Francisco Ayo‑Roman, a 30‑year‑old man of Puerto Rican heritage, was found slain on August 6, 2004, in Deltona, Florida. At the time of his death, Francisco Ayo‑Roman, a Puerto Rican male, was working as a maintenance man at a Burger King restaurant, having previously been a licensed practical nurse in Puerto Rico and also having worked at a nursing home in Lowell. He and his girlfriend, Erin M.
Belanger, who was 22, were discovered dead in a residence, both victims of a violent and brutal crime. They were among a total of six people murdered that day in what came to be known as the “Xbox murders.” Francisco Ayo‑Roman is repeatedly identified as a 30‑year‑old male of Puerto Rican ethnicity and his girlfriend, Erin Belanger, was a 22‑year‑old woman.
In that residence, six individuals had been beaten to death—Francisco Ayo‑Roman, Erin M. Belanger, Michelle Ann Nathan Roberto “Tito” Gonzalez Anthony Vega and Jonathan Gleason. The victims had been attacked with aluminum baseball bats in an assault described by law enforcement as extraordinarily brutal. The attack occurred after one victim failed to show up for an early‑morning shift at a nearby Burger King, prompting the discovery of the six bodies. Sheriff Ben Johnson, a 33‑year veteran, characterized the scene as “the worst thing that I’ve ever seen in my career.”.
The violence, as reported, was incited by a dispute surrounding a video game console—an Xbox—and personal belongings. Erin M. Belanger had reportedly alerted authorities to squatters in her grandparents’ vacant property and had some of their items removed or packed up. One of the squatters, identified as 27‑year‑old Troy Victorino, believed his Xbox and clothes were taken and held Belanger responsible. He, along with Robert Cannon Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas allegedly broke into the victims’ home, using baseball bats and, in some cases, knives to carry out the attack. Victims were assaulted in different rooms of the three‑bedroom house.
Arrests were promptly made. The four suspects—Troy Victorino, Robert Cannon, Jerone Hunter, and Michael Salas—were arrested and charged with first‑degree murder and armed burglary. At their initial court appearance in Daytona Beach on August 9, 2004, bail was denied and public defenders were appointed..
In summary, Francisco Ayo-Roman was one of six victims brutally beaten to death in Deltona, Florida, on August 6, 2004. The motive stemmed from a dispute over property and possessions, including an Xbox console, with Troy Victorino and three accomplices executing the murders. All four suspects faced charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary, and were denied bond during their arraignment.
