DeLAND, Fla. -- A judge ruled Monday that a suspect in the 2004 baseball bat slayings of six people is mentally competent to stand trial, despite testimony from experts who said the man hears voices in his head.

Circuit Judge William A. Parsons rejected the last-minute motion by Jerone Hunter's attorneys just before jury selection in the capital murder trial began. Parsons also denied another defense motion to move the trial because of advance publicity.

Hunter, 19, Troy Victorino, 29, and Michael Salas, 20, all face six counts of murder, five counts of mutilating a dead human body and three other felonies.

A fourth man, Robert Cannon, 19, pleaded guilty in October to his role in the murders and will get a life sentence instead of the death penalty in exchange for his testimony.

A neuropsychologist who has examined Hunter at least seven times since September testified the suspect's thought process was too disorganized for him to adequately help in his defense. A psychiatrist who examined Hunter on Saturday said he concurred, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Two experts called by the prosecution, a psychiatrist and a psychologist, determined Hunter was fit to stand trial.

Investigators say Victorino organized the attack on six friends, ages 17 to 34, in a Deltona home to retrieve an Xbox video game system.

The victims, some of whom were sleeping, did not put up a fight or try to escape, investigators said. All were stabbed, but autopsies determined they died of the beating.

WKMG-TV in Orlando reported that jury selection for could take up to two weeks and the trial could last two months.