Gang accused of murderous rampage to retrieve games console

The 'Xbox murder trial' has begun in Florida, in which a gang is accused of killing six people after an argument over one of the Microsoft gaming systems.

Troy Victorino, 29, Robert Cannon, 20, Michael Salas, 20, and Jerone Hunter, 19, are accused of beating six Burger King workers to death in 2004 after one of them was thought to have stolen an Xbox.

Cannon has already pleaded guilty and has received a life sentence in exchange for full testimony. Prosecutors are expected to ask for the death penalty for the rest of the gang if found guilty.

The remaining three are accused of using baseball bats to kill Erin Belanger, Francisco Ayo Roman, Michelle Ann Nathan, Anthony Vega, Roberto Gonzalez, Jonathan Gleason and a dachshund named George.

They are charged with six counts of murder, five counts of mutilating a dead human body and three other felonies.

The prosecution alleges that Victorino left his Xbox in a house where he was squatting and that one of the victims took it when she was cleaning out the house.

They also claim that the gang subjected the victims to a campaign of harassment before the murders.

The victims, some of whom were sleeping when the assault occurred, did not put up a fight or try to escape, according to investigators. All were stabbed, but the autopsies determined that they died from injuries sustained in the beating.