Wade Wilson was sentenced to death on Tuesday for brutally murdering two women. The 30 years old man with Nazi face tattoos remained still as the sentence was announced in a Florida courtroom. The people who are present in the gallery reacted with cheers and applause after the announcement of the punishment. Earlier in the day, Wade Wilson chose not to speak to the court.
In June, Wilson was found guilty of four charges, including first-degree felony murder and premeditated murder, for killing Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43. He strangled both women on October 6, 2019, in Cape Coral, just hours apart.
In Melton’s case, the jury voted 9-3 for the death penalty, and in Ruiz’s murder, the vote was 10-2. In Florida, if at least eight out of 12 jurors agree, the judge can consider giving the death penalty.
The jury also had to show that the crimes included certain serious elements. They concluded that the crimes were especially terrible, and that the person who committed them had a history of being convicted of another crime, including one while already in prison.
Wade Wilson’s offence
Prosecutors say Wilson first strangled Melton in her home after they had a drug-fueled sexual encounter.
Wade Wilson then stole her car and used her phone to call his girlfriend, Melissa Montanez, 41. He assaulted her, but she refused to get in his car.
After that, Wilson met Ruiz, who was asking for directions in Cape Coral, and invited her into his car. He later confessed to strangling her, throwing her out of the car, and then running her over repeatedly “until she looked like spaghetti,” according to trial testimony.
“This case was about killing for the sake of killing,” Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner previously said in court. “Strangulation is the ultimate act of life slipping through someone’s hands.”
Even though Wade Wilson committed a terrible crime, thousands of twisted fans sent him love letters and explicit photos during the five years he was in prison. Even many people wrote letters to the judge, asking him to see beyond Wilson’s tattooed face and swastika markings. They argued that he was a different person when Wilson was on medication.
Wilson’s lawyers argued that Wilson had brain damage caused by drug addiction and he struggled with being abandoned by his birth parents, who gave him up for adoption.
His adoptive parents begged the court not to sentence him to death. In a letter, they said, “He’s still human inside.” They pleaded, “Please, don’t take our son from us.”