COLD KILLER
Who is Wade Wilson and what was he convicted of?
Wade Wilson murdered Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz in Florida
WADE Wilson has been sentenced to death for the 2019 murders of two women.
The Florida man, who murdered two Cape Coral women within hours of each other was for his horrific actions on August 27, 2024.
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Who is Wade Wilson?
Wade Wilson hails from Fort Myers, Florida.
The convicted killer went viral on social media for his face tattoos and for having the same name as comic book anti-hero Deadpool's character.
Some of Wilson's tattoos are so gruesome his attorneys filed a motion asking to use makeup to cover them, NBC affiliate reported.
The motion read, "Wilson has numerous and varied tattoos on his face including 'stitches', swastikas and other tattoos that might be objectionable to members of the potential jury pool.
"He would like to appear presentable to the jury deciding his guilt or innocence or whether he lives or dies."
He also requested a haircut, and the judge allowed it along with the makeup, though the killer ultimately chose to show off his offensive ink.
What was Wade Wilson convicted of?
On June 12, 2024, a Lee County jury convicted Wilson of murdering Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz.
He was also found guilty of grand theft, battery, burglary, and petty theft.
Most read in The US Sun
After an hour and a half of deliberating, the jury recommended that Wilson be sentenced to the death penalty.
Wilson met Melton and her friend Stephanie Sailors at a bar in Cape Coral, Florida, on October 7, 2019.
‘Deadpool killer’ Wade Wilson ran victim over ‘until she looked like spaghetti’ – on same day he strangled second woman
All three of them ended up going back to Melton's duplex to keep hanging out.
After Sailors left, Wilson killed Melton by strangling her as she slept in her bed. He then stole her car.
While he was driving around, Wilson encountered Ruiz and asked her for directions.
He lured her into his car and then beat and strangled her before pushing her out and running her over 10 to 20 times.
Which US states have the death penalty?
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wyoming
When is Wade Wilson's sentencing?
Wade Wilson's sentencing took place on Tuesday, August 27.
It came after a Zoom disposition hearing on Monday, where Dr. Mark Rubino stated that recent brain scans performed on Wilson indicated brain trauma.
The scans also show that Wilson's short-term memory is impaired and that he has cognitive and emotional problems in the setting of psychiatric disease, reported.
When speaking to Wilson about his childhood, Rubino also discovered that Wilson had told his parents that he "thought he was going crazy" shortly after turning 11.
Wilson also told Rubino about several car accidents he had been in "years ago," along with two alleged concussions he received from playing high school football and baseball.
Rubino was unable to obtain any records confirming the concussions or the car accidents but said the stories were "likely true" based on the results of the brain scans.
Rubino, who stressed that he was a "neurologist, not a psychologist," during the hearing, did confirm that Wilson's behavior, particularly his "impulsiveness," may be a direct result of his head injuries.
Wilson's legal team previously filed a motion on July 3 asking for a new trial or acquittal on the murder and several other charges.
The motion was denied on August 15, 2024.
His initial sentencing date was July 23 but a defense motion was filed for a delay over scheduling conflicts for mental health expert witnesses.
The motion was granted, delaying the sentence until Tuesday, August 27.
That afternoon, shortly after 4 pm ET, Wilson smirked as the judge sentenced him to death for the murders of Melton and Ruiz.
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Who were Wade Wilson's victims?
According to The News-Press, 35-year-old Melton was raised in Illinois before moving with a friend to Cape Coral and working as a waitress.
Melton's neighbors described her as sweet and friendly.
"She was happy-go-lucky, help anybody, very nice person," Debbie McCabe told WBBH.
According to the publication, 43-year-old Ruiz was an engaged mother of two who worked as a server and bartender at the Moose Lodge in Cape Coral.
Her co-workers and customers shared positive words about Ruiz following her tragic death.
"She didn't have a bad bone in her body. She did not deserve to end up over there like that," Ernie Carroll said, per WBBH.
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"She was such a light," a friend told the outlet.
"She was the love of my life," said her fiancé, Scott Hannon.
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