The decades-long legal saga of the infamous Deltona 'Xbox murders' continues as a new jury selection commenced today for the resentencing of two men, Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter, following a significant shift in Florida's death penalty law. This comes as a response to the Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2017 that deemed non-unanimous death sentences unconstitutional, according to WESH.
In a surprising turn of events and as part of the state's fluctuating standards on capital punishment, legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 gutted the need for a unanimous jury endorsement, now allowing for a death sentence upon a minimum 8-4 jury recommendation, which has paved the way for this new phase in the high-profile case that has gripped Central Florida since six individuals and a dog were brutally murdered over what appeared to be a squabble over an Xbox and personal belongings in 2004, Victorino and Hunter once received four death sentences each based on the prior 7-5 jury vote requirement details from ClickOrlando.
The pair had originally been found guilty in 2006 for the home invasion murders. While the earlier sentences were annulled, they now face a reevaluation of their fates before an entirely new judge and jury, marking yet another chapter in a legal battle that has spanned over two decades and numerous judicial hallways.
