Wade Wilson, a double killer who killed two people in Cape Coral in 2019, should get the death penalty, according to the jury’s recommendation. The jury’s verdict, announced Tuesday afternoon, was not unanimous. They supported the death sentence by a vote of 9 to 3 for Kristine Melton’s murder and 10 to 2 for Diane Ruiz’s homicide.
A recently enacted statute in Florida stipulates that the death sentence can be considered if eight out of twelve jurors favor it. After deliberating for an hour and forty-five minutes, they delivered their recommendation. The judge will now take their suggestion into account. In the end, he will determine Wilson’s punishment.
The date of the Spencer hearing is set for July 23. The court will hear arguments and witness comments at this hearing before deciding whether to execute Wilson or sentence him to life in prison. Since 2019, Wilson has been detained without being granted bail.
The Call From Home:
Five years ago, police were summoned to a domestic altercation, which is how this story started. In October 2019, Wilson, who was 25 years old at the time, was taken into custody following witness accounts that described his vicious assaults on his girlfriend in front of the store she operated.
Wilson was initially identified as a person of interest in the recent killings of Melton and Ruiz shortly after his detention. On October 11, 2019, Kelly Matthews, Wilson’s ex-girlfriend, appeared with Channel News and described her experience with the guy who had not yet been charged with murder. Matthews labeled Wilson a psychopath.
More and more details about Wilson’s mentality became apparent as the case’s evidence grew.
A grand jury charged Wilson in November 2019 with two charges of violence, one offense of residential burglary and one count of petty theft. Wilson’s trial was postponed in 2020 due to the widespread coronavirus outbreak.
The Father’s Testimony:
Following the deposition report, shocking details regarding the double-murder case were revealed, coinciding with the start of Wilson’s trial in 2022. Wilson had entered a not-guilty plea to the homicides, but when his father was asked to testify in the case, he revealed that Wilson had acknowledged every horrifying detail about the deaths.
Wilson’s father said that his son was a struggling drug addict who had served one sentence in jail.
During supper, Wilson called again, stating that he needed assistance leaving Fort Myers. He said that he had done something irreversible and that, as a result, people were leaving.
Wilson gave his father a call for the third time that evening. His father stated he had to know what was happening. Wilson filled him in on every aspect. Wilson drove off in the victim’s vehicle. He informed his father he was “driving down the road and saw a lady walking” a few hours later. She enquired about directions. She entered the car once he had stopped. While he was driving, he leaned over with one hand and choked her.
When he dragged Wilson out of the car, Wilson discovered she was still alive, according to Wilson’s father, who told police, “He thought she was dead and pulled into some woods where [he] was going to put her body.” Wilson’s father recalled, “He told me that he ran her over like spaghetti when he got back in the car.” then exited and relocated her to the woods. Wilson’s stepmother listened to the conversation the whole time. They provided Wilson’s location and explained the situation to a detective. Wilson was subsequently taken into custody by the authorities.
In the deposition, Wilson’s father stated that he questioned his son about why he did it, to which Wilson answered, “I don’t know, Dad.” I have no idea why I did that. That was all I wanted to do.
Tattoos and the Legal Process:
Due to a change in Florida law, the death penalty was no longer recommended by the jury unanimously; instead, eight out of the twelve jurors agreed. This led to additional trial delays.
Wilson’s lawyers said that since the legislation had not been amended since Wilson’s initial arrest, their client should be tried under the previous guidelines.
Between his arrest in 2019 and 2024, Wilson also underwent physical transformation.
Wilson started getting tattoos while he was jailed. The most famous tattoo he got was a swastika, which he added to in 2019, not long after he was arrested.
Wilson continued his trend of changing his look through body ink in 2024 when he showed up in court with a new set of facial tattoos.
In addition, Wilson’s new facial decorations feature the word “glory” on his temple and sutures that go beyond his mouth.
Despite his attempts to conceal some of his most objectionable tattoos with cosmetics, Wilson’s numerous face and neck tattoos were evident during his recent court appearance on Monday, when he wore a formal suit.
The words “HA HA HA” are scrawled ramshackle beneath the corner of his eye, and his left face looks to be the shadow of a skull.
Stunning testimony and incriminating proof of Wilson’s acts against Ruiz and Melton were presented throughout the brief trial.
“This is a man who has no regard for women or life,” stated Sara Miller, a state attorney’s office representative.
Girlfriend’s Testimony:
Wilson’s behavior didn’t change until Melissa “Mila” Montanez, his girlfriend at the time of the killings, came forward.
“There were too many people around,” he remarked in response to a question concerning murdering Mila. Miller stated, “I probably would have killed her too.”
The guy Montanez had loved, a man who would stop at nothing to kill her, had to be present.
“I was aware that day that I would die. She remarked, “I was just buying time.”
His behavior altered when he testified about this incident with a lady he knew.
Wilson only shrugged when Amy Slobodzian, the person who saw the battery charge, stated, “He was just dragging her and beating her.”
Wade Wilson did not react when relatives of the deceased sobbed on the stand; instead, he tapped his fingers, sought a glass of water, and displayed classic symptoms of nervousness or discomfort when a lady he knew—or maybe thought he saw as a genuine person—was mentioned or sat on the stand.
Miller added, “In his own words, he was a [expletive] lion, and they were the prey to law enforcement.”
Jury’s Decision:
Wilson was convicted on all six counts on June 12, 2024: battery, grand theft of a car, first-degree petit robbery, residential burglary, and the first-degree murder charges against Melton and Ruiz.
The jury received all the information they required to reach a verdict after the jury heard testimony from witnesses for just two days, saw Wilson’s body camera footage that had been made public before his arrest, and heard Wilson’s father make an unexpected confession.
Wilson was then led out of the courtroom and asked for his fingerprints; his icy and motionless countenance expressed his lack of regret and regard for human life.
“Mr. Wilson was never the focus of this lawsuit. Without a doubt, it’s about what Wade Wilson did to Christine Melton and Diane Ruiz, according to State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Andreas Gardner. In all of his boasting, his boasting, and his need for excitement, this case amounted to little more than a crude, graphic demonstration of power.
The jury then considered Wilson’s punishment during the penalty phase. Zane Romero, 19, Ruiz’s youngest son, spoke about Wilson’s devastation and effect on the punishment phase’s opening day.
Romero recalled, “She told me how excited she was to go and watch me perform at that weekend’s football game, and I was in marching band.” Since I was in the marching band for the first time that year, it would have been her first time watching me perform. She could never witness my performance, and I could never see her in the audience.
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