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Wade Wilson sentenced to death: Death penalty declared in Florida

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Wade Wilson, the Florida man convicted of murdering two Cape Coral women in 2019, is set to be sent to death row in Florida.

Wilson, 30, was found guilty on June 12 of the murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43. Thirteen days later, on June 25, the jury recommended the death penalty.

Lee County District Judge Nicholas Thompson agreed with the jury's recommendation and imposed the death penalty – one for each murder – at his sentencing on August 27.

Wilson is currently being held in the Lee County Jail, but is expected to be transferred to Florida's death row once other charges, including an escape attempt, are resolved.

Here's what you should know about the death penalty in Florida and the crimes and victims of Wade Wilson:

Capital crimes punishable by death in Florida

Capital crimes, including premeditated murder and rape, are punishable by death or life imprisonment in Florida.

The punishment will be decided during the trial as part of the sentencing process, taking into account aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

In Florida, juries do not have to vote unanimously on the death penalty

Florida juries had to vote unanimously to recommend the death penalty until April 2023. Then Governor Ron DeSantis lowered that hurdle by signing a law allowing juries to recommend the death penalty with just eight votes.

Wilson's jury voted 9 to 3 for the death penalty in Melton's murder case and 10 to 2 for the death penalty in Ruiz's murder case.

Execution methods: In Florida, those sentenced to death have a choice

In Florida, people sentenced to death can choose between two methods of execution.

Death sentences are normally carried out by lethal injection, but the convicted person has the option of choosing death by the electric chair instead.

Once the Florida Supreme Court confirms the conviction, the convicted person must submit a written request for execution by electric chair to the prison warden within 30 days.

Where is Florida's death row at Union Correctional Institution?

Wilson is housed along with Florida's other male death row inmates at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville.

Where are executions carried out in Florida?

Executions in Florida – by lethal injection and electric chair – take place in the execution chamber of the Florida State Prison in Raiford.

The executioner is a private citizen who receives $150 per execution. Under Florida law, the executioner may remain anonymous.

Murders by Wade Wilson

Wilson, then 25, met Kristine Melton, 35, and her friend Stephanie Sailors on October 7, 2019, at Buddah LIVE, a bar in Fort Myers.

After the bar closed, Wilson and the two women went to Jayson Shepard's house, where they stayed for several hours before leaving in the morning.

Wilson, Melton and Sailors then went to Melton's home in Cape Coral. After Sailors left, Wilson strangled Melton in her bed while she slept and stole her car.

A short time later, Wilson saw 43-year-old Diane Ruiz walking down a street in Cape Coral, asked her for directions to a nearby school and lured her into the car.

As Ruiz attempted to get out of the car, Wilson attacked her, punched her, and strangled her before pushing her out of the car and running over her ten to twenty times.

After the murders, Wilson called his biological father, Steven Testasecca, several times, confessing and describing the gruesome details of his crimes.

After initially dismissing the calls and attributing the confessions to Wilson being a “good storyteller,” Testasecca, 46, put his phone on speaker, whereupon Wilson's biological mother listened in and passed information on to police.

Testasecca asked Wilson for his location and told him he would send him an Uber. Instead, his whereabouts were reported to police, who arrested Wilson on October 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 was reportedly the godmother to her cousin Samantha Catomer's child, owned a cat, and lived in a duplex in Cape Coral.

Melton loved dressing up and her favorite holiday was Halloween, Catomer testified during Wilson's trial.

Melton was quick-witted, made everyone around her feel safe and understood, and “was valuable, 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 bar in Fort Myers. After leaving the bar and spending several hours at Jayson Shepard's house, Melton, Sailors and Wilson went to Melton's duplex.

After the sailors left, Wilson strangled them in their sleep.

Diane Ruiz, 43, a mother and engaged, 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 on her way to work for her 10 a.m. shift when she met Wilson.

Shortly after killing Melton, Wilson saw Ruiz walking down a street in Cape Coral and lured her into his car after asking her for directions.

As she tried to leave, Wilson beat and strangled Ruiz, pushed her out of the car, and ran over her repeatedly.

Her body was found in a field three days later.

Contributor: Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press

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