What masters you? - This is an update on a post of mine from 2004.08.09, titled: 6 Murdered over $150 X-Box Video Game System.
Almost two years ago some people snuck into an empty house and the granddaughter of the people who owned the house had them evicted. Here's what I originally wrote giving the gist of the story:
The story is that the 22-year-old victim found some of the killers living in her grandparent's vacant home and had them kicked out. Apparently the X-Box and clothes of the ringleader, Troy Victorino, were left behind and boxed up by the victim while he was in jail after being arrested on a battery charge on July 29.
When Troy got out of jail he and three teens went looking for the woman, Erin Belanger, and murdered her and five others using baseball bats and knives.
Mike Branom's AP reported then:
An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday.
The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep, according to authorities.
Today, BayNews9 is reporting:
The three men accused of beating six people to death inside a Deltona home in 2004 over an X-box video game were found guilty of most of the counts against them Tuesday, including first-degree murder.
The jurors reached their verdict against ringleader Troy Victorino, 29, Michael Salas , 20, and Jerone Hunter, also 20, after two days of deliberation in St. Augustine, where the trial was held.
The other person, Robert Cannon, charged in the murders apparently plead guilty originally and was to testify against the other three, but once he got on the stand he recounted his guilt and refused to testify. So he's probably going to go through a separate trial if the judge throws out his original plea.
Now, I am not saying that video game playing is bad. But there are some serious problems in the realm of video games that lower man's inhibitions for violence. Do yourself a favor if you're a parent or youth leader and pick up several months worth of a video game magazine like Game Informer and you will get an education in the violence and sex present in video games today. More importantly you may discover how sex and violence are being linked.
This medium is worse than the television and movies because of the interactive elements.
Get wise to it.
Related TGS Posts:
Teen Kills Toddler for Playing With His Playstation 2."Manhunt" Video Game Player Acts Out Virtual Kill on Real Person.
New Zealand Bans Computer Game.
Is this Kind of Realism Useful in a Video Game? Shellshock: Nam '67.
6 Murdered over $150 X-Box Video Game System.
Technorati tags: Xbox, Murder, Crime, Video Games, Movies, Television, Violence.
