Wade Wilson, the Florida man convicted of killing two Cape Coral women in 2019, is headed to Florida's death row.
A jury found Wilson, 30, guilty on June 12 of the murders of Kristine Melton, 35, andDiane Ruiz, 43, and recommended he receive the death penalty.
Judge Nicholas Thompson agreed with the jury's vote and imposed two death sentences, one for each murder, during sentencing on Aug. 27.
Wilson's sentencing coincides with the impending execution of another Florida man under sentence of death. Loran Cole is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m., Aug. 29. Cole was convicted of the brutal murder of Florida State University student John Edwards in 1994.
Wilson is housed at the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers, Florida. Once unrelated charges, including an escape attempt, are resolved, he'll be transferred into the prison system and ultimately end up on Florida's death row.
Here's what to know about Wilson's crimes, victims and life on Florida's death row:
Wade Wilson murders
Wilson, then 25, metKristine Melton, 35, and her friend Stephanie Sailors on Oct. 7, 2019, at Buddah LIVE, a Fort Myers bar.
After the bar closed, Wilson and the two women went to the home of Jayson Shepard where they stayed for several hours before leaving in the morning.
Wilson, Melton and Sailors then went Melton's Cape Coral home. After Sailors left, Wilson strangled Melton to death as she slept in her bed and stole her car.
A short time later, Wilson saw 43-year-oldDiane Ruizwalking along a Cape Coral street, asked her for directions to a nearby school and lured her into the car.
When Ruiz tried to exit the car, Wilson attacked her, beating and strangling her before pushing her out of the car and running her over 10 to 20 times.
After the murders, Wilsoncalled his biological fatherSteven Testasecca several times confessing to and narrating the gruesome details of his crimes.
After initially dismissing the calls and attributing the admissions to Wilson being a "good storyteller," Testasecca, 46, put his phone on speaker with Wilson's biological mother listening in and relaying information to police.
Testasecca asked Wilson for his location and told him he would send an Uber to him. Instead, his whereabouts were provided to police whoarrested Wilson on Oct. 8, 2019.
Wade Wilson victims Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz
Kristine Melton grew up in Illinois and moved with a friend to Cape Coral where she worked as a waitress.
She reportedly was godmother to her cousin Samantha Catomer's child, owned a cat and lived in a Cape Coral duplex.
Melton loved to dress up and her favorite holiday was Halloween, Catomer testified during Wilson's trial.
Melton had a quick wit, made everyone around her feel safe and understood and "was precious, not just to me, but to everyone who knew her," Catomer said.
Melton was 35 years old when she met Wilson at Buddah LIVE, a Fort Myers bar. After leaving the bar and spending several hours at the home of Jayson Shepard, Melton, Sailors and Wilson went to Melton's duplex.
After Sailors left, Wilson strangled her to death in her sleep.
Diane Ruiz, 43, a mother and engaged to be married, was described as caring and hardworking.
She worked as a bartender at the Moose Lodge in Cape Coral and never missed a shift in five years.
Ruiz was walking to work for her 10 a.m. shift when she encountered Wilson.
A short time after killing Melton, Wilson saw Ruiz walking along a Cape Coral street and lured her into the car after asking her for directions.
When she tried to leave, Wilson beat and strangled Ruiz, pushed her out of the car and ran her over repeatedly.
Her body was found in a field three days later.
Wade Wilson death sentence
On June 25, 2024,the jury in Wilson's trial recommended he receive the death penaltyfor each of the murders.
During the penalty phase of the trial, jurors had the option of recommending life in prison without parole or death.
Florida juries were required to vote unanimously for a death sentence recommendation until April 2023 when Gov. Ron DeSantis lowered the threshold by signing into law abill allowing juries to recommend death with as few as 8 votes.
After considering aggravating and mitigating circ*mstances, the jury voted for death – 9-3 in Melton's murder and 10-2 in Ruiz's murder.
On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, Judge Thompson imposed a death sentence for each of the murders.
Where is Wade Wilson?
Wilson is being held at the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers, Florida.
Once unrelated charges are resolved, he'll be moved into the state's prison system.
Inmates under death sentences are housed on Florida's death row at Union Correctional Institution.
Florida death row at Union Correctional Institution
Florida's death row is inside Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, about 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
What is life like on Florida death row?
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, inmates on death row are allowed snacks, radios and 13” TVs, but do not have cable or air-conditioning.
- They wear orange T-shirts to set them apart from other inmates and the same blue pants worn by regular prisoners.
- Death row inmates are served three meals a day – at 5 a.m., from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and from 4 to 4:30 p.m.. Food is prepared by prison staff and transported in insulated carts to the cells, where inmates are given sporks to eat from the provided trays.
- They’re allowed showers every other day.
- Any visitors must be preapproved and inmates can receive mail every day except holidays and weekends.
- Inmates are not allowed to be with each other in a common room.
- Death Row inmates are counted at least hourly. They wear handcuffs everywhere except in their cells, the exercise yard and shower. They are in their cells except for medical reasons, exercise, social or legal visits or media interviews.
- A Death Watch cell is 12x7x8.5 feet high.
Once a death warrant is signed by the governor, the inmate is put in a Death Watch cell and allowed a legal and social phone call.
Florida execution methods
In 1923, the Legislature passed a law replacing hanging with the electric chair. An oak chair was built by prison inmates that year.
Florida’s current three-legged electric chair, nicknamed “Old Sparky,” was built of oak by Florida Department of Corrections staff and installed at Florida State Prison in 1999.
Legislation passed in 2000 allows for lethal injection as an alternative to the electric chair.
The person under sentence of death has one opportunity to elect electrocution. The request must be made in writing and delivered to the prison's warden.
The executioner is a private citizen and paid $150 per execution. Florida law allows for the executioner to remain anonymous.
Wade Wilson death date?
It could be years before Wade Wilson is executed.
Death row inmates in the United States often spend more than a decade on death row going through the appeals process and awaiting execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
In 2020, the national average time from sentencing to execution was 227 months.
Death row meals
While Florida death row inmates may request a last meal purchased locally and not to exceed $40, here's what day-to-day meals look like for Florida prisoners.
The menu (as of August 2024) for state-operated facilities is on a 4-week rotating cycle and provides an average of 2,762 calories per day, according to FDC. Accommodations are made upon request for religious and dietary needs.
Inmates with privileges and available funds can also order food and other items from the prison canteen. Each inmate can purchase merchandise for up to $150 weekly, provided they have the money to pay for it.
Contributing: Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
