Florida death penalty: What to know
Capital felony convictions are eligible for the death penalty in Florida. Here’s what to know about capital punishment in the Sunshine State.
Wade Wilson, the Florida man found guilty of killing two Cape Coral women, is due in court in August for sentencing in the case.
On June 12, Wilson, 30, was found guilty of the 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43.
The jury recommended the death penalty for each of the murders on June 25, but it will be up to trial judge Nicholas Thompson to impose it during sentencing.
Sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, but on Wednesday Wilson’s attorneys filed a motion for a delay over scheduling conflicts for two court-appointed mental health experts expected to testify during the proceedings. The judge delayed sentencing on Friday to August 27.
Wilson’s legal team also filed a motion on July 3 asking for a new trial or acquittal on the murder and several other charges.
Thompson has not yet ruled on either motion.
Here’s what to know about Wade Wilson’s crimes, victims and upcoming sentencing:
What did Wade Wilson do?
Wilson, then 25 years old, met Kristine 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-old Diane Ruiz walking 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, Wilson called his biological father Steven Testasecca several times confessing to and narrating the gruesome details of his crimes.
Testasecca contacted police and Wilson was arrested 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’s father was key to his capture and arrest
After the murders, Wilson called his biological father, Steven Testasecca, several times confessing to the crimes in gruesome detail.
“I am a killer,” Wilson said, according to Testasecca’s testimony.
Testasecca said Wilson confessed to choking Melton after she went to sleep and stopping Ruiz for directions before she got into the car, choking her while he drove.
According to Testasecca’s testimony, Wilson said Ruiz was still breathing before he repeatedly ran her over.
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 who arrested Wilson on Oct. 8, 2019.
Wade Wilson charges
Wilson, who shares his name with Marvel character Deadpool, was tried and found guilty of six charges:
Two counts of first-degree murderFirst-degree murderGrand theftBatteryBurglaryPetty theft
Wilson also faces charges in unrelated crimes, including attempted escape from jail and drug charges.
Florida juries don’t have to be unanimous to recommend death sentence
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 a bill allowing juries to recommend death with as few as 8 votes.
Wade Wilson’s first appearance on first-degree murder charges
Wade Wilson has his first appearance in court via video chat from the Lee County Jail on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Fort Myers.
Amanda Inscore, AINSCORE@NEWS-PRESS.COM
Wade Wilson sentencing
On June 25, 2024, the jury in Wilson’s trial recommended he receive the death penalty for each of the murders.
During the penalty phase of the trial, jurors had the option of recommending life in prison without parole or death.
After considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the jury voted 9-3 and 10-2 for death.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 27, 2024, and trial judge Nicholas Thompson will decide whether the death sentence or life without parole is imposed.
What happens once Wade Wilson is sentenced?
Once sentenced and other, unrelated charges, including an escape attempt, are resolved, Wilson will leave the Lee County Jail for the state’s prison system.
If Wilson is sentenced to death, he’ll be transferred to Florida’s death row at Union Correctional Institution, where he’ll be housed in a 6x9x9.5 feet high cell.
Where is Florida’s death row?
Florida’s death row is at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, about 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
Contributing: Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
Source link : https://www.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2024/07/19/wade-wilson-florida-killer-death-penalty-sentencing/74444077007/
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Publish date : 2024-07-19 11:48:19
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