Deltona massacre

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Deltona massacre
Location	Volusia County, Florida, USA
Date	August 6, 2004
Attack type	Home invasion, mass murder, massacre
Weapon(s)	Baseball bats
Deaths	6
Perpetrator(s)	Victorino, Hunter, Cannon, Salas

The Deltona massacre was a brutal residential bludgeoning that unfolded as four men ambushed a home on August 6, 2004, on 3106 Telford Lane in Deltona, Florida. ‘Erin Belanger, 22; Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman’, 30; Michelle Ann Nathan, 19; Anthony Vega, 34; Tito (Roberto Gonzalez), 28; and Jonathan Gleason, 17; were the victims of this brutal slaying.

The four attackers [1] together, tortured and killed these four men, two women, and a dog inside the home, making it the bloodiest mass murder in Volusia County history. ^[1] Their motive: revenge over an allegedly stolen Xbox game. ^[1].

In August, 2006 the attackers were found guilty of the massacre. Circuit Judge William A. Parsons agreed with the jury's death-penalty recommendation for the massacre-leaders, and called the killings "conscienceless" and "unnecessarily torturous." [30] He told each of the men during back-to-back sentencing hearings, "You have not only forfeited your right to live among us, you have forfeited your right to live at all."

Contents 1 The Victims 1.1 Tito (Roberto Gonzalez) 2 The Murder 3 Events precipitating the attack 4 Trial and sentencing 5 Response 6 The attackers 7 References 8 External links

[edit] The Victims

Awoken from their sleep and killed in the attack that was reportedly inspired by the movie Wonderland, were six friends who worked together at Burger King and rented the Telford Lane home: ‘Erin Belanger, 22; her boyfriend, Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman’, 30; Michelle Ann Nathan, 19; her boyfriend, Anthony Vega, 34; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28; and Jonathan Gleason, 17 [2]. ^[2] Belanger's pet dachshund, George, was intentionally stomped to death during the attack. ^[2]

[edit] Tito (Roberto Gonzalez)

A beloved friend, Father and son; Tito was in Florida in search of an enhanced life. Despite a loving community of friends and family in Inwood, Manhattan Tito wanted to search outside his normal comfort zone and experience life away from what he had known always known. He would regularly report back to his family and friends in Inwood to relay his latest stories. And while its common to say what a great person someone was, and how much they didn't deserve their fate, when they've passed in Tito's case this could not be more true. His vigor, love of life and everything around him was obvious and it enriched the people around him; all of whom were better off for knowing him. He is now, and will continue to be, dearly missed and 'uptown' will never be the same without him.

Tito left a big impact on the lives of everyone he knew in one way or another. He loved kids, probably because he was a kid at heart no matter what his age was, but he loved them none the less and they loved him in return. He always had a sense of humor about everything, no matter how serious it was. He was a good teacher when it came to life lessons. He could teach an old soul to be young again. He could teach someone that had given up on life how to make the best out of life and find joy again. There was always something to learn from him, and at the end of the day noone who's life he touched will ever be the same, both in and out of Inwood.

[edit] The Murder

Originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, Belanger moved to Deltona in 2004 help take care of her grandmother’s winter home. ^[2] She met her boyfriend, also killed in the attack, in New England, while she worked at a nursing home as a cook. She suffered the most of abuse of the six victims. ^[2] After she died from beatings and the cuts, Troy Victorino sexually abused her body. ^[3]

Ava-Roman, Belanger’s boyfriend and co-worker, grew up in Puerto Rico before moving to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he met Belanger. ^[2] He moved to Florida to finish school and obtain his nursing certification. ^[2] He died in the master bedroom near his girlfriend, after being beaten in the head with a metal bat and stabbed in the throat. ^[4]

Nathan, Vega's girlfriend and co-worker at Burger King, said she wanted to marry Vega and was very excited about living on her own. ^[2] Her parents considered her a princess, and she had a tattoo of a princess on her arm. ^[2] After her death, her father got the same tattoo on his arm. ^[2] During the attack, she sought safety hiding in a closet until Hunter found her, beat her, and stabbed her to death. ^[5]

Vega, a painter and construction worker, moved to Florida to escape the dangers of his native city, Bronx, New York. ^[2] He moved into the three-bedroom Telford Lane house just two weeks before his death. ^[2] Victorino beat Vega to death with a metal bat. ^[6]

Tito (Roberto Gonzalez) moved from Inwood, Manhattan to Florida in 2004. He did not live in the Telford Lane home, but stayed overnight on the night of the massacre. Tito was murdered by Hunter, who beat him several times in the head with a bat and stabbed him multiple times in the chest and stomach. An autopsy showed he died from being beaten in the head. ^[7]

Gleason, originally from Deltona, was the only person living at 3106 Telford Lane who did not work at the Burger King; however, he had filled out an application. ^[2] He spoke Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and had plans of moving to Africa to volunteer in a medical clinic. ^[2] He was on the recliner when the men stormed the house, and was killed by Hunter, who stabbed him in the neck. ^[8]

[edit] Events precipitating the attack

Victorino and Hunter were among a group squatting on Belanger’s grandparents’ property while they were away. ^[9] The group was using the property as a party house. Belanger, who had moved to Florida to look after her grandparents’ home, had deputies evict the squatters and boxed up belongings left behind. ^[10] Victorino, who was in jail on an unrelated charge at the time, became enraged and sought revenge. ^[11]

One week before he bludgeoned Belanger and her friends to death, Victorino fired a gun in a car near Telford Lane because he thought they "robbed" him of his Xbox video game system and other belongings. ^[12] That gun was supposed to be used for the murders, but the suspects couldn't find enough ammunition, so they rounded up about 15 baseball bats from neighborhood children instead. ^[13] Victorino told witnesses that, in the days before the killings, Belanger disrespected him by calling police on him when he tried to get his belongings. ^[14] "He claims he is a Latin King, he is this big gang leader and they basically disrespected him and he had to deal with that because they couldn't treat a King like that," said the witness. ^[15]

Two days before the massacre, the four men convicted of the attack were seen "laughing and giggling and being rowdy" at a New Smyrna Beach Wal-Mart, according to a clerk there. ^[16] The clerk told Volusia County sheriff's investigators that she had a feeling the men "were up to no good" after spotting them in the store with baseball bats in hand. ^[17]

She said Cannon told the others, "We could take this bat and swing it and knock 'em over the head and crush their skull in." ^[18] Salas then jumped in, the clerk told investigators, and said: "I got a better idea. . . . We could bash 'em in the face and knock their teeth down their throat." ^[19]

Just hours before busting down a door to help beat six sleeping housemates to death with a baseball bat, Troy Victorino stood across from the man who could have put him back in jail. ^[20] But his probation officer, who had the legal authority to put Victorino back in jail for a probation violation, let Victorino leave. ^[21] The probation officer, and his boss, were later fired. ^[22]

[edit] Trial and sentencing

The month-long jury trial involving four defendants, six attorneys, two years of preparation, and a 7th circuit record $1.5 million in legal defense fees, was held at the St. John’s County Courthouse St. John’s Courthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. ^[23]. The trial came to an end on August 2, 2006, when 7th Circuit Judge ‘’’William Parsons’’’ Circuit Judge William Parsons sentenced Victorino and Hunter to death by lethal injection, and Cannon and Salas to life in prison without the possibility of parole, for their respective roles in the massacre. ^[24] Victorino and Hunter are carrying out their sentences in tiny, one-man cells on Death Row at the Florida State Prison Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida. The average length of incarceration of a Florida inmate prior to execution is 12.86 years. Florida Death Row Statistics. Victorino was found guilty of first-degree murder of all six victims, abuse of a dead human body, armed burglary of a dwelling, and animal cruelty. ^[25] At trial, he claimed he was drinking at a bar when the murders occurred. Victorino also maintained his innocence by contending that, while the size-12 bloody boots presented as trial were his, someone must have stolen them from him before committing the murders [3]. Salas was found guilty of first-degree murder of all six victims, conspiring to commit aggravated battery, tampering with physical evidence, and armed burglary of a dwelling. ^[26] Salas did breakdance mimes with his hands while sitting in his chair in the courtroom, and sang during breaks in the murder trial. When bailiffs told him to quiet down, he responded by telling them he likes the Dixie Chicks. ^[27] Hunter was also found guilty of first-degree murder of all six victims, conspiring to commit aggravated battery, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a dead human body, and armed burglary of a dwelling. ^[28] He closed his eyes as the first “guilty” verdict was read, and stared straight ahead as he was further condemned to death. Hunter is currently the youngest inmate on death row in Florida Florida Death Row Statistics.

Cannon was sentenced to six life terms with no parole for the murders of the victims, life for armed burglary of a dwelling with a weapon, five years for conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, murder, armed burglary of a dwelling and tampering with physical evidence, 15 years each for five counts of abuse of a dead human body, and five years for cruelty to an animal. ^[29]

Circuit Judge William A. Parsons Circuit Judge William Parsons agreed with the jury's death-penalty recommendation for massacre-leaders Hunter and Victorino, and called the killings "conscienceless" and "unnecessarily torturous." ^[30] He told each of the men during back-to-back sentencing hearings, "You have not only forfeited your right to live among us, you have forfeited your right to live at all." The families of the victims were satisfied with the sentences, but emphasized that nothing will bring back their loved ones. ^[31]

[edit] Response

In response to the Deltona massacre, the Florida legislature proposed a bill that would require “risk-to-public” hearings for probation violators with violent histories, making it tougher for them to escape repeat incarceration. State law allowed, but did not require, probation officer ‘’’Richard Burrow’’’ [www.thesunblog.com/political/archives/2006/08/thank_florida_f.html - 30k – Richard Burrow] to arrest Troy Victorino, a violent felon who was facing a new felony battery charge, on a probation violation. Burrow opted to let Victorino leave his office and to ask for an arrest warrant the next day. By then, Victorino had beaten and stabbed six people to death. The new bill (SB-146) SB-146, recently passed on February 23, 2007, seeks to prevent future loopholes by addressing felony probation and community control violations and designating certain alleged probation or community control violators as “violent felony offenders of special concern” (VFOSC) SB-146. A violent felony offender of special concern, who is alleged to have violated felony probation or community control, other than a failure to pay costs, fines, or restitution, cannot be released from jail until the court has held a hearing to determine whether supervision was violated SB-146. If supervision is found to have been violated, the court must make a written finding as to whether the violent felony offender of special concern is a danger to the community SB-146. The court must also determine whether to revoke or continue the probation or community control SB-146. If it is determined that the violator is a danger to the community, the court must revoke probation or community control and sentence the offender up to the statutory maximum or longer if permitted by law SB-146. The bill substantially amends sections 921.0024 and 948.06, Florida Statutes; creates sections 903.0351 and 948.064, Florida Statutes; and reenacts sections 948.012(2)(b), 948.10(9), and 958.14, Florida Statutes SB-146.

[edit] The attackers

Nearly all of the attackers, who range in age, size, and previous criminal background, share two commonalities: a degree of mental illness and troubled, unstable upbringings. ^[32] 6-foot-6, 300-pound Victorino, the named ringleader of the attack, possesses both a hulking figure and a history of extreme violence. The childhood abuse he experienced included beatings with belt buckles and sexual abuse beginning at age 2. ^[32] Medical experts determined that his scarred mental development and brain damage left him with an inability to control his impulses. ^[32] Victorino had been jailed many times for beatings and violent assaults, and was incarcerated for eight of the eleven years prior to the August 2004 massacre. ^[32] He was on probation at the time he brutally bludgeoned six people to death.^[32]

Salas was abused even before his birth, by his mother Doris, who used drugs during her pregnancy. ^[32] His mother traded food stamps for cocaine, and left her three sons alone for long periods during the winter. ^[32] Child protective services found cigarette burns on the boys’ bodies. The children, who were often disheveled and malnourished, witnessed their parents fighting and doing drugs. ^[32]

Salas’s father, Roberto, died of AIDS when he was 9. Salas, who has several diagnosed mental disorders including bipolar disorder, dropped out of school in ninth grade. ^[32]

Hunteris a clinically depressed, mentally ill man whose parents were both committed to mental hospitals at the time of the massacre. ^[32] As early as age 3, Hunter conversed with his identical twin brother Jeremy, who died from pneumonia at 6 months old. ^[32] Throughout his childhood, Hunter preferred to be alone, playing basketball, games and talking with Jeremy, family members said. ^[32] His mother did not seek medical attention for his abnormal behavior because she thought it was "common." ^[32] "In the black culture," she said, "I was told when they have a twin brother and they pass away, they always have that relationship with him, so I never thought it was strange." ^[32]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Terror on Telford Lane
• Circuit Judge William Parsons
• Florida Death Row Statistics
• SB-146
• Trial Photos
• Sun Sentinel News