Wade Wilson, a Fort Myers man who shares his name with the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, stands convicted of the brutal 2019 murders of two Cape Coral women.
On June 12, 2024, Wilson, 30, was convicted on six charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, in Lee County, Florida.
Thirteen days later, the jury voted to send Wilson to death row for the murders. It will be up to the trial judge to impose the death sentence on July 23.
Wilson's case has drawn national attention for the heinous murders, his facial tattoos and Deadpool tie.
Here's what to know about Wilson, his crimes and his victims:
Wade Wilson crimes
Wilson, then 25 years old, 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 crimes.
"He was excited," Testasecca testified in court, adding Wilson said he wanted to make Ruiz "look like spaghetti."
Testasecca contacted police andWilson 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, her friend Stephanie 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, as vultures circled overhead.
Where is Wade Wilson?
Wilson is housed at the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers. Once his sentencing and other unrelated charges, including an escape attempt, are resolved, he'll be transferred into the Florida prison system.
If Judge Nicholas Thompson confirms Wilson's death sentence, Wilson will end up on Florida's death row at Union Correctional Institution.
Wade Wilson tattoos, before and after
Wilson's facial tattoos have gained widespread attention, including on social media.
While Wilson had neck tattoos at the time of his arrest in 2019, none were visible on his face in his booking photo and early court appearances.
At his 2024 murder trial, Wilson's face was covered in tattoos, including a swastika and stitches around his mouth.
Prior to the trial, Wilson's attorneys were granted motions requesting he be allowed to wear street clothes and to cover tattoos, "that might be objectionable to members of the potential jury pool," with makeup.
Who is Wade Wilson in Deadpool movies?
In the Marvel Comics and movies, Wade Wilson is the alter ego of Deadpool, a trigger-happy mercenary highly trained in martial arts and swordsmanship with accelerated healing powers through the Weapon X program that essentially make him immortal, according to USA TODAY.
Because Deadpool, who is played by Ryan Reynolds in the movies, had cancer during Weapon X, his cancer cells regenerate as fast as his normal cells, leaving his body heavily scarred and the reason he wears a full face mask.
The newest film in the franchise, "," hits theaters on July 26.
Contributing: Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
