DELAND, Fla. — A Volusia County jury voted in favor of recommending the death penalty Wednesday for Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter, who were convicted of in the 2004 so-called Xbox murders in Deltona.

Considered by many to be the deadliest mass murder in the history of Volusia County, Victorino, 48, and Hunter, 38, were convicted of beating six people and a dog to death with baseball bats in 2004.

What You Need To Know

  • A Volusia County jury voted in favor of recommending the death penalty for Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter Wednesday in a resentencing hearing connected to the 2004 so-called Xbox murders in Deltona

  • The two were convicted, along with two others, of killing six people and a dog with baseball bats

  • Their sentencing was overturned in 2018 when Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations in death penalty cases

  • Since then, state law has changed to allow 8-4 jury recommendations for the death penalty, which is the standard used in Wednesday's resentencing

Investigators at the time said the men were taking revenge against one of the victims, Erin Belanger, who kicked Troy Victorino out of her grandmother's home. Investigators say Victorino and a group of people were squatting there and that he accused Belanger of stealing some of his belongings, including an Xbox.

Two other people involved in the murders, Michael Salas and Robert Cannon, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Victorino and Hunter were sentenced to death in 2006 for their roles in the killings, but according to information from the State Attorney's Office for the Seventh Judicial District, their sentences were nullified in 2018 after Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty.

"On April 20, 2023, a jury was seated for the resentencing of the defendants," the State Attorney's Office said in a statement. "However, on the very same day, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill authorizing a new non-unanimous sentencing standard of 8-4 in capital cases, which caused a mistrial."

Last month, a jury was seated again to sentence Victorino and Hunter under the new law.

While the jury recommended death sentences for the pair, none of the decisions were unanimous:

For Hunter's first victim, Michelle Nathan, the jury voted 11-1 for Hunter to be sentenced to death; and for the second victim, Anthony Vega, the jury voted 8-4 in favor of the death penalty.

For Victorino's first victim, Francisco Ayo-Roman, the jury voted 10-2; and for the second, Erin Belanger, the jury also voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty.

The two were both convicted of killing Jonathan Gleason and Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez. For Gleason, the jury voted 11-1 to recommend the death penalty for Hunter and 9-3 for Victorino. For Gonzalez, the jury voted 9-3 to recommend the death penalty for both men.

The statement from the State Attorney's Office noted that "although the jury makes this recommendation, the final sentencing decision will be up to the judge."

That decision will be made at a later date, the statement said.