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The Xbox murders

6 in Fla. were slain over game

BY ROSE DAVIS /in Deltona, Fla.,/
and DAVE GOLDINER /in New York/
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

A stolen Xbox video-game system triggered a brutal Florida massacre that
killed six people, including an upper Manhattan man who was "in the
wrong place at the wrong time," cops and friends said yesterday.

Police say hulking ex-con Troy Victorino sicced three bat-wielding pals
in Ninja-style black outfits on the houseful of friends whom he blamed
for stealing the game console and his clothes.

One of the innocent victims was ex-New Yorker Roberto (Tito) Gonzalez,
28, who was staying at the house only because he had to drive to a
house-painting job with a friend the next morning.

"How can all that happen for an Xbox?" asked Eva Echavarria of Deltona,
Fla., whose boyfriend grew up with Gonzalez. "He didn't even have
anything to do with it," she added. "He was just there in the wrong
place at the wrong time."

The bloodthirsty killers bashed the bodies of the victims beyond
recognition - and even killed a small brown dachshund named George.

Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said he has seen bloody murders, but
couldn't imagine a more trivial motive.

"It just never surprises me, some of the ridiculous things that happen,"
Johnson said yesterday. "This is the worst that I've ever [seen] in my
career."

Victorino, who is 6-feet-5 and weighs 275 pounds, hatched the deadly
plot after learning that teenage victim Erin Belanger had taken some
boxes of his belongings from a house while he was recently serving time
in jail.

Belanger also angered some squatters when she forced them to leave a
house owned by her grandparents.

The rivals warned her they would return to attack her - and apparently
they did Thursday night. Several victims were sleeping as the attackers
bludgeoned them with aluminum baseball bats and attacked them with
knives, cops said.

Victorino found his Xbox and clothing and took them from the crime scene
after the killings, police added. His three pals reportedly confessed
and all could face the death penalty.

"Now we know there are monsters, but they're not under the bed or in the
closet," said next-door neighbor Shawn Neuman, whose daughter briefly
dated Victorino. "They are right out there, walking around."

Gonzalez had lived all his life in Inwood, where his father is the
superintendent of their building on Payson Ave. After high school, he
spent years helping his dad but moved to Florida last spring to find his
own way in life.

Gonzalez, who did not have a car, used roller blades and a bicycle to
get around in the semi-rural area.

He worked at a Burger King restaurant and dreamed of saving enough money
to bring his daughter, Kayla, 9, down to live with him.

In upper Manhattan, the victim was remembered as a hardworking, "sweet"
kid who did not deserve to die for an inexpensive luxury item.

"We're all in shock," said Felix Torres, who knew Gonzalez from
childhood. "It is ridiculous. Those things [Xbox consoles] cost $99."

"It's really cruel," added Sharling Pierre-Canel, 17, who lives in the
Payson Ave. building.

*With Melissa Grace*



*Originally published on August 9, 2004*