JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The video attached to this story is from a previous report, which explains why people such as Victorino and Hunter are being re-sentenced.
Two men convicted of beating 6 people to death in 2004 are back in court this week, challenging their death sentences.
The so-called “Xbox murders," also called the Deltona Massacre, became one of Florida’s most notorious mass killings after the victims were stabbed and beaten to death with a baseball bat. A dog was also killed. Prosecutors said the motive was to reclaim an Xbox that the killers claimed was stolen.
The victims had severe skull fractures and brain injuries from blows to the head; several of the bodies were also mutilated with stab counts and cuts after they died. Some of the victims were missing most of their teeth.
Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter were sentenced to death, but because the jury verdict was not unanimous, they are entitled to a resentencing. That process is expected to last three weeks beginning with jury selection. Two other men convicted of the crime remain in prison with life sentences.
Victorino and Hunter organized the attacks along with two other men. Defense attorneys for the other men said Victorino was manipulative and threatened the others to make them participate.
Hunter's attorney said that he had schizophrenia, and should not be sentenced to death, while Victorino's attorney said he had "mental problems" and was abused a child, the Associated Press reported at the time. But the jury ultimately recommended capital punishment anyway.
The other men were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.