Jury recommends death sentences in 'Xbox slayings' trial
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Aug 2nd 2006 at 1:25PM }
After nearly three hours of deliberation Tuesday morning, a jury has recommended death for Troy Victorino, 29, and Jerone Hunter, 20, and life in prison for Michael Salas, 20. The three men have been convicted of six counts of first-degree murder. On August 6, 2004, Victorino, Hunter, and Salas, along with Robert Cannon (who would be tried separately, pending the withdrawal of his guilty plea) used aluminum baseball bats to beat to death six unsuspecting victims.Media attention has focused on Victorino's Xbox, which had been in the possession of one of the victims, Erin Belanger, 22, at the time of the murders. Allegedly, the slayings were provoked by Victorino's desire to reclaim his Xbox and several other belongings, as well as enact revenge on Belanger for evicting him from her grandmother's home. Hunter and Salas' lawyers have argued that Victorino used violent threats to coerce their clients into joining him.
See also:
Xbox slayings trial begins today
"Xbox" murder case jury to deliberate
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris @ Aug 2nd 2006 1:37PM
is a death sentences the same as having to make a HALO game ever 2 years?
Loque @ Aug 2nd 2006 1:48PM
Bad of me to make light of the situation, I hates me a death penalty, but really.
"Please! don't kill me before Halo 3!"
fat boy @ Aug 2nd 2006 1:58PM
I'm surprised Victorino and friends chose to use baseball bats. I would have gone with the katana myself. It's easier to run with than the chainsaw, and you get that cool decapitation effect if you time your attack right.
Of course if they'd just hung back at a safe distance and used the sniper rifle, they wouldn't have gotten BUSTED in the first place.
Louis @ Aug 2nd 2006 1:59PM
Why did only two of the three attackers in this trial receive the death penalty?
KilgoreTrout XL @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:05PM
Wow. Those are some pretty insensitive and impossibly stupid comments, kids #'s 1 and 2.
Perhaps you should consider shutting the fuck up.
azesino @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:14PM
#2 I fully agree with you, I would of head to that house katana in hand to get back my XBOX
DocGonzo @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:19PM
@4
Have you seen a single scrap of news about this trial that was NOT labelled 'XBOX MURDERS' or 'XBOX KILLERS' or 'VIDEOGAMES ARE PURE EVIL AND MAKE PEOPLE KILL EACH OTHER' (well, disregard that last one, but would you honestly be surprised if you DID see it?)
Come on. This is a murder trial, six people were bludgeoned to death with bats. Guess how often this happens? Do you even care? Because if it's not related to videogames, then there's suddenly no real controversy. These three guys attacked and killed six people, using baseball bats. They did so intentionally, there is plenty of proof that they were in fact the assailants, therefore it is first degree murder. After the killings, the victims were robbed.
And this sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME. Surprise, people kill each other to get their stuff! Never saw that one coming! (note the sarcasm. also see: ipod muggings, bank robberies, the promised land of isreal)
Matthew @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:21PM
# I Agree, They are insensitive comments BUT these kids took the live of six people because of a $300 item and being evicted (Either of which could have been replaced). No bodily harm was inflicted upon them (to my knowledge) so imagine what it must have took to build up the nerve to kill SIX PEOPLE using baseball bats (not an easily accomplished feat and something you have to put a lot of effort into doing).
With that I shall add my own insentive comment.
I would have used the Plasma Sword. Silent, One Hit, One Kill.
vidGuy @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:22PM
Louis, it depends on the involvement in the crime and acts after the fact. I haven't read up on this case, but likely the one who is not up for death was less brutal/central to the crime and/or cooperated with police, plead, or any number of other acts that can reduce sentence severity.
Also, if this write-up is correct, it's only been recommended by the jury. There's a possibility that the actual sentence will differ from jury recommendations.
Lol @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:22PM
Number one and 5 havent you learned anything????????
First you steal the black van, preferably the big one.
Wait till its night time till the floor before the door starts to glow. This lets you get in. Then make sure you creep around and get back your xbox and other goods into the van. THEN, you take out the chainsaw or some pink rubber sword (You know what it 'really' is) and beat the man to death. Because the man is 'black' he has the added ability to swim, so he would have got away for sure.
And as for number 4 we cant shut the fuck up because we are TYPING, not speaking.
Stop bieng trying to be the internet police, we can DO AS WE LIKE.
Baboon @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:25PM
@ Louis
I believe it is because his cohorts’ defense attorneys are saying they were threatened into doing it. Apparently one had a stronger case than the other.
And to everyone else... stop. Now. It isn't funny, and if you are not trying to be funny you need help, immediately.
Rare Hare @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:25PM
"Wow. Those are some pretty insensitive and impossibly stupid comments, kids #'s 1 and 2.
Perhaps you should consider shutting the fuck up. "
Perhaps you should consider removing the stick from your ass. It's called humor, and as ridiculous as the name this trial has been given is, the humor isn't out of place in the slightest.
To call this case the "Xbox slayings" seems to be little more than an attempt to accomplish a personal vendetta against the video game industry. What if one of the objects in question that the attacker was supposedly attempting to reclaim had been a rubber ducky? Would this be called the "Rubber ducky" trial? No, because no one has anything against rubber duckies (as far as I know), no matter how logical or illogical it would be.
Stuff like this pisses me off just as much as the kid who killed someone and blamed Grand Theft Auto when he was questioned about it. All of you know as well as I do that Grand Theft Auto was not to blame for the murder. The video game industry is, I suppose, just an easy target... and it seems like people need something to blame for EVERYTHING.
Adam @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:28PM
Good job Joystiq.... I hope you guys remove the inappropriate posts. This isn't a story about the xbox. It’s a story of murder and rage. It's sad to read the posts of people who show the situation no respect. It's obvious who the kids are here.
Matthew @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:28PM
I meant #4
BMWM3P @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:42PM
I guess that means they won't get to steal any 360. I have no idea why would they want to anyway
Nerdtacular @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:43PM
Six beatings? If it all happened fast enough, at least the killer achieved a 'Killtrocity' medal.
Lighten up you guys. These killers are degenerate, low-lifes who not only deserve whatever punishment the judge and jury dole...but they have also given the media another stupid, anti-video game story to run with.
And now a quote from Mel Brooks: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an elevator shaft and die."
Advanced @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:06PM
AAnyone remember when the Xbox first came out they said it was so heavy it could kill someone if it fell on them... hence the break away cables.
I think that should be the punishment. Kill them with the actual Xbox they took back. Make it into a "Myth Busters" episode. Drop the Xbox from say 20 Feet.... Is he still alive? Try 30, then 40. I guess this would fall under the "Eye for an eye" rule.
If one of the 6 people beaten to death was your sister.... I think the tone would change from joking to getting a ladder, tape measure and an Xbox and trying out my idea.
Liquid @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:08PM
@Adam
Personally, I wouldn't make light of a situation like this either, but for you to blame Joystiq for the childish comments some have left makes about as much since as the media blaming an xbox for these murders.
Also, I am a little unclear as to what is being dogged this time around. Is the blame going to the actual Xbox as being the catalyst for the crime or the games? I understand the Xbox was part of the motive, but are they also trying to say the usual - this type of behavior is brought about by desensitizing video games. Be interesting to know what games they owned.
catgoat @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:09PM
ha! eye for an eye in this case seems ok by me.
Tim @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:11PM
#16Nerdtacular is right.
Everyone should be rejoicing that some murderers are going away forever. In a cell, or in the ground, it doesn't really matter. Get over being all stuck up and just be happy you're not going to get killed by them next week.
brad77 @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:18PM
@Rare Hare: "What if one of the objects in question that the attacker was supposedly attempting to reclaim had been a rubber ducky? Would this be called the 'Rubber ducky' trial?"
Uh, yeah. Trials are given nicknames all the time. Check out a report on the "cell-phone trial":
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4099504
RTFA. The article doesn't even hint that the crime was related to video games other than the fact the the video game system was the object of contention. It's no more the cause of the crime as would be a nice car or a pair of Nikes.
Are we being a little over-sensitive?
jimy @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:29PM
An eye for an eye.
They deserve the death penalty.
Adam @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:43PM
@Liquid
I think Joystiq should pay more attention to the posts; Delete a few so the facetious behavior isn't reinforced. I found some of them offensive, and I am not related to the victims in any way. Imagine if you were though. Life & death is no joke. Reading some of these posts really show you how out-of-touch people are with reality. Imagine if your mom had died and someone made a comment like "I hope it was because of a baseball bat killtacular." How stupid does that sound?
Nerdtacular @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:44PM
If it WAS the 'Rubber Ducky Trial' a Sony tech demo would have to be involved somewhere...
Rare Hare @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:45PM
brad77:
I realize this, but had this particular case not involved an Xbox, I almost guarantee you it would have been called something like "Aluminum bat slayings" instead. My point here is that the Xbox itself seems to be a miniscule piece of the situation... yet "Xbox slayings" is the label that's slapped all over the case. Why is that? It's because people will eat up anything like this that so much as implies the negative effects of video games.
Scott @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:49PM
I am offended when someone uses the word "was"
Please delete any comments that use this horrible and offensive word.
Nerdtacular @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:50PM
@ 23 - Adam and everyone other super-sensitive fool
Imagine if some actor got wasted, drove at 90mph drunk, got a DUI and then blamed the Jews for all the wars in the world. Oh yeah, he did.
People say dumb stuff all the time...about murder, rape, religion, and even dead relatives. If you don't like it, stop reading, move to Canada where there's no freedom of speech, or poke out your eyeballs with a rusty fork to save yourself the pain of seeing the atrocities of everyday life that are everywhere.
Or simply accept that your sense of humor is different than ours. I choose to laugh rather than preach. It's all subjective.
Rare Hare @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:57PM
"I think Joystiq should pay more attention to the posts; Delete a few so the facetious behavior isn't reinforced."
Yeah, THAT'S a good idea, Adam. Let's just encourage a trend of Joystiq bloggers deleting any comment on their posts which they happen to disagree with.
BMWM3P @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:08PM
If it were a playstation, then everybody would be blaming sony.
Thomas Crymes @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:10PM
"XBox Murders" doesn't imply that video games are bad. It is simply a fact that one of the items contested was an XBox and the idea that someone would kill 6 people in partly over a video game machine is the thing most people will be talking about.
It's really not hard to discern here.
Loque @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:23PM
I pity you, adam. The trial is over, they got their sentances. Even though I disagree with the deathpenalty, I can laugh at the media's approach to the trial.
If you're so sensitive over life and death, don't play any videogames with the same theme.
I feel for the victim's families, but humor is often the best way to cope with any situation...
Ace @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:25PM
Yea hang this Fu..... Cause the give xbox a shit rep, actually it should be their kindergarden teacher blamed.
Rare Hare @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:30PM
The thing is, though, that it's a very commonly occuring theme nowadays. It seems that if there's even an off chance that people will buy that video games are to blame, that factor will be used.
Video games seem not only to be the target of these kinds of cases, but of anyone looking for something on which to put off the evolution of our society from its puritanical roots.
Sex is natural... oh no, that's wrong. It's just because it's glorified by GTA.
Violence happens, and there are crazy people in the world that cause it. Uh-oh... I'll bet video games are training our youth to kill.
Albie @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:34PM
I think they removed my first post, so I will try to keep it simlple. Give them what they deserve, cause now they blame it on xbox, what has nothing to do with it.
How can 3 guys be infuenced simultaniousle by one game console.
They do not belong in an normal society.
The moment death penalty goes down the drain chaos riots. Believe me I live in Africa. Wish I could really Speak my mind.
adam @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:49PM
And this is how I know most of you are kids. I'm not super sensitive to life/death. It's called respect. Maybe one day you will all realize that.
And no, i don't believe in censorship. But poking fun at a better/more constructive way to kill people isn't right. But your kids, so I guess that skewed way of life is okay.
Ice @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:57PM
"But your kids, so I guess that skewed way of life is okay."
You + are = you're. Ex: But you're kids...
Your. Ex: Your post makes you sound like an old man! Settle down grandpa!
Dallas @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:16PM
So, an X-Box was involved and suddenly they're the "X-box Slayings"?
Bad press, anyone?
Ethan Thomas @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:26PM
-Adam
I'm not a kid. In fact, I'm a 25 year old college graduate. And I am not offended by what anyone here has said. Does that make me immature? Careless? Heartless? Or would you maybe, dare say, free? I, for one, choose the latter. Here in America its freedom of speech and press. These people have the right to say whatever they want, and you have the right to disagree with it. I don't fault you for your way of thinking, but I certainly fault you for trying to shove it on the rest of us. This is a video game blog site. Not Forbes magazine. If you read something here and feel offended, then go elsewhere. Alternately, you could try to expand your apparently narrow-mindedness and realize that different people see things differently and express their feelings about things differently. Or...you could just move to Russia or North Korea and see how happy you like it when the ideas you propose are properly integrated into society.
My view on the topic? Death penalty for all three. Eye for an eye, and the whole world goes blind. But in this case, it is justified.
Hiro Protagonist @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:35PM
If some b-tch stole my f-cking Xbox and evicted my grandma, I'd frigin make sure they would regret it.
And I am a Nintendo fanboy too.
And most of you should stop the ad hominem, these comments around here lately make me sick.
There are some pretty good people around here though, congrats to them.
Angelo @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:43PM
Just looking at the kids in picture used with this article, I just feel bad for everyone. I understand they took innocent lives, but all in all, I feel bad... feel bad for the people who lost their lives, those people's families, and those people that are going to be killed. Let them rot in jail.
Mike @ Aug 2nd 2006 6:01PM
Victorino's Grandmother wasn't evicted. He was made to move out of the house that belonged to the grandma of Erin, one of his victims. Erin had every right to make him leave her grandma's house if she was the owner.
Hope that clears it up. Kinda confusing
ShaolinDolemite @ Aug 2nd 2006 6:26PM
Bad press? Nay, nay. If a video game console is so great you'd kill someone for it, you know it kicks all kinds of ass.
I'm just sayin' no one's ever been killed for a PS2 or Gamecube (except in that one episode of CSI where there was a GC that was painted another color and called something else...but that's tv, so it doesn't count).
My guess is, next up will be some kid kicking the ass of another kid with the Wii nunchuck. "When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when the opportunity presents itself, I do not hit. It hits all by itself. "
devian @ Aug 2nd 2006 10:28PM
This one time in High School, a kid stole my HotWheels so I ran him over with my car...
God, these dumbasses NEED the death penalty.
[-Z-] @ Aug 2nd 2006 11:34PM
For what they did, each of them should be blungeon to death, revive and then do it again. Repeat 6 times each person. That's my friend is an eyes for an eyes. Those idiots deserved to die.
Rare Hare @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:55AM
"God, these dumbasses NEED the death penalty."
Yeah, that's pretty easy for YOU to say, isn't it?
Teh Monkeh @ Aug 3rd 2006 8:14AM
Death penalty is too soft.
Torture them, cut their eyes out, get a chainsaw, cut off all limbs.
Then, they die.
And I'm not joking.
TeddyN @ Aug 3rd 2006 9:49AM
I wish someone would explain to me why the fact that he had an xbox is relevent. I'm guessing the types of people who point to video games as the source of all evil are unaware that GTA is PC, PSP and PS2 only...
This is ridiculous though; an xbox is just a possession like anything else, why does this merit the name 'xbox slayings'? How much longer do we need to wait for the anti-game bias to fade from our society? Personally, I'm fed up with these tenuous links and half baked assumptions shoved down the throats of the general population every year, but I just don't know what to do about it!
TeddyN @ Aug 3rd 2006 10:13AM
In terms of the death penalty debate here's my opinion:
*It is wrong for a government to play God and deign that one of its citizens is not worthy to live. A sentence of death by a government is a terrifying thing, and amounts to torture due to the length of the proceedings (imagine spending 10 years or more on death row, as has happened in some cases, coming to terms with your mortality: it is utterly inhumane, regardless of the crime that person has commited). Before you accuse me of sympathising more with criminals then victims, well I do think life imprisonment is a justafiable punishment. By committing such a heinous crime, that person is proving that they are unworthy of the freedoms which society has granted them: it is therefore excusable to completely revoke them. Death, however, should not be something that our governments administer.
*On a more practical level, we should not underestimate the importance of the possibility that we could be accidentally shutting someone down who was completely innocent. I'm not saying that I think that those on trial here are not guilty of those murders; but as a general matter, if you have a system in place that punishes by ending a life, there will always be the possibility that the state kills an innocent human being. That sliver of possibility is enough to turn me and many others against the death penalty, especially when we have the possibility of alternative punishments which are much more to scale with the conventions of our society.
*The trials and litigation involved in a death sentence means that the savings from execution rather then imprisonment are minimal. Anyway, does it not feel slightly awkward to end a life for reasons of cost savings, even if those in question are murderers? Especially for the Christians out there, it seems to me that the death penalty is incompatible with the notion of the sanctity of life.
*The death penalty is also ineffective as a deterrent for murder. Those who commit murders will, most of the time, commit their crime thinking that they might be able to get away with it. Imagine that you are stealing something from a shop. You know the sentence might be, say, several years in jail. You don't steal with the intention of being caught. You think you're going to get away. A murderer will usually expect or try to get away with it. With an extreme crime like that, they are unlikely to be thinking of the consequences. There's no point in me going on about all this, though, since the statistics also back me up on this: capital punishment does not deter murder. What it might deter is smaller crimes such as shoplifting or drug possession. In those cases, it could perhaps work. But then you've got to go back to the question of whether killing is just.
*My final point is that in modern society, I think that the death penalty is unconstitutional: although the founding fathers would not have seen 'cruel and unusual punishment'as including the death penalty, sensitivities have changed and society is much more developped and civilized now then it was in the 1700's. For the individual being executed, there is no question that they are being treated 'cruelly'. This point is more ambiguous though, and I doubt I will change anyone over to being anti death penalty by making this point, but it's worth noting for the fact that federal legislation against government executions could easily be considered compatible with the spirit and intentionally flexible nature of the U.S. constitution.
I would recommend to anyone Dostoevsky's book 'The Idiot'; it's a tough read, but highly rewarding and interesting. There is very poignant point about the death penalty made by the main character, Mishkin, towards the beginning which sealed my resolve against capital punishment. It's also a great book all around, so pick it up from your local library ;)
devian @ Aug 3rd 2006 5:04PM
"Yeah, that's pretty easy for YOU to say, isn't it?"
It is pretty easy. Why? Because common sense isn't that hard to develop.I'm not about to go beat my neighbor to death with a baseball bat because he hasn't returned the tent he borrowed.
David Lee Mirenic @ Aug 4th 2006 4:25AM
Where is the evidence that shows capital punishment does not deter murder? No one will ever know if anyone changes their mind about going through with a murder because he/she thought they might be put to death for it. You can have statistics a mile long but unless they're conducted by a mind reader they will never be accurate.
Imposing a life sentence as an alternate to the death penalty sometimes backfires. Kenneth Allen McDuff had three death sentences which were converted to life sentences when the Supreme Court struck down capital punishment in 1972. He was released in the late 80s only to commit another string of murders until he was caught. The state of Texas made up for the Supreme Court's error when they executed McDuff a few years back.
Keeping someone in prison for life costs far less than imposing a death sentence on someone. However, taxes used for executing people who commit barbaric acts of murder is money well spent.
As for compelling reading, check out prodeathpenalty.com and you will see the type of people we execute. Believe me, I sleep better at night knowing that most of those fuckers are dead.