VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — It was another emotional and graphic day in the resentencing of Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter in Volusia County.
The men are also commonly known as the XBOX killers. They were convicted and sentenced to death for beating six people and a dog to death with baseball bats in 2004.
However, a state law change requires the sentencing to be redone.
Family members of each of the six victims shared impact statements in court Wednesday. A slideshow with photos of the victims played in court as their family members shared details about their lives to jurors. Each relative explained the horrors that still replays in their heads all these years later.
“How can I get over it when over 20 years later I am right back to August 6, 2004,” said Gina Belanger, Erin Belanger’s stepmom.
The group’s killers, Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter listened intently as each person shared their statements. Determining who did what has always seemed to be a point of confusion, and more than 20 years later, that still seems to be the case.
Victorino’s co-defendants, Jerone Hunter, Michael Salas, and Robert Cannon, have all testified in the past that they never hit anyone in the head with baseball bats. However, over the years, some of that testimony was later found to be inaccurate.
That point was brought up again by Victorino’s attorney, who tried to prove the blood found on Victorino’s belongings could have splattered.
“One possibility is Mr. Victorino was standing next to someone who was beating and he wasn’t doing the beating himself, he could get blood on him that way,” said Tim Pribisco, Victorino’s attorney.
“That is a possibility, yes,” said Emily Booth Varan from the FDLE Crime Lab.
So far, none of the family members have shared an opinion on whether they believe the pair should be sentenced to death.
The judge ended the day early after victim impact statements. Court will resume Thursday.
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