MISTRIAL FL - Six Bodies found in Deltona mass murder, Aug 2004 *guilty* *mistrial 2023*

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"Deltona massacre trial set for July 5"

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
 

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
 
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.
 



Originally appeared on News-Journal Online


"Suspects' letters detail Deltona slayings"​



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

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
 


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
 
Opening Statements Begin in Xbox Murder Trial 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 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 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 trial The Orlando Sentinel on Topix.net | 4 hrs ago
... Smith and a homicide 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 ...
 


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
 
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.
 





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
 
fl_sun said:
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.
Click to expand...



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
 
I think that is a dirty underhanded move by Cannon's defense attorney if that's the case. Do attorneys act like that. That's like pulling the rug out from under someone. The judge will make a decision to add him to the list of defendants being tried and I predict that Cannon will end up sticking with his plea.
 
Is there any news??? How is the trial progressing???
 
DNA Plays Integral Role in Deltona Murder Trial
Mike Synan 07/18/2006 12:53:47



xboxers2.png

Prosecutors are bringing out their most damaging evidence yet in the X-Box murder trials: DNA.

Attorney: "Did you compare the DNA profile of the wearer of those Lugz boots, to the standard you obtained in this case?"
FDLE Rep: "I did."
Attorney: "And was there a match to the dominant profile?"
FDLE Rep: "Yes there was."
Attorney: "Who did it match?"
FDLE Rep: "Troy Victorino."

Not only does DNA prove Victorino wore the boots, but victim's blood was a match on the bottom of those Lugz boots.
 
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