so unbelievably gruesome that none of the 6 people can even be identified. One detective said it's the worst .. bloodiest .. most gruesome scene he's ever witnessed in 30 years of law enforcement. He was visibly shaken and said he could not comment further.

At 7 pm this evening, all of the victims were still inside the home. Ages range from 18 to 35. They were not expected to be removed until sometime later tonight. The investigators, forensic folks, etc all had to put on special protective suits to do their information gathering.

About 5 miles away from the crime scene .. there is another home owned by a couple who left for their summer home in Maine 2 or 3 months ago. Their granddaughter was the only one with permission to be in their home and she was taking care of the pool. Not long ago, she went to the home and found it occupied by a bunch of guys. She called her grandparents who promptly called the police. The house was a disaster and the intruders were apparently kicked out.

Shortly thereafter the granddaughter's tires were slashed. She & her boyfriend were 2 of the residents that lived in the home where the mass murder took place last night or early this am. LE doesn't know if there is a connection but crime tape surrounds the second house & it is also being processed for possible evidence. That same home was broken into twice since the incident of the intruders just moving in uninvited.

Anguished relatives & friends of the 6 residents (4 men & 2 women) were all over the neighborhood in a frenzied panic. At this point - no one knows exactly who was killed in that house so no info is being given to these frantic people. It was stated that dental records would most likely be needed for identification. One victim was supposedly a friend that didn't live there but just spent that one fateful night there.

I think from what the lead detective alluded to .. there may be beheadings & body parts scattered. Just my impression ...

Deltona is a small sleepy kind of town just off I-4 in Volusia County - about midway between Orlando & Daytona. Just about 30 miles or less from where I live here in Central Florida. (Orlando area)

I don't think this is drug related .. but then you never know. It was not a random thing either .. this house was targeted. Latest reports stated that none of the occupants renting the home were related.

LE working on a number of leads but no one in the neighborhood apparently saw or heard anything.

I am just livid about the dog being slaughtered. LIVID!

Rum Tum

Newswolf

08-06-2004, 09:52 PM

TY RumTumTugger , I haven't seen those details anywhere else

This is the latest I could find

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/orl-bk-vol-crime080504,0,4802758.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

The bodies of six young adults were discovered in a Deltona house this morning, apparently victims of a brutal overnight slaughter, and authorities said their killer most likely knew them and is probably at large
~~~~~~
"We've never seen anything like this," Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said this afternoon. "There was a lot of trauma, a lot of blood splatter, just a very, very brutal crime."
~~~~~~~
Deputies had recently been dispatched to that house for disturbance calls that included fighting, trespassing and tire-slashing, Johnson said

(also rescuing 1 at a time, sometimes 3 or 4)

WasBlind

08-07-2004, 03:18 AM

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,128236,00.html

Rum Tum Tugger

08-07-2004, 03:42 AM

Thanks, NewsWolf, for posting the link to the latest Orlando Sentinel article (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...-home-headlines). I won't recap all the same info it contains.

Tonight's 11 PM News on WFTV - Channel 9 and WKMG - Channel 6 provided these additional details.

This is the *most brutal & gruesome mass murder crime scene* in Florida in well over a decade. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said in an interview that there was more than anger involved .. there was real rage in these killings. He did not wish to disclose how the murders were committed. He feels that there is more than one perpetrator and that it was a targeted killing .. and in his opinion, the community of Deltona is safe.

One victim has been identified but in deference to the family, the identity has not been revealed.

The bodies of the last 2 remaining victims were being removed from the house as the 11 pm news came on the air. Four others had been removed earlier in the evening.

The investigators expect to be spending several more days carefully examining the crime scene at Telford Lane and collecting evidence. A long and painstaking process.

Autopsies on the victims are scheduled for Saturday & Sunday ~ 3 on each day .. and the little brown dog autopsied at some point over the week-end.

A second house on Providence Blvd a few miles away from the crime scene has investigators working through the night combing for evidence, both inside & out. Detectives are very tight-lipped as to exactly what they are looking for at the 2nd location. This 2nd house is the home of Joseph & Elma Reidy, an elderly couple spending the summer in Maine. Their 22 yr. old granddaughter, Erin Bellanger, is believed to be one one the victims that lived in the rented home on Telford Lane. As mentioned in my earlier post .. she was taking care of the pool and checking on the house during the Reidy's absence.

Now detectives are saying that some of the victims may have been the intruders staying unauthorized at the Reidy house in recent weeks. 3 young men that had apparently broken in and were living & partying there for several weeks were arrested and their car towed a week or so ago. The sheriffs dept said they had responded to at least 10 disturbance calls at the Reidy residence in the past month.

Now .. it's being speculated that 1 or more of those intruders to the Reidy home may have been victims along with the Reidy's granddaughter at the Telford Lane house. Sounds very strange & bizarre to me. Why would the granddaughter invite the intruders of her grandparents home to come live with her after they were arrested? Something in this scenario just doesn't sound right to me.

A 19 yr. old girl, Michelle Mason, seeking independence from living with her parents just recently moved in to the home with her boyfriend. Both are Burger King employees and expected to be named as victims. Her parents stopped in at BK every morning to see her. Michelle didn't show up at work today. Her Mom & step-dad spent the entire day & night outside the crime scene home awaiting some word about their daughter. It never came.

Rum Tum

messiecake

08-07-2004, 08:17 AM

My first thought was "drugs" but now I just don't think so...........this is so tragic and so puzzling (and I agree that its strange for them to say some of the victims were tresspassers' at the other house...........if anything Id say these people were killed by tresspassers).

Im anxious for further info!!!!!!!!!!!

Rum Tum Tugger

08-07-2004, 01:25 PM

Blood spatter experts arrived early this morning at the crime scene. It is expected to take as much as 18 hours to complete their tasks.

At the last newscast they reiterated that identification of the victims by dental records & fingerprints could take several days.

Only one victim identified and some of that victim's family members were notified but not all of them as yet so LE is not releasing the name.

All other family members & friends of victims are still awaiting word on their loved ones.

No arrests as yet .. just mentioned that LE has "persons of interest".

Rum Tum

deputylinda

08-07-2004, 01:37 PM

Newswolf

08-07-2004, 01:47 PM

Police are holding a news conference 2pm E, CNN is covering FYI.

Maybe there is a break.

deputylinda

08-07-2004, 03:35 PM

cnn reports two suspects in custody...no names.

CARLA

08-07-2004, 03:48 PM

This is so very sad..!! :mad: What is wrong with people..!! :(

Rum Tum Tugger, You be careful... Like DeptuyLinda said these BEASTS are out there..!! :blowkiss:

Hammerized

08-07-2004, 03:57 PM

http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~2319774,00.html
According to local sources, the occupants of the house recently called the Deltona police to complain when a group of unruly homeless youths refused to leave their front porch.

Police responded and escorted the group away from the home. The youths are now wanted for questioning, the sources said.

I wonder if the "homeless" youths were allowed to stay at the grandmother's house for a bit, but then the offer was rescinded after they stole or broke things.
Then they began the tire slashing and other vandalism... perhaps escalating to the slayings?

GatorMom

08-07-2004, 05:05 PM

Hi ya'll.

I live about 2 miles from the scene. It's not drug related, it's definitely a rage killing and this is not a high-crime area.

Absolutely horrible, I still can't believe it. The low crime rate is one of the reasons we moved up here from the Orlando area.

deputylinda

08-07-2004, 05:09 PM

i was also thinking of you and did not realize you were that close...i hope you'll hear some inside stuff and fill us in. i'm going to call a friend on ormond PD. i keep wondering if this was another danny rolling type incident. although that involved stranger-on-stranger...thinking in terms of the method of slayings.

GatorMom

08-07-2004, 05:52 PM

I haven't heard anything else yet but there is a couple up the street who work as guards at the county jail and they usually have inside info.

Also a guy next door to them who is an FF/EMT in this area.

My husband goes out with the dog later and usually runs into these folks who are also walking their dogs. We live in a very nice, peaceful friendly part of town, this is just unthinkable to be so close to home.

I like to say we don't live in the country but we live right next to it. No streetlights and you can see the stars, there is a horse pasture about a half mile from the crime scene. Folks are friendly and quiet for the most part, property was real cheap up here until just recently.

I still can't believe it. One of those girls mentioned in the news stories went to HS with my oldest son, he just graduated in May.

bookbakery

08-07-2004, 11:53 PM

YES sometimes I do think that.

You ought to be able to feel safe in your own home. ANd what did the poor dog do to anyone?
<snip>
~~~~~~~
Lori and Laci weren't safe in their own homes either. What a shame. These are sad times for all of humanity.

IdahoMom

08-08-2004, 02:45 AM

hi rumtumtugger...i knew you lived near the scene, and thanks for all the information...i would only say to you these were very personal murders, and not random...but since they are still out there , please use caution in your day-to-day life. the killers are desperate to evade authorities. this is just a general statement.
Question:
These victims had to have beaten beyond recognition since they've not been identified yet. I would think it would take SEVERAL people to perpetrate this crime....how could just 2 people manage to beat 6 adults and a dog to death?

jojo

08-08-2004, 03:11 AM

Question:
These victims had to have beaten beyond recognition since they've not been identified yet. I would think it would take SEVERAL people to perpetrate this crime....how could just 2 people manage to beat 6 adults and a dog to death?

From the current stories I have just read on the Orlando Sentinel site, I believe they were beheaded among other things (cut up into pieces, sorry to be gross) as they identified a girl by her tattoo on her back (not teeth so is the head not there or in another room?).

I really think they (the twisted freaks who did this) cut them all up. I only pray that they killed them quickly and then did the rest to the bodies. I hope they didn't have to watch the others die. Oh how awful, it breaks my heart.

No matter what they did to someone they did not deserve that. Those poor kids and their poor families. I hope they catch these creeps and fry them (although I think they should see what it's like to be butchered.

Edited to add, I recall reading several stories today on this that stated they WERE butchered. I will try to find the links.

IdahoMom

08-08-2004, 03:22 AM

Jojo-
Doesn't it boggle your mind that 6 adults could be overcome like that? They must have been sleeping or something. This is so sad. I cannot imagine what their loved ones are going through!:(

jojo

08-08-2004, 03:22 AM

DELTONA -- Two men, one with a violent criminal history, were being questioned Saturday in the killings of six friends whose brutalized bodies were found in a rented home.

Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said the men, located Saturday at a home in Deltona, were not considered suspects in the killings of four men and two women who were found Friday. But he said they knew at least some of the victims and investigators thought the men could provide useful information.

"We want to know, first, were they involved?" said Johnson, who described the two as "persons of interest."

On Saturday, sheriff's officials identified five of the victims as: Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28, of New York; Francisco Ayo Roman, 30; Michelle Nathan, 19; and Jonathan Gleason, 18.

Vega, Roman and Nathan lived in the home where the killings took place. Gonzalez and Gleason were living nearby, friends said, but stayed there on the night of the slayings.

Authorities have had difficulty positively identifying the sixth victim, thought to be Erin Belanger, 22, because the body was so badly disfigured, her father said. Investigators have described the crime scene as one of extreme violence.

"There is so much damage to her face," Bill Belanger said, "a positive identification can't be made with dental records."

Belanger said investigators told him a medical expert will be called in to help identify the woman.

Autopsies on all six of the victims were completed Saturday, but sheriff's officials would not discuss the results.

A necropsy was performed on Erin Belanger's small brown dachshund, George, also killed at the home.

One of the men being questioned by investigators was arrested at gunpoint Saturday afternoon at a home on Fort Smith Boulevard, less than five miles from where the killings occurred. He was arrested on an unrelated probation violation. The second man was not charged, but also was being questioned by investigators, Johnson said.

Sheriff's officials would not identify either man. However, they did say that the man who was arrested was serving seven years of probation for 1997 convictions for grand theft and aggravated battery.

But three neighbors who watched officers take the man away in handcuffs identified him as Troy M. Victorino, 27, of Deltona.

According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Victorino spent eight of the past 11 years in prison. He was released in January 1996 after serving two years for charges including grand theft of a motor vehicle, arson and burglary.

The year after his release, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated battery and grand theft of a vehicle. He was released from prison in October 2003 and is serving a seven-year probation.

In the battery case, Victorino, whom corrections records list as 6-feet 5-inches tall and weighing 272 pounds, beat a 20-year-old acquaintance so severely with a walking stick that the man's face required hours of reconstructive surgery.

At about 1 p.m. Saturday, neighbors said, about a dozen deputy sheriffs surrounded the home Victorino was in on Fort Smith Boulevard. The homeowner said Victorino is a longtime friend of the family.

Three men, a woman and child came out of the home first, and deputies began calling for Victorino, neighbors said.

"They said, 'Troy, come out of the house now,' " said Vickie Kreger, who lives across the street.

After about 15 minutes, Victorino walked out, wearing jeans and a white tank top, and the deputies rushed him with guns drawn and handcuffed him, neighbors said.

Johnson said detectives are investigating whether the killings were related to a series of disturbances that began about 10 days earlier at a home a few miles from the Telford Lane home where the bodies were discovered Friday morning.

Sheriff's officers were called six times in the 10 days before the killings to a home on Providence Boulevard in Deltona. That house is owned by the grandparents of Erin Belanger. Joe Abshire, Belanger's brother-in-law, said she went to her grandparents' home to go swimming one day and found about six people living there. The house was supposed to be empty because her grandparents are spending the summer in Maine.

Abshire, in a telephone interview from his home in Massachusetts, said Belanger called the Sheriff's Office and deputies asked the group to leave the home.

A few days later, tires were slashed on a car at the Telford Lane home where Belanger lived and she was threatened, Abshire said.

"She was afraid for her life," Abshire said. "It all started escalating with the last week and a half."

Bill Belanger said his daughter called him at his home in New Hampshire last Sunday to tell him that a group of 10 people stood outside the Telford Lane home shouting at her and her housemates.

"They said they were going to kill her," Belanger said.

Abshire said Belanger complained that deputies didn't do enough about the threats.

"She said the police didn't take her seriously," Abshire said. "This was maybe a day and a half, two days ago."

Sheriff's officials would not release reports about the disturbance or other complaints. But a spokesman said deputies were never informed of death threats.

"There were no death threats" reported, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.

jojo

08-08-2004, 03:30 AM

This guy sounds like he could be the one who did this crime considered he disfigured someone else in a previous crime so badly they had to have recontructive surgery. Sounds like his "trademark" or M.O. as you all call it.

messiecake

08-08-2004, 10:18 AM

THERES BEEN ARRESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,128362,00.html

jojo

08-08-2004, 11:38 AM

Good grief, a bloodbath over a flipping Xbox video game system?

Six people died brutally over a video game system?

What in the world is going on in this country anymore?

They need to go back to the old "an eye for an eye" and give these losers what they gave those poor kids. Life in a prison is nowhere compared to what they suffered.

concernedperson

08-08-2004, 12:41 PM

jojo

08-08-2004, 12:46 PM

The bloodbath was caused by the Victorino character. Past criminal record for aggravated assault on a man that had to have reconstructive surgery on his face for such a severe beating. This Victorino is a sociopath and recruited junior sociopaths. It doesn't matter if it was a video game or a diamond ring or 1,000,000 cash, they all have this sense of entitlement and felt they had a "right" to do this. Totally sick. We are producing them in such quantities it is unbelievable!

Why does it seem that suddenly things are out of control? I know there have always been sick and twisted people but the last two years or so it just seems like there are more of them than us. I am just worried that my kids chances of living to my age are slim to none.

It makes total sense what you said about not mattering if it is an Xbox or a million bucks but I am wondering if anyone thinks it is possible that there was more to it than just an Xbox? Maybe something like drugs that they just don't want to admit to? (although if you confess to murder what is the big deal about admitting to drugs, surely the youngers ones would have told all since they confessed to the murders)

IdahoMom

08-08-2004, 12:58 PM

DELTONA --
Sheriff's officers were called six times in the 10 days before the killings to a home on Providence Boulevard in Deltona. That house is owned by the grandparents of Erin Belanger. Joe Abshire, Belanger's brother-in-law, said she went to her grandparents' home to go swimming one day and found about six people living there. The house was supposed to be empty because her grandparents are spending the summer in Maine.
Abshire, in a telephone interview from his home in Massachusetts, said Belanger called the Sheriff's Office and deputies asked the group to leave the home.
A few days later, tires were slashed on a car at the Telford Lane home where Belanger lived and she was threatened, Abshire said.
"She was afraid for her life," Abshire said. "It all started escalating with the last week and a half."
Bill Belanger said his daughter called him at his home in New Hampshire last Sunday to tell him that a group of 10 people stood outside the Telford Lane home shouting at her and her housemates.
"They said they were going to kill her," Belanger said.
Abshire said Belanger complained that deputies didn't do enough about the threats.
"She said the police didn't take her seriously," Abshire said. "This was maybe a day and a half, two days ago."
Sheriff's officials would not release reports about the disturbance or other complaints. But a spokesman said deputies were never informed of death threats.
"There were no death threats" reported, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.This is the part that upsets me!!! It sounds like the police needed to be more aggressive with these thugs. Interesting that Erin Belanger was the one targeted and now she's the one that they cannot make a positive ID on, even with dental records, because she was horribly disfigured. I hope these scum bags really get it in prison!

CARLA

08-08-2004, 02:55 PM

:( My God, all over an X-BOX. The unidentifed girl, was probably beaten the worst, since she had called the police to report these animals..!! I heard the beatings were with aluminum bats..!! :furious: :furious: If only the police had listened to her..!! :(

I'm fearful of the next generation.. !! The level of violence in their everyday lifes is growing..!! There is no control, or consequences for their actions.!! Everything is someone elses fault, or lawyers gets them off..!! :furious: :furious:

YES THERE ARE MONSTERS LIVING AMOUNG US, THERE ARE EVIL PEOPLE ..!! :(

Rum Tum Tugger

08-08-2004, 03:12 PM

On the Orlando noon news (WFTV - Channel 9) there was a film story about the arrests with pictures of the 4 ugly a$$***** that committed these horrendous murders. Yes, Victorino was the ringleader .. and the only one that has not confessed. The sheriff was visibly angry and said this should be a death penalty case and sooner rather than later.

Aluminum bats were used to beat the victims to death as well as the use of knives in slaughtering them.

The granddaughter of the Reidys, Erin Bellanger, still has not been positively identified. She was the main target because she was the one who called the police when she found the group of intruders living in & partying at her grandparents home.

Apparently after they were arrested and forced to leave the Reidy home,they broke in to the same house once or twice again. Ms. Bellanger (age 22) had boxed up some of the belongings left behind (some clothes & an X-Box) and stored them in the home where she was living. The group apparently came to the home causing disturbances, slashing her tires & making death threats to Erin.

I agree with all of you that feel the violence in our society is increasing at an alarming rate. Especially the youth .. early teens to around 30.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out all the young punks arrested were *druggies* of one sort or another. But this was not a typical drug killing .. it was definately a *rage killing*. The others in the home with the targeted Erin were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a rampage .. a bloodbath, according to all that have witnessed the crime scene!

There is a candlelight vigil for all of the victims tonight at the high school in Deltona, where one of them, (the identified 19 yr. old girl) I believe, graduated just a year ago. The news reporter stated that her parents lived directly across the street from the crime scene. The 19 yr. old's boyfriend, (34 .. 15 yrs. older!), was one of the victims.

Will post more as it is reported on the news. Not going to repeat all the newspaper and media website coverage as it is already posted on this thread.

My sincere thanks to all who are contributing the links & updates on his horrific story.

For the first time in years I have been locking up at night and utilizing my alarm system .. something I have been remiss in doing. It's so easy to feel just a little too safe even if you live in a gated bedroom community in the suburbs with it's own 24 hr. security force. I'm realizing that as long as there are perpetrators with evil intent .. crime can happen anywhere. I'm no longer taking such foolhardy chances and hope no one else is either. Amazing .. how I'd allowed myself to be lulled into such a false sense of security. It took something like this to shake me to my core.

Good thoughts to all ...

Rum Tum

Sprocket

08-08-2004, 03:35 PM

Well, psychopaths do value items, more than they do human life. And I'm not surprised that the associates confessed, and not the ring leader.

Just a side note observation here. The targeted victim knew who was attacking her. The majority of murders are commited by criminals who have some type of relationship with thier victim, even if it's a negative one.

jmho, of course.

CARLA

08-08-2004, 04:19 PM

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20040806100209990006

Updated: 02:20 PM EDT
Police Say Xbox Theft Spurred Florida Slayings
Man Hired Three Teens for Revenge Killing, Authorities Claim
By MIKE BRANOM, AP

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 8) - A man who was angry about a suspected theft recruited three teenagers to stab and beat six people to death with baseball bats in a Florida home, investigators said Sunday after making four arrests.

Remains of the six victims - four men and two women - were found Friday in the blood-spattered home.

http://cdn.news.aol.com/aolnews_photos/00/05/20040808141509990001

AP
Troy Victorino, 27, Robert Cannon, 18, Jerone Hunter, 18, and Michael Salas, 18, were arrested in connection with the killings.

All four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, the Volusia County sheriff's department said. All of the victims had been stabbed, but autopsies determined the cause of death was the beating injuries.

Troy Victorino, 27, of Deltona was identified as the ringleader. Also arrested were Robert Cannon, 18, of Orange City, Jerone Hunter, 18, of Deltona and Michael Salas, 18, of Deltona.

"Officials struggling to come up with a motive for the crime believe the killings were committed over the theft of some clothes and an Xbox game system owned by Victorino,'' who has a criminal record for assault, a statement from the sheriff's office said.

The bodies were discovered in a three-bedroom home in Deltona, about 25 miles north of Orlando, after one victim's co-worker at Burger King called a friend and asked the person to visit the home because the victim had not arrived for work, officials said.

"We've never seen anything like this," Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson told reporters Friday afternoon. "There was an extreme level of violence."

The sheriff's office on Saturday identified the victims as Michelle Ann Nathan, 19; Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto "Tito'' Gonzalez, 28, of New York; Francisco Ayo Roman, 30; and Jonathan Gleason, 18. Authorities had not yet positively identified the sixth victim by late Saturday.

nanandjim

08-08-2004, 07:03 PM

So, I'm assuming that Erin knew the intruders who were living at her grandparents' home. They must have known her. How else would they know where she lived and be able to vandalize her car? How else would they know where she was staying, etc.? Sad to say, there is probably more to this than meets the eye. How did Erin know these people? How did these people know her grandparents had a home in the area that would be empty for the summer?

What scum. It's sad that the police didn't do more. I find it hard to believe that this girl didn't tell them of the death threats, along with everything else that was happening. From the condition of her body, she appears to be the intended victim.

PrayersForMaura

08-08-2004, 07:24 PM

Ok, talk about 6 degress of separation .... My guitarist works with a man whose son in a band in california, and one of the guys/victims who died violently in that house was in the son's band. Small world.
Anyway, he was just staying overnight there with his girlfriend.

Ya know, we're fighting these Taliban and al quaeda terrorists when we have our own terrorists in this country!! this crime, the Hacking murder and Peterson case among many others including the Ok City bombing, Columbine, etc. were caused by our own American terrorists.... our own f@cked up people!!!
Some of our own citizens are just as cruel and committing as heinous crimes as the terrorists we are fighting in the middle east.

Something needs to be done about our country, too.
this **** needs to stop!

PrayersForMaura

08-08-2004, 07:30 PM

I'm pretty sure the guy in the band was Gleason....
here's some band info on him for anyone curious:
Karma Diver
Deltona, FL
http://www.localband.net/bands/banddetail.cfm?BandID=6361

PrayersForMaura

08-08-2004, 07:34 PM

more info on Gleason and his band : http://karmadiveronline.tripod.com/

Peekaboo

08-08-2004, 11:22 PM

Those are some ugly scary sickos. I do believe drugs were involved in this somehow. I cannot imagine why they would target the girl so fiercely when they were the ones trespassing?? They must have known her somehow before this incident.
It does scare me how often this happens. I am very suspicious of some neighbors of ours. I suspect drugs of some kind are involved, the police are over there quite often. Other things go on that make us wonder how safe this neighborhood really is, and this is a quiet suburb with very nice homes.
One just never knows anymore.

IdahoMom

08-09-2004, 02:12 AM

more info on Gleason and his band : http://karmadiveronline.tripod.com/
Thanks Eye. He was a very cute kid. What a waste! :(

GatorMom

08-09-2004, 08:04 AM

Thanks Eye. He was a very cute kid. What a waste! :(

He was a nice kid. My oldest son attended HS with Jonathan Gleason. They were not friends but they did share an interest in music.

The house where they arrested the ringleader is less than a mile from my house. This is all too close to home for me, my husband and I actually discussed selling our home but it's a goldmine and we want to hold on a few more years.

You know, people smirk at me when I check to see what kind of sickos are living in my neighborhood. FDLE has the sex offenders online and you can pull up a list by addresses. This county does not keep a list of convicted felons online, I don't know why because they did where I used to live. I would have liked to know someone like Troy Victorino was living in my neighborhood. I've seen that guy at the little bodega up the street buying beer!

ETA: The local LE in this town have a very "good ol' boy" mentality. They were parked in front of my house for four hours a few weeks ago because the people next door were having a huge fight. I like how they park in front of MY house...anyway, they had three patrol cars and a motorcycle here for four hours settling a domestic dispute. No one had a gun, no one was hitting anyone. He called to have her taken out of the house and the City of Deltona sent FOUR of it's finest to handle the matter. Made me wonder who the hell was watching the rest of this town, we have a population of 70K but it's still a small town, just spread out a bit.

Also this past weekend a man robbed the local Winn Dixie at gunpoint and pistol whipped the employee and two vendors who were in the store, threatening to kill them all.

IdahoMom

08-09-2004, 11:56 AM

Thanks for sharing, Gatormom. I understand perfectly about wanting to know what's going on around you-that's very prudent of you.
I am a Realtor, and it might be best if you let some time pass and allow memories of this incident to fade a bit before selling.
At least you know now that 4 SICK GOONS from your community are now in police custody and no longer roaming the streets. Now, if they could just get the death penalty!

GatorMom

08-09-2004, 03:09 PM

Rum Tum Tugger

08-09-2004, 04:25 PM

Michele Nathan's Mom was interviewed this morning at the Courthouse in Daytona where the 4 thugs were arraigned. She stated that she hoped they would get the DP and wanted them to die. She said her other daughter, "Amber" was now staying with her (wouldn't leave her side) and recognized one of the murderers as a classmate from the school she had attended last year. Amber didn't "know" him but recognized him. He was one of the 3 teens that Victorino hired to help him perpetuate this murderous slaughter.

I don't know the outcome of this morning's hearing as yet. Anyone else hear anything?

I agree, GatorMom .. this is Florida and they surely will get a DP trial. There's no fooling around down here ....

Rum Tum

Rum Tum Tugger

08-09-2004, 05:55 PM

As expected ....

The 4 thugs were arraigned this morning in Daytona.

All were charged with 6 counts of 1st degree murder and burglary.

All were appointed public defenders by the state.

All were denied bail.

Rum Tum

IdahoMom

08-09-2004, 06:01 PM

IF? This is Florida, they'll all get the needle. Age will not be a factor.

That is a relief! :clap:

PrayersForMaura

08-09-2004, 08:29 PM

They also need to be charged for killing the dog, too.... animal cruelty.
:furious: :mad: :furious: :mad: :furious: :mad: :furious: :mad: :furious:

Rum Tum Tugger

08-09-2004, 09:05 PM

The latest news ...

Florida's lame-brained Dept. of Corrections has done it again. Bureaucratic ERRORS ~ Typical in our state, unfortunately.

The deaths of the 6 innocent people (and a little doxie dog) slaughtered by Victorino & his band of thugs could have been avoided altogether if the Dept. of Corrections had been doing their job. They didn't.

Troy Victorino, the 28 yr. old ringleader, who as we know had a long history of violence .. also had a violation of his probation and was released from jail PREMATURELY. He was still supposed to be in jail when the mass murder took place.

Victorino reported to the probation officer on Thursday, August 5th but the probation officer failed to ask for or seek a warrantless arrest. The spokesperson for DOC said there was no excuse for that "inaction".

One probation officer & 3 probation supervisors have been fired as a result of this mistake.

"A MISTAKE!" It was avoidable!

Can you even imagine how the families of these 6 victims must feel now?

Rum Tum

CARLA

08-09-2004, 11:24 PM

:furious: :furious: I'm just sick...!! :mad: These poor families, just can't imagine their anguish..!! :furious:

gatetrekker44

08-10-2004, 12:46 AM

Didjitmachines

08-10-2004, 12:50 PM

Hello everyone...

My name is Jay Ziegler. Johnathan Gleason was my best friend and former bandmate of Karma Diver and I'm extremely saddened by his untimely death, as all of us are in the group. I just want to thank everyone here who is showing a very deep interest in this case and offering their condolences to not only John's family but to the other victims and their families as well. Once again thank you very much, as I will be sharing this site with many other people who haven't seen it yet.

If anyone has any tributes or words to share with John...please do not hesitate to visit here at:

http://karmadiveronline.tripod.com (http://karmadiveronline.tripod.com/)

Best regards and thank you very much...

Jay Ziegler, Former Guitarist Of Karma Diver

RIP John Gleason 1986-2004 And by the way, today would have been his 18th birthday.

IdahoMom

08-10-2004, 01:15 PM

GatorMom

08-11-2004, 08:52 PM

Today six patrol cars were parked outside the house where Victorino was arrested.

He was not living there, he was not staying there. LE has removed several vans full of evidence.

I have no idea what is going on but when I drove past there this morning on my way to Winn Dixie, there was one patrol car. Three hours later there were 6 and 2 crime scene vans.

Something is definitely up with that house.

LvsAMystry

08-12-2004, 01:03 AM

I'm very sorry for your loss, Didjit. My coworker and her husband lost his cousin in that house. I'm so saddened by this case and the deaths of these innocent young people. It's just horrible and devastating.

Sprocket

08-12-2004, 01:17 AM

RiverRat

08-12-2004, 11:26 AM

Adding my prayers for the families and friends of the Victims of the monsters as well as the Department of Corrections - whom I hold just as responsible. Every person in this state is a walking target and has been for the past 15 or so years. If the monsters in this case were not on Meth, I'd be very surprised as it is taking over in the rural areas that previously were safe from the Big City highs.

RR

RiverRat

08-13-2004, 06:49 AM

Aug 12, 2004

Deltona Murder Suspect Had Probation Status Downgraded Twice
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press Writer

DELAND, Fla. (AP) - Twice in the past year, the probation classification of an ex-convict arrested in the slayings of six young people was downgraded to low supervision, even though a probation officer had warned in her notes that "this is an extremely dangerous individual."
Troy Victorino was initially given the maximum level of probation supervision when he was released from prison last October after serving six years for battery and probation violation. The maximum level requires the offender to make monthly visits to a probation officer and requires the officer to make monthly checks at the offender's home or work.

But by the end of last May, Victorino's classification was reduced to minimum supervision, which only requires the offender to report to a probation officer monthly, according to Department of Corrections documents obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Victorino, 27, and three teenage co-defendants were arrested on first-degree murder charges for allegedly stabbing and bludgeoning to death six people last Friday in a Deltona house - apparently over an Xbox video game system and clothes.

For Victorino, his first minimum probation classification was short lived. He was accused of violating his probation in a hit-and-run accident and was returned to maximum supervision at the beginning of June. But Victorino returned to minimum supervision for most of the month of July when it was determined he was not the driver and the probation violation charge was dropped.

After he was arrested July 29 for allegedly punching an acquaintance in the face over a car debt dispute and released on $2,500 bond, Victorino's classification returned to the maximum supervision.

The classification downgrades were made even though probation officer Brenda Mintell in her notes in December had written that "this is an extremely dangerous individual." Victorino had three probation officers between October 2003 and August 2004.

Department of Corrections spokesman Sterling Ivey said the downgrading of Victorino to minimum supervision was the result of data entered incorrectly into a computer system that determines the classification based on a point scale.

Even when Victorino was listed at minimum supervision, he actually was given maximum supervision, Ivey said. However, Victorino's case notes show that in the month of July, Victorino only made an office visit to his probation officer and that his probation officer did not make a home check. They spoke on the phone twice and the probation officer spoke with Victorino's employer.

Ivey said he did not know why the information was entered incorrectly, although there were changes made to the computer system earlier in the year.

Victorino's most recent probation officer and three probation supervisors were fired Monday for failing to send papers quickly enough to a judge that could have led to Victorino's re-arrest for violation probation after his July 29 arrest.

Case notes showed that probation officer Richard Burrow submitted the violation of probation report on Wednesday, Aug. 4, but it was returned to him to make corrections that same day. He did not file the paperwork with a judge until two days later, the day the bodies of the murder victims were found.

Victorino, meanwhile, made an office visit to Burrows on Thursday.

"He said he would be moving again soon," Burrows wrote of Victorino in his notes. "Did not mention his new arrest."

The corrections department has clarified its policy because of what happened.

In a memo Wednesday, probation and parole officers were ordered to immediately request the arrest for violation of probation of an offender who is arrested for another felony. A warrantless arrest is required in cases where the offender has a prior history of violence or is a threat to the community, said the memo from R. Beth Atchison, a corrections attorney.

"Our first and primary responsibility is to protect the public," she wrote.

AP-ES-08-12-04 2001EDT

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGBV072KTXD.html

indigomood

08-20-2004, 03:17 PM

DELTONA -- Five days before she was beaten to death with a baseball bat, Erin Belanger sat on the floor of her bedroom talking to a 911 operator, hiding from a group of strangers shouting her name from the living room.

"I have people here and they won't leave," Belanger, 22, tells the dispatcher. "They're just yelling, 'Where is she? Where is she?' "
*snip*
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-811xboxkillings,0,6651780.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

GatorMom

12-15-2004, 10:02 AM

This story just gets more and more unbelievable. First this guy organizes a gang to kill a woman and her friends over an X-box and now he's apparently got connections on the outside who are willing to kill for him.

Victorino claims he has an alibi and can prove he was at a local bar that night and the three youths who confessed tried to convince him to help them with the killings. Claims he threw them out because he didn't want to violate his parole and he wanted to propose to his underage girlfriend.

That story wasn't worth posting, IMO but if you wish to read it, go to www.orlandosentinel.com and enter Victorino in the search box. You'll get a list of the most recent stories.

Witness describes plot to massacre 6
By Alicia A. Caldwell | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 14, 2004

DELAND -- Troy Victorino wanted to shoot six people but couldn't find enough bullets, according to a man who claims he was with him when the Deltona killings were being plotted.

So Victorino, accused of leading three teenagers in one of the state's worst mass killings, collected about 15 baseball bats from neighborhood kids, the witness told police. Victorino then told his accomplices that they could storm the house and "beat them to death," after seeing a similar attack in a movie, records show.

The details of how the plot came together come from the statement by 18-year-old Brandon Graham, who told deputies two days after the crimes Aug. 6 that he initially agreed to help Victorino carry out the six killings because he was afraid for his own life.

Graham told deputies about Victorino's plan Aug. 8, the day Victorino, 28, Michael Salas, 19, and Jerone Hunter and Robert Cannon, both 18, were arrested on charges of first-degree murder. Graham could not be reached for comment Monday.

Sheriff's officials had asked that Graham's name not be published, saying they feared for his safety. But Graham's statement is a public record available to the suspects through their lawyers. He is also listed in court records as a prosecution witness in the case.

Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson would not discuss whether any efforts had been made or requested to protect Graham.

More at link: (free registration maybe required): http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-asecmassacre14121404dec14,1,4478413.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-volusia

Prosecutors fear for witness' safety in massacre case
By Alicia A. Caldwell and Errin Haines | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted December 15, 2004

DAYTONA BEACH -- State prosecutors are asking a judge to take testimony of a key witness in the Deltona mass killings before the trial because they are worried he "may be murdered, harmed or intimidated" before he can testify.

Assistant State Attorney Raúl Zambrano filed a motion Tuesday afternoon asking that Brandon Graham give a sworn statement in front of a judge to make sure his testimony can be used in the trial -- scheduled to begin Sept. 26 -- even if he is not around.

The 18-year-old has told Volusia County sheriff's investigators that he was with accused ringleader Troy Victorino and three other men when they planned the Aug. 6 attack.

Victorino, 28, Michael Salas, 19, and 18-year-olds Jerone Hunter and Robert Anthony Cannon have been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and related charges in the beating deaths of six people inside a home on Telford Lane.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Linda Pruitt, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office, would not comment on the motion. Local defense attorneys who are not connected to the case said Zambrano's motion suggested the state's case could be significantly affected by Graham's absence.

Judge William A. Parsons is expected to hear the motion Monday. If it is granted, Graham could soon testify in a court-like setting, before Parsons but without a jury. Prosecutors and defense attorneys would have a chance to question Graham, whose testimony would be recorded and could later be presented to jurors.

More at link: (free registration maybe required):
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-locmassacre15121504dec15,1,2723888.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-volusia

luvbeaches

12-17-2004, 11:01 PM

Don't you sometimes think the entire world has gone nuts? :confused:

Yes, and my kids wonder why I make them call me everytime they come and go.

GatorMom

12-21-2004, 08:22 AM

Witness to speak early for safety
Prosecutors say the man, who is key to the Deltona murder case, is in danger.

By Alicia A. Caldwell | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 21, 2004

DAYTONA BEACH -- A key witness in the Deltona massacre case has been ordered to testify in early January, nearly nine months ahead of the scheduled trial date.

Judge William A. Parsons granted a request Monday by state prosecutors to get Brandon Graham's sworn testimony on the record as soon as possible in case he is "murdered, harmed or intimidated" before a trial for the four men accused in the August beating deaths of six people and a small dog inside a Deltona home begins.

Parsons ordered that although Graham's testimony would be taken Jan. 7, it would only be used during the trial if he were unable to testify in person.

According to police records, Graham has told authorities that he was with Troy Victorino, 28, Michael Salas, 19, and 18-year-olds Jerone Hunter and Robert Anthony Cannon when the men plotted the killings. Graham, 18, told police about the plot on Aug. 8, two days after the slayings and the same day the four men were arrested on charges of first-degree murder.

Assistant State Attorney Raúl Zambrano said that Graham's life is in danger because of his knowledge of the case. That threat was amplified, the prosecutor has said, after he was identified in the Orlando Sentinel and details of his statement were published and broadcast by various media. Sheriff's officials had asked that Graham's name not be published, saying they feared for his safety. But Graham's statement is a public record available to the suspects through their lawyers. Graham is also listed in court records as a prosecution witness in the case.

Lawyers for all four defendants argued Monday that their clients have a constitutional right to confront their accuser during the trial and in front of a jury.

Jeff Dowdy, one of Victorino's lawyers, said that the protection of Victorino's rights to a fair trial should overshadow all other concerns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More at link (free registration may be required):
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-locmassacre21122104dec21,1,6791712.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-volusia

Witness In Deltona Mass Slayings To Testify Ahead Of Trial
POSTED: 11:50 am EST December 20, 2004
UPDATED: 3:25 pm EST December 20, 2004

DELTONA, Fla. -- A key witness in the brutal slayings of six people over a lost video game system will testify more than nine months ahead of the scheduled trial, a judge ordered Monday.

<snipped>

The defendants' attorneys objected to early testimony by the witness, citing their clients' constitutional rights to confront the witness in front of a jury while the case is being tried.

But Judge William A. Parsons agreed with prosecutors there is enough of a concern about the safety and future whereabouts of the witness to record his testimony as soon as possible.

The defense argued that they are not prepared for this and asked that the man be placed in the witness protection program. But, the prosecution says, that possibility does not exist on a state level.

"At this moment there is no Witness Protection Program. There is a witness relocation program which, in essence, FDLE buying this witness a one way ticket out of town," explains Zambrano.

On Tuesday, a different judge will hear arguments over a gag order, requested by Hunter's defense attorney.

More at link:
http://www.wftv.com/news/4010549/detail.html

fl_sun

04-06-2006, 06:03 PM

This case is set for trial beginning April 10, 2006.

http://www.topix.net/city/deltona-fl

dark_shadows

04-06-2006, 06:51 PM

This case is set for trial beginning April 10, 2006.

http://www.topix.net/city/deltona-flThank-you so much for this.
I went to the bands guestbook and noticed that one of our posters directed Jay to this site.(Thank-you :) );

from this site (http://www.freebok.net/books/KarmaDiver/view.html?page=3)
Jay Ziegler (jjz03c@fsu.edu)[/color]] Message :Thank you very much for posting Linda...I viewed the Websleuths site and I'm very happy that people all around the nation are offering their condolences to this horrible tragedy.

Karma Diver will live on in our hearts forever...and it means everything more than ever now.
08 August 2004 20:42:21
Name :[/size]Linda (theultraviolets@aol.com), St. Louis]Found :Search engine Message :Hi guys ... I hope you don't mind me posting this here, as we don't know each other or live in the same state, even ... but I am so sorry about your friend (Jonathan Gleason, singer). I can't imagine what you are going through to cope with this horrible and senseless crime!! Our guitarist knows one of ths guy's in your band's father here in St. Louis. I had been reading about this story and was shocked when I was told that one of the victims in such a disgusting heinous act was in your band!

I feel sick to my stomach that such violence has taken the lives of your friend and five others and a dog!! We are very sad and outraged about what has happened and hope that you can find some sort of peace amongst this terrible tragedy.
You and your friends and family as well as those of the victims will all be in our thoughts and prayers. We are discussing this crime on a website at www.websleuths.com. (http://www.websleuths.com./) If you would like to add anything about your friend or come for support, please stop by.

Love, peace and prayers from around the nation. :( 08 August 2004 18:44:08

13th Juror

04-06-2006, 08:36 PM

"Attorney in massacre trial wants to protect statements" (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-vmassacre0606apr06,0,4835035.story?track=rss)

April 6, 2006

DAYTONA BEACH -- Michael Salas told a corrections officer he didn't understand how he was caught and arrested in the massacre of six people in a Deltona home.

Salas told the officer that despite the bloodshed inside the Telford Lane house, he didn't get any on him and was careful to tie back his then-bushy hair, the Volusia County Branch Jail officer testified during a pretrial hearing Wednesday.

Eunice Williams said Salas was smirking and "seemed happy to be there" while she fingerprinted, photographed and booked him into the jail Aug. 8, 2004.

"I said, 'You understand you took a human life?' and he said, 'Yes,' " Williams testified. "And I said, 'You don't have any remorse?' and he said, 'No.' "

<SNIPPED>

Salas' court-appointed attorney argued to a judge Wednesday that those utterances, jail documents and the statement Salas gave to investigators after his arrest should not be admissible at trial. Jeffrey Dees' motion asserts that Salas' arrest wasn't legal because investigators didn't have probable cause to pull over the vehicle he and Robert Anthony Cannon were riding in when they were caught.

Volusia Circuit Judge William A. Parsons said he will review case law and testimony before making a decision.

The trial is set to begin Monday with jury selection. Salas, 20, Troy Victorino, 29, and Jerone Hunter, 19, face the death penalty if convicted of 14 felony charges each. The three are accused of beating to death six people and a dog early on Aug. 6, 2004.

Cannon, 20, pleaded guilty to the charges and will receive life in prison in exchange for his testimony.

In court Wednesday, the state laid out the events that led investigators to Salas and Cannon as suspects in the killings. Soon after the bodies were discovered, investigators began focusing on Victorino as a suspect. The next day they arrested him and Hunter.

<SNIPPED>

Investigators testified that they used databases and records searches to narrow in on Salas and Cannon and the vehicle Salas drove. Both Hunter and Victorino confirmed the matches through photos.

About 10:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 2004, Sheriff Ben Johnson and Chief Deputy Bill Lee pulled over the sport utility vehicle after driving around Deltona for hours.

Salas then waived his rights, gave a statement to investigators in which they say he confessed to the slayings, and made additional utterances at the jail. And on a jail document requesting protective custody, Salas wrote, "I killed someone," as his reason, witnesses said.

Also at the jail, Salas asked the officer whether he would receive the death penalty.

When Williams said it was possible, she said Salas replied, "I have to die someday anyway."

Check link posted above for Kristen Reed's entire Orlando Sentinel article.

I remember this heartbreaking massacre when it happened. It was a blood-bath. These savage young men are the most brutal of monsters - imo.

13th Juror

PrayersForMaura

04-07-2006, 06:21 PM

Eunice Williams said Salas was smirking and "seemed happy to be there" while she fingerprinted, photographed and booked him into the jail Aug. 8, 2004.

"I said, 'You understand you took a human life?' and he said, 'Yes,' " Williams testified. "And I said, 'You don't have any remorse?' and he said, 'No.' "

:furious: People like this make me sick! Why take him to trial, he confessed. Give him the chair or the needle now!

fl_sun

04-09-2006, 11:12 PM

Heard that the 27 yr old's probation officer and 3 supervisors were fired because when he was re-arrested he automatically violated his parole from the prior offense he had committed. The parole folks were supposed to file an order for re-arrest within 48 hrs and did not. But what I REALLY want someone to explain is why, if LE was called SIX times in the last 10 days because of this guy's squatting and they had been informed of the threats made, why were patrols not stepped up in the area and why did they not offer protection to Erin since she had been directly threatened by Victorino???Isn't he the one that when he was a juvenile in Miami and beat another teen and left him for dead. The victim was unrecognizable and still continues to undergo surgery for the damage done to him. I know there is an article. I have the article in paper form, but I don't know if it is online.

HERE IS HIS MUGSHOT

Troy Victorino Added 08/09/2004 - This is the alleged leader of the "Let's Kill 6 People for an X-box Gang." Meet Troy Victorino, who had a hissy fit because he thought his victims had stolen his X-box and some clothing. According to cops, Victorino allegedly recruited three other buddies, who apparently had the combined IQ of Shaq's shoe size, and they all went over to the house where the victims lived and beat them to death with baseball bats. Oh, and stabbed everyone to, but the coroner says the cause of death was the beatings. Six people - four men and two women, ranging in age from 18 to 34 - killed for an X-Box. Victorino and his gang, Robert Cannon, Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas, were arrested and charged with first degree murder. We'd say "an eye for an eye" would be suitable punishment here.

http://www.mugshots.com/IMAGES/PMugshot__victorino.jpg

fl_sun

04-09-2006, 11:20 PM

Department of Corrections photo and information:

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/ActiveOffenders/detail.asp?Bookmark=1&From=list&SessionID=209145075

13th Juror

04-10-2006, 03:47 AM

Department of Corrections photo and information:

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/ActiveOffenders/detail.asp?Bookmark=1&From=list&SessionID=209145075

Jury selection for the 'Deltona Massacre Trial' defendants begins today (Monday, April 10th) and is expected to take 2 weeks. The entire trial is expected to last 2 months.

I received an error message on your link, fl_sun. Perhaps, this one will work.

FL DOC - Victorino Page & Current Info (http://www.dc.state.fl.us/ActiveOffenders/detail.asp?Bookmark=1&From=list&SessionID=209149687)

Troy Miguel Victorino (the ringleader) is the only defendant that has not admitted culpability in the savage slayings of 7 victims - 6 people and a pet dog. One of the 4 vicious perpetrators (Cannon) has already pleaded "guilty" and will be testifying against the other 3.

13th Juror

fl_sun

04-10-2006, 11:57 AM

These next 2 weeks will be jury selection.

13th Juror

04-10-2006, 02:12 PM

At the courthouse in Deltona (FL) - jury selection has been delayed. This morning Jerone Hunter's attorney filed a motion seeking "an insanity plea" for their client citing that the 'recent death of one of his cousins has impaired his ability to stand trial.'

The judge is expected to rule on the motions within the next few hours - then jury selection will begin later this afternoon.

From the looks of the film clips of one of the psychologists speaking of Hunter's alleged lack of competence to understand the charges & consequences to stand trial - I do not expect the motion to be granted .. not even close. Both psychologists testified this morning that Hunter was competent to stand trial. IMO - Judge wasn't fooled by this last ditch motion by Hunter's defense atty.

Troy Victorino strode into Court this morning in a brand new suit looking smug & confident. The focus, however, was on Jerone Hunter and his mental competency.

13th Juror

Jeana (DP)

04-10-2006, 02:32 PM

I'm going to move this one to the trials section!!

13th Juror

04-10-2006, 06:34 PM

Hey Websleuthers ...

As I expected - the Judge ruled this afternoon that Jerone Hunter was competent to stand trial and denied the defense motion.

A 2nd motion that was denied (once again) was for a change of venue - to somewhere outside of Central Fla. The trial will continue in the Deltona courtroom.

Hunter's attorney had put forth the premise and argument that Jerone is schitzophrenic (sp?) and is hearing "voices" of his dead twin brother and his recently deceased cousin - therefore he is 'incapable of attending his own trial'.

Phooey to that! The trial moves forward with jury selection. A thousand prospective jurors in the pool - 25 a day to be questioned.

Jeana - thanks for moving this thread to the "Trials" forum. :D

13th Juror

13th Juror

04-10-2006, 07:53 PM

"Jury Selection Delayed In Deltona Mass Murder Trial" (http://www.wftv.com/news/8601880/detail.html)

DELAND, Fla. -- Jury selection was delayed Monday at the trial of one of the worst mass murders in Central Florida history.

Over several hours, lawyers for murder suspect Jerone Hunter argued that he was not mentally competent to stand trial.

Hunter and Michael Salas were allegedly recruited by Troy Victorino to attack Erin Belanger, Johnathon Gleason, Roberto Gonzalez, Michelle Nathan, Anthony Vega, and Francisco Ayo-Roman.

All six were found dead inside a DeLand home in August 2004.

Prosecutors said Victorino was angry over a missing Xbox video game system.

On the stand Monday, Hunter said little more than "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," to questions about whether he understood the murder charges against him. His lawyers admitted he knew what was going on, but that in the last few weeks the 18-year-old was hearing voices.

Psychologist Eric Mings testified the voice Hunter was hearing was that of his dead twin brother and that it had been going on since he was a young boy.

"Based upon the nature of the charges against him, the psychotic symptoms, I believe that he needs treatment in a hospital situation," Mings said.

But prosecutors brought their own experts who pointed out that Hunter fully understood the charges and the court proceedings and that there was no reason to delay the trial. Judge William Parsons agreed.

Complete story at link provided above.

13th Juror

13th Juror

04-12-2006, 12:32 AM

Excerpts from an article regarding defendant, Troy Victorino, on WKMG TV (Local6.com) website from August 9th of 2004 - 3 days after the Deltona massacre.

"Deltona 'Ringleader' Nearly Beat Man To Death In '96" (http://www.local6.com/print/3633449/detail.html)

Deputies: Revenge Over Xbox Was Motive For Mass Murder

UPDATED: August 9, 2004

The accused ringleader of a group of men who allegedly beat six people to death with aluminum baseball bats in Deltona, Fla., also beat a man until he was unrecognizable in 1996, according to Local 6 News.

Troy Victorino, 27, left a path of destruction long before the murders of six people Friday, Local 6 News reported.

Victorino attacked Michael Stern, who was 20-year-old at the time of the attack, with a walking stick in 1996.

Stern's face and all of his teeth were broken in the attack. Also, his ear was ripped off, according to the report.

"When I saw him in bed, I couldn't ever recognize my own son," the victim's mother Carol Stern said.

"They needed pictures of him to know what he looked like because his head was the size of a basketball."

At the time, Stern pleaded with prosecutors to charge Victorino with attempted first-degree murder. However, Victorino went to jail on a lesser aggravated battery charge.

He served six years for the attack.

<snipped>

Stern said Monday that Victorino should get the death penalty for Friday's attack. Victorino and three other men were charged with first-degree murder Sunday.

"He needs to be executed," Stern said. "I don't think the prisoners would be safe with this man. He's a monster. I think everyone can agree with that."

Police said Friday's attack was the brutal culmination of an argument between Victorino, an ex-convict, and one of the victims, who is believed to be Erin Belanger, 22. She was singled out for a beating so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her.

All four suspects were armed with aluminum bats when Victorino kicked in the locked front door, according to arrest records. The group, who wore black clothes and had scarves on their faces, grabbed knives inside and attacked victims in different rooms of the three-bedroom house, authorities said.

The victims, some of whom were sleeping, did not put up a fight or try to escape, Sheriff Ben Johnson said. All had been stabbed, but autopsies determined the cause of death was the beating injuries.

Victorino, the last to leave the house, took the Xbox, police said. "The victims really had no chance," Johnson said. "They had no chance to arm themselves it appears."

<SNIPPED>

Continued at link ...

13th Juror

fl_sun

04-12-2006, 12:44 AM

After the first blow to his skull, Michael Stern slumped to the pavement. Then Troy Victorino swung a walking stick again and again across Michael's head, ...
MICHAEL STERN (http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/deltonadeaths/03NewsHEAD02080904.htm)

Michael Stern -- who's now in state prison after robbing an Orange City convenience store last year ... beating, police said Victorino, then 19, beat Stern until the walking stick ...
Ringleader of X-box slaughter was a psychopath (http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/collateral/65/7.html)

Victorino attacked Michael Stern, who was 20-year-old at the time of the attack, with a walking stick in 1996.
NBC10.com (http://www.nbc10.com/print/3633449/detail.html)

wow!

13th Juror

04-14-2006, 01:30 PM

Okay - the short story is as follows ...

This trial has been delayed. <groan>

Due to the notoriety of the crimes committed and the amount of media attention focused in the Orlando (Orange Co), Seminole & Lake Co. and Deltona, Deland & Daytona area (Volusia Co) - Judge Parsons has agreed with the DA and defense teams that "a fair & impartial jury" would be difficult. (2 prospective jurors were even discussing the case at a gas station!)

Anyway - the trial is being moved to St. Augustine in St. Johns county. (location: East Coast between Daytona Beach & Jacksonville) IMO - this location change will certainly be a logistical hardship for all the legal eagles concerned - not to mention the exhorbitant additional costs.

The trial is not expected to begin again until June or July.

The DA was mainly concerned about "Appellate Court issues" (overturning the verdicts!) if a change of venue was not granted - so he joined the 'defense team's motion' for the venue change.

There should be an article online regarding the delay but, I'm 'on the run' and don't have time to locate it right now.

Side note to Fl_sun .. excellent links you posted above about Victorino's past criminal history. Most informative and descriptive! I had no idea this criminal/ex-con was such a hideous monster. Thanks for those links. :)

13th Juror

13th Juror

04-14-2006, 06:25 PM

"Judge: Deltona massacre trial must move to St. Augustine" (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-massacre1406apr14,0,6894774.story)

DeLAND -- Kay Shukwit intended to be there every day. She wanted to watch with her own eyes as the justice system decided the fate of the three men accused of beating and stabbing to death her 19-year-old daughter, Michelle Ann Nathan.

Now, she said, that won't be possible.

The trial of the three suspects in the Deltona massacre will move to St. Augustine because the case has received too much publicity and stirred too much emotion for the defendants to receive a fair trial in Volusia County, a judge in DeLand decided Thursday.

"How can we possibly do this with having a family, kids that go to school, just living our lives?" Shukwit said by phone after learning of the decision. She let out a huge sigh and said her blood pressure was reaching the "boiling point."

"I wish I could put someone in my place for an hour . . . and let them see the emotions I deal with," said Shukwit of Deltona. "It's just like reliving everything all over again."

Circuit Judge William A. Parsons and attorneys spent four days questioning potential jurors before Parsons agreed that an impartial jury could not be found in Volusia. Parsons had denied repeated change-of-venue requests by the defense but relented after State Attorney John Tanner said he agreed that a move had become necessary.

"I have a duty greater than prosecuting these men and convicting them, and that is to see to it that they receive a fair trial the best I can," Tanner said. "I do not believe in the current state at this time the defendants can receive a fair trial in Volusia County."

<snipped>

The turning point came when the court learned Thursday of a chance meeting between two potential jurors at a 7-Eleven. A legal secretary said she was approached by a contractor who offered her a can of beer while she pumped gas. He told her the jury didn't need weak people who couldn't handle looking at the graphic crime-scene photographs.

"He said, 'We are all the victims have left. We need to see to it those guys get what's coming to them,' " the woman told the judge.

The man denied making any comments about the case. The judge said he would consider whether to charge the man with criminal contempt of court.
Defense attorneys feared the man had tainted other potential jurors. Tanner said he thought the man's comments were indicative of a community attitude that would be hard to escape so close to the brutal killings.

<Snip>

Troy Victorino, 29, Jerone Hunter, 19, and Michael Salas, 20, are charged with murder, mutilating a dead body and other felonies in the Aug. 6, 2004, beating deaths of two couples who shared a Deltona home and two of their friends who were staying over.

The three men face the death penalty if convicted. Robert Anthony Cannon, 20, will receive life in prison for his role in the crime in exchange for his testimony.

Investigators said the four men used aluminum baseball bats to kill Nathan; her boyfriend Anthony Vega, 34; Erin Belanger, 22; her boyfriend Francisco Ayo Roman, 30; Roberto Gonzalez, 28; and Jonathan Gleason, 17.

Parsons said he knew finding a jury in Volusia would be difficult but remained optimistic when the process began and said the attorneys needed to try, out of respect for the victims' families.

"When we move a trial that has a consequence to the victims' families," the judge said.

Because of logistics, the trial cannot begin until June or July, and the attorneys will meet next week to pick a date.

Families of the slaying victims, however, were aggravated with the news.

"The whole time it has been about them," Patty Gleason said of the defendants charged with killing her son Jonathan. "I want to know when it will be about us."

Gleason, who lives in Deltona, was not going to attend the trial because she couldn't take any more misery.

Bill Belanger, whose daughter Erin was beaten beyond recognition, thinks the trial should stay in the area where the killings occurred.

"I think the people of Volusia County should have had a say," he said. Belanger, who will drive from his New Hampshire home for the trial, said he wondered whether the move to St. Augustine would really guarantee a fair jury for the three men.

"They're guaranteed all these rights," Belanger said. "Erin had a guarantee to live her life."

The last time the court moved a case out of Volusia County was the 1998 trial of Deidre Hunt, who was convicted for the 1989 killings of two Daytona Beach teens as part of a bungled murder-for-hire scheme. After a withdrawn plea, the former cocktail waitress went on trial in St. Augustine when a judge decided there was too much publicity about the case and the woman's confession.

But high-profile cases have stayed in the county -- such as the trials of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

<snipped>

But jury selection for the massacre trial was proving more difficult. Frank Bankowitz, who represents Hunter, said he had never seen so many potential jurors excused for cause -- which covers people who have already formed opinions, have conscientious beliefs about reaching a guilty verdict or the death penalty or hardships that are so serious they would distract them from the work in court.

<snipped>

<more at link>

Kristen Reed - Sentinel Staff Writer
April 14, 2006

13th Juror

13th Juror

04-14-2006, 07:09 PM

Orlando Sentinel Page of Links to Previous Stories on the Deltona Massacre Trial (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-volusia-deltonamurders,0,3247157.storygallery)

13th Juror

13th Juror

04-23-2006, 02:01 AM

"Deltona massacre trial set for July 5" (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-vmassacre2206apr22,0,3685870.story)

Another St. Augustine trial is ahead of the Volusia case

April 22, 2006

Article excerpts - Orlando Sentinel

DAYTONA BEACH -- The three remaining defendants in the Deltona massacre will go on trial on July 5 in St. Augustine, a judge announced Friday.

Circuit Judge William A. Parsons said Friday that July would be the earliest possible month for the case, given the challenges of a six-week trial that may require interviewing nearly 1,000 potential jurors.

Parsons ordered the trial moved earlier this month after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that it would be impossible to find an impartial jury in Volusia County.

<<<<snipped>>>>

State Attorney John Tanner had asked for a trial in May, but Parsons said that would pose problems for the St. Johns County Courthouse.

Besides the need for a large pool of potential jurors, the judge said, the trial could take six weeks and would overlap with another murder trial already scheduled for June.

After hearing about the difficulties, Tanner didn't press for a May trial. "You're the chief judge and you have administrative responsibilities for the whole circuit," he said.

<<<<snipped>>>>

Parsons estimated it would take eight days to pick the jury, adding that selection would begin the day after the Independence Day holiday. About 120 people would be called for each of those days, he said.

Potential jurors would be less likely to be tainted by pretrial publicity since the St. Augustine region is in a different television and newspaper market than west Volusia, Parsons said. St. Augustine is part of the greater Jacksonville news market, while Deltona is part of the Orlando news market.

"At the [St. Johns County] courthouse, they asked me, 'Where is Deltona?' " Parsons said. "It's a very different media market."

It became evident that finding impartial jurors in Volusia County would be too difficult after two potential jurors had a chance encounter at a gas station. One of the potential jurors told the other, "We need to see to it those guys get what's coming to them," court officials said.

On Friday, Parsons said the woman, who heard that comment and came forward, has since gotten some flak for what she did.

"She did the right thing and I feel bad for her," he said.

More at above link .....

13th Juror

TiddlyWinker

05-15-2006, 02:28 PM

That's what I'm thinking.

http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~2319774,00.html

I wonder if the "homeless" youths were allowed to stay at the grandmother's house for a bit, but then the offer was rescinded after they stole or broke things.
Then they began the tire slashing and other vandalism... perhaps escalating to the slayings?

TiddlyWinker

05-15-2006, 03:08 PM

Looking for victim photos, not the massacre chots, but any photos at all?

fl_sun

06-22-2006, 05:00 PM

Troy Victorino has a myspace account:

http://www.myspace.com/troyvictorino

Trial is scheduled for August.

fl_sun

06-30-2006, 09:56 AM

Trial scheduled to begin 7/5/06 of 3 remaining Defendants in the Deltona, Florida massacre (http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/deltonadeaths/).

http://flfiesta.com/taleofterrorDeltona.jpg (http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/deltonadeaths/)

13th Juror

07-05-2006, 01:46 PM

Bumping this case up for forum exposure ...

Well .. it's been 3 and a half months since the change of venue was granted in his horrific and senseless murder massacre of 6 innocent people and a pet dog, "George" - by vicious scumbuckets.

Jury selection began this morning in St. Augustine - from a jury pool of 1000. The attorneys estimate that they will have a jury seated by the middle of next week.

Websleuthers - if you are new to this case .. there is much good information provided on this thread including links to articles.

I'll try to post upcoming news articles and local TV news accounts whenever I can.

Fl_sun is also a local here in the Orlando-Central Fla area and I'm sure will continue to contribute to this thread. Thanks for all your timely input, Fl_sun. :)

13th Juror

fl_sun

07-05-2006, 02:00 PM

http://www.540wfla.com/cc-common/mlib/1140/04/1140_1144598385.jpg

Trial Set For 3 Charged With Killing 6 Over Xbox

Kay Shukwit still shudders when she thinks about the final moments of her 19-year-old daughter's life, clubbed with baseball bats and stabbed.

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Three men charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Michelle Ann Nathan and five other young people in Deltona two years ago are scheduled to go on trial Wednesday in St. Augustine on a change of venue. Another man has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

"I have nightmares of her screaming, 'Mommy!' I'm trying to reach her in the darkness and I can't reach her," Shukwit said.

"I think about the terror and horror, what they went through knowing they were going to die," she said.

The victims, some of whom were sleeping when the attack occurred about 1 a.m., did not put up a fight or try to escape. All were stabbed, but autopsies showed they died of the beatings.

Even two small dogs were massacred.

What made the killings even more shocking, investigators say, is the alleged motive - the lead suspect was angry because one of the victims had taken his Xbox video game and some clothing from her grandparents' vacant home where he had been squatting.

The case was moved from DeLand to St. Augustine after it was determined media coverage of the case was too intense in central Florida, making it almost impossible to pick a fair jury.

A pool of 960 potential jurors, about 120 each day, has been summoned from St. Johns County. Prosecutors estimate the trial could last four to six weeks, including a week of jury selection, two weeks for prosecutors to present their case, one week for the defense case and then a penalty phase if the defendants are convicted.

Troy Victorino, 29, a former prison inmate who is believed to be the ringleader in the violent attacks; Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, 20, all face six counts of first-degree murder, five-counts of mutilating a dead human body and other felonies.

If the three men are convicted, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

"The evidence, the facts and the law support it," State Attorney John Tanner said in a news conference after the men were indicted.

Bill Belanger, father of 22-year-old victim Erin Belanger, plans to sit on the front row during the trial, hoping to see justice done for the killing of his daughter.

"It will be the end of a chapter. My life has been on hold since the day Erin was murdered. I have a life sentence."

It was his daughter who called police to have a group of squatters, including Victorino, evicted from her grandparents' vacant house. She picked up Victorino's Xbox and some of his clothing and kept it at her house.

That enraged Victorino and he enlisted the other three suspects to help him carry out the attacks, prosecutors say. A Wal-Mart clerk has told investigators the four men joked about bashing people to death while shopping for baseball bats two days before the slayings.

While Belanger plans to attend trial every day, Shukwit doesn't know if she can deal with the strain.

"It does set you back mentally and physically, too," she said.

Both Belanger and Shukwit want the three defendants executed.

"I want Troy Victorino to sit on death row for 30 years, sit in a 6 by 9 cell, where he can no longer hurt or manipulate anybody ever again," Belanger said. "But it wouldn't break my heart if they did it in a week."

"I've always been in favor of the death penalty," Belanger said. "I'd flip the switch with no reservations."

Victorino's lawyer, Jeff Dowdy thinks it is unfair that his client has been labeled the mastermind behind the attacks.

"Everybody is going to be jumping on Troy, pointing a finger at him," said Dowdy, who said the judge had denied a motion for separate trials for the defendants, although some have already given statements about the killings. "That's unfair and we have complained about that."

At the time of the slayings, Victorino was on a seven-year probation after serving six years in prison for beating a 20-year-old friend in the face with a walking stick. He was arrested eight days before the killings on a felony battery charge for beating up a friend and was quickly released on a $2,500 bond.

Dowdy also is worried on the impact of bloody pictures of the victims and the murder scene on jurors.

"It's going to be a bad day when they introduce those," Dowdy said.

A fourth man, Robert Cannon, 19, pleaded guilty in October to all the charges. In exchange for his testimony, he will receive a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Killed in the Aug. 6, 2004, attack were Belanger and Nathan; Francisco Ayo-Roman, 30; Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto Gonzalez, 28, and Jonathan Gleason, 17. Most were co-workers at a Burger King in Deltona.

"I just hope justice prevails. My daughter was such a beautiful person, it is a shame that she is gone," Shukwit said.

For the latest Orlando, Central Florida news, tune to 540 WFLA

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

13th Juror

07-05-2006, 02:44 PM

Originally appeared on News-Journal Online

"Suspects' letters detail Deltona slayings" ([url=http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/deltonadeaths/frtHEAD02012006.htm|)

Robert Cannon, who pleaded guilty to his role in the Deltona mass murder, wrote in a letter from jail that the brutality of the killings will forever haunt him.

"I looked back and Troy (Victorino) smashed his head in. 1 hit right after he told me to leave," Cannon wrote to another inmate, Thomas Aichinger.

"Dawg, I wish I ain't look back. That (expletive) will be in my head for life."

The letter is part of a 53-page packet of documents released Thursday by the State Attorney's Office, which show Cannon and suspect Michael Salas putting the brunt of the blame on co-defendants Jerone Hunter and Victorino, the accused leader of the four in the killings.

For the first time since the murders 17 months ago, the letters present a graphic description of the merciless slaughter in the Telford Lane home shortly after 1 a.m.

Victorino, 29, Hunter, 19, Salas, 20 and Cannon, 19, are accused of storming a home at 3106 Telford Lane in Deltona in the early morning of Aug. 6, 2004.

Investigators said they bludgeoned four men, two women and a dog to death with aluminum bats. The men then stabbed and slit the throats of the victims, investigators said.

Erin Belanger, 22, Michelle Ann Nathan, 19, Anthony Vega, 34, Jonathan Gleason, 17, Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28 and Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman, 30, died in the attacks with bats and knives.

Salas, Hunter and Victorino will be tried together April 10 July 5th. They face the death penalty.

Cannon will be sentenced to life in prison in exchange for his testimony. Attorneys for the men could not be reached Thursday.

Aichinger told investigators of the letters in February 2005.

In his interview, Aichinger, referred to as "K-9" in the letter, said Salas and Cannon had asked him to break them out of jail. He told them he would only do that if Salas and Cannon told him what happened inside the Deltona house.

A letter from Aichinger shows that he outlined to Cannon what information he wanted.

"Write about the phone calls, say what (expletive) you know Hunter and Troy did, write that Troy sexually abused the girls body with the bat after you and Mike went to the car, say that it was Troy's idea to move the bodies to the middle of the house and that Hunter said it was a good idea," Aichinger wrote.

Cannon said he hit a man who ran at him with a stick but not hard enough to hurt him. That man, who investigators later determined was Gonzalez, ran to a back room. Cannon said he watched Hunter hit a man found in a recliner, possibly Gleason, 20 times in the head with the bat.

"Jerone knocked this dude out in the chair then runs with Mike to chase the guy I hit," Cannon wrote.

Cannon said that during the massacre Victorino and Hunter talked about killing him because he did not want to help them. He said he then ran to the back room and saw Salas and Hunter hitting a man and tried to get Salas to leave with him. He said Hunter found a woman, who investigators identified as Nathan, hiding in a closet and stabbed her to death.

Cannon also wrote that Hunter, following Victorino's instructions, slit the victims' throats with a butterfly knife and blood squirted all over the house.

"I'm not going down for this (expletive). It ain't my game," Cannon wrote. "I want them to get Troy. He fricked my life up anyway."

Salas called himself the "Nygth Wolf" in his letter to Aichinger.

Salas wrote that Cannon was in the house five minutes and that he stayed about seven to 10 minutes and then ran out to the car. Salas said Victorino and Hunter stayed in the house for about 45 minutes.

"Me and Cannon was freaking out . . . but I didn't kill no one and neither did Cannon," Salas wrote. "I bet Hunter didn't tell you he took great pleasure in what he did . . . he is cold-hearted like Troy."

Also released Thursday was a letter Victorino's mother wrote to him a month before the killings. Victorino is asked to leave his mother's home and is described as someone who uses people.

"I love you but I am through hurting for you. You make the bad choices -- you suffer the consequences and punishment on your own," his mother wrote. "The friend that you had that was also your mother is gone. She died last night."

13th Juror

fl_sun

07-08-2006, 04:51 PM

Finding Jury a Yeomans Task in St Augustine
Mike Synan 07/07/2006 16:32:16

http://flfiesta.com/deltona/deltona.png

More potential jurors are begging off serving in the Deltona mass murder trial.

As Judge Bill Parsons and the attorneys try to find out everything they can about prospective jurors, the group doesn't seem to like the idea of serving for a long trial, claiming hardships like childcare, financial stability, and work responsibilities.

When one potential juror was asked if he was married he replied "I am now, but we'll see what happens after I call home and say this trial will last six weeks."

Image Credit: Daytona Beach News-Journal

13th Juror

07-12-2006, 01:25 PM

Wednesday - July 12th - Local 6 Noon News

Finally - A jury has been seated! :D

Victorino shook his head in disgust as the judge read the names of the 12 jurors to be seated (out of a panel of the 48 who ultimately qualifed).

Opening statements will begin shortly (12:30 PM).

State atty John Tanner is expected to be very graphic in his descriptions of the crime sparing the jury "no details" in the deaths of 6 people & a pet dog.

Autopsy reports revealed that the 7 victims were beaten to death with baseball bats - they were stabbed multiple times and then their bodies were multiliated.

The families of 2 of the victims were in the St. Augustine courtroom this morning. For them .. this trial has been a long time in coming.

13th Juror

fl_sun

07-12-2006, 02:34 PM

Opening Statements Begin in Xbox Murder Trial (http://www.topix.net/r/0kjKmlTzkxJJiXPJd=2FL=2FJbFKxSqnLYc0QSbDr=2FeeUsy3 alR=2B9UUgjkGFVu33vfLLWmmmc6fc9fAJDwhawVncL2S=2BMD YJRfTouGnL3r7t6cnc1oI4LiEiE0ds8k8Ji0Ljg) Wjxx.com | 38 min ago
... to pick a fair jury. Seven women and five men were selected for the panel and opening arguments will begin later today. Troy Victorino, the alleged ringleader of the attacks, Michael Salas and Jerone Hunter all face six counts of first-degree ...

Jury selected for trial in 6 slayings over video game (http://www.topix.net/r/0kjKmlTzkxJJiXPJd=2FL=2FJbF5pGPOVOmG2bmgucMVBA4L6u SnWe0BxwFG6giTUIp5=2FP=2F8DBrvP=2FguB5G=2B49IPwF5s 4Reprz=2BuGRvFChp3ZGuQs3uH67FlSUZpxEBrRA9Nc) News Chief | 57 min ago
... a fair jury. Seven women and five men were selected for the panel and opening arguments were to begin later in the day. Troy Victorino, 29, a former prison inmate who is the alleged ringleader of the attacks; Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, ...

Jury seated in massacre case; opening statements begin shortly (http://www.topix.net/r/0kjKmlTzkxJJiXPJd=2FL=2FJbBPn=2FFgatDnnNnGQ1jVdD3f xEU5m0=2FrgDS4au7JMHztU4btOSVy=2BFhDc2oFg2Tpnxq6IZ 9Fke3vARvGg4Go=2Ff02KdRIRX60VWX3yy1v9Y68ofvN9HjU3a FJh6FsbUw=2BkrfEWCRntUwbjI34jtpf76OE=3D) The Orlando Sentinel | 1 hr ago
... and a state-park toll collector. Four alternate jurors also were chosen. Opening statements are to begin after lunch. Troy Victorino, 29, Jerone Hunter, 20, and Michael Salas, 20, are charged with six counts of murder and eight other felonies for ...

Tanner takes stage for high-profile trialhttp://www.topix.net/pics/article-hosted.gif (http://www.topix.net/r/0kjKmlTzkxJJiXPJd=2FL=2FJbCBsHNfqjqP4lTySOZja7msKi Np0IMlYLX1W7Q5yLJONfrqv5X7wvX8j93ZjnA9P1WBiJvnhO1b ZUMtWgZkYnVQmWU7uhIbwceOwQ7VfNojt) The Orlando Sentinel on Topix.net | 4 hrs ago
... Smith and a homicide (http://www.topix.net/news/violent-crime) supervisor, Assistant State Attorney Leah Case. They'll all have significant roles in prosecuting Troy Victorino, 29, Jerone Hunter, 20, and Michael Salas, 20, in the killings of six friends in a Telford Lane home nearly two ...

13th Juror

07-13-2006, 11:26 PM

In a most surprising twist - Robert Cannon, one of the 4 initial defendants, who made a plea deal with the State Of Florida to turn state's evidence & testify against the other 3 .. announced that he had changed his mind in Court today.

He is recanting his statements and pleading innocent to the murder charges. At 1st, he said that God made him do it - but, later admitted that it was actually a decision by his attys who had originally made the plea deal with the state.

Conner had opted for a guilty plea and a sentence of Life in prison. Now he wants a separate trial on his own away - from the other 3.

The trial had been "a slam dunk" - if ever there was one. What a mess this has become for John Tanner & the prosecution team. :furious:

Now - the state has to decide what to do with Cannon .. force him to keep his plea deal for life in prison or put him on trial with the DP as a very real possibility.

More later ....

13th Juror

fl_sun

07-13-2006, 11:34 PM

13th Juror

07-13-2006, 11:59 PM

"The Deltona Massacre: A recap of the case" (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-asecvmassacrebox13071306jul13,0,4808490.story?coll =orl-home-headlines)

Thursday - July 13, 2006

THE TRIAL SO FAR

Attorneys selected 12 jurors and four alternates Wednesday morning after five days of questioning.

The seven-woman, five-man panel includes an elementary-school teacher, an Internet-company owner, an Internal Revenue Service employee and a state-park toll collector.

There is one black woman on the jury. All of the defendants are minorities. Three women and one man make up the alternate panel.

WHAT'S NEXT

The state will continue its case today. Its witnesses during the next several days are expected to include Robert Anthony Cannon, who admitted to his role in the killings in exchange for life in prison, the medical examiner and crime-scene technicians.

Stacy Colton, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime-scene analyst, will resume her testimony this morning, and jurors are expected to watch the crime-scene video.

THE MASSACRE

Christopher Carroll told jurors Wednesday afternoon about showing up at the Telford Lane home early Aug. 6, 2004, to pick up two men for a painting job. He found the front door kicked in, and when he walked inside, he noticed blood before leaving to call 911.

Investigator Anthony Crane told jurors how he found Erin Belanger, Francisco Ayo Roman, Michelle Ann Nathan, Anthony Vega, Roberto Gonzalez and Jonathan Gleason dead.

George, a dachshund, also died in the attack.

THE DEFENDANTS

Troy Victorino, 29, Jerone Hunter, 20, and Michael Salas, 20, are each charged with 14 felonies and face the death penalty if convicted.

13th Juror

13th Juror

07-14-2006, 01:07 AM

I think Victorino put them up to it. He probably told the guys to beat them really bad so it "hurts" essentially knocking out and disabling everyone in the house so he could go around and kill everyone. The young men are very afraid of Troy Victorino (Troy Victorino is huge and extreemely tall and formidable).

Cannon probably received threats in jail or even a letter or telephone conversation with fellow inmates about what would happen if he testified against the other defendants.

You may be correct, Fl_sun .. however, if Cannon & the other 3 all go to prison as expected - the damage has already been done by Cannon's initial testimony & complete details of the crimes to police investigators & the prosecution team. Changing his mind now won't matter to anyone who's out to punish Cannon for talking. He's in deep doogie either way. IMO - he's toast.

Cannon has been in 'protective custody' ever since he made his plea deal with the State. He would have continued to receive protection had he not reneged on his plea deal.

If the 3 defendants are found guilty and receive the DP - they would reside on Death Row. None of them would be 'in population' where Cannon was housed. Probably not even in the same Fla prison.

I personally think that this last minute move for Cannon to pull - totally surprising & catching the prosecutors off-guard by stating in Court that he was "innocent" and not going to testify for the State - was orchestrated by his criminal defense attys. This way - Cannon may receive a separate trial and would have a much better chance of getting to a jury with "reasonable doubt" that he did not personally take part in the murders & horror in that Deltona home.

I think the decision may very well have been a roll of the dice for the 'state funded' defense attys. The plea deal required that Cannon serve "a life sentence". Life! Long Time! Rolling the dice in Court gives Cannon a chance to possibly beat the system. Who knows ...?

I'm so tired tonight - I honestly don't know what I think. I wish the whole lot of these slimy disgusting scumbuckets would simply fall off the face of the earth. I think, perhaps I need a little break from all this crime stuff ...

13th Juror