WADE WILSON REMAINS ON DEATH ROW AS LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES AFTER DOUBLE MURDER CONVICTION

Wade Wilson remains on Florida’s death row as his legal team continues challenging his death sentences years after he was convicted of killing two women in Cape Coral.

Wilson was convicted in June 2024 of murdering Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, in separate attacks on October 7, 2019.

Two months later, in August 2024, he was sentenced to death for both murders.

His case has continued through the appeals process, with his attorneys challenging aspects of the death sentences rather than seeking to overturn the murder convictions themselves.

TWO WOMEN KILLED IN A SINGLE DAY

The murders happened within hours of one another in the Cape Coral area.

Prosecutors said Wilson met Melton at a Fort Myers bar before eventually going with her to her home.

According to evidence presented at trial, Wilson killed Melton after they arrived at her house and then took her vehicle.

Later that morning, Wilson encountered Ruiz, who was walking to work.

Prosecutors said Wilson approached her and asked for directions before getting her into the vehicle.

Ruiz was subsequently killed, and prosecutors presented evidence that Wilson used Melton’s vehicle during the attack.

Wilson was arrested shortly afterward.

During his 2024 trial, jurors heard testimony from people connected to the case, including Wilson’s biological father, Steven Testasecca.

Wilson was ultimately found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, along with several other offenses connected to the events.

THE DEATH SENTENCES

Wilson’s sentencing became particularly significant because Florida had changed its death-penalty law in 2023.

Under the revised law, a jury no longer had to be unanimous to recommend a death sentence. A minimum of eight jurors could support a death recommendation.

In Wilson’s case, the jury voted 9-3 in favor of death for Melton’s murder and 10-2 for Ruiz’s murder.

Judge Nicholas Thompson subsequently imposed two death sentences on August 27, 2024.

Wilson’s attorneys later argued that applying the newer sentencing framework to murders committed in 2019 raised constitutional and retroactivity concerns.

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPEAL

The issue reached the Florida Supreme Court in February 2026.

At the February 5 hearing, Wilson’s attorney Michael Ufferman said the defense was preserving its constitutional arguments for possible review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The defense had argued that Wilson should have been sentenced under the law that existed when the murders occurred, when unanimous jury agreement was required for a death recommendation.

But the Florida Supreme Court had recently issued decisions upholding the 2023 death-penalty law in other cases.

Those rulings significantly affected the arguments available to Wilson’s legal team.

Rather than repeat arguments the court had already rejected in other cases, Ufferman told the justices that he intended to preserve the issue for possible consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Florida Supreme Court ultimately upheld the lower court’s ruling.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The February hearing did not result in Wilson being removed from death row.

Instead, his attorneys indicated that they could seek further review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

That means Wilson’s legal case remains active even though his two death sentences remain in place.

There is no indication from the sources reviewed that an execution date has been set.

For now, Wilson remains incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, where Florida houses male death-row prisoners.

THE CASE HAS DRAWN WIDESPREAD ATTENTION

Wilson’s case has attracted unusually high levels of public attention, including because of his name, which is the same as Marvel Comics character Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool.

Online, some media outlets and social-media users have referred to him as the “Deadpool Killer.”

The nickname is a media and internet label rather than his legal designation.

His appearance, tattoos and the circumstances of the murders have also generated substantial attention online.

A 2026 Paramount+ documentary, Handsome Devil: Charming Killer, revisited the case and explored both the crimes and the intense public fascination surrounding Wilson.

THE VICTIMS REMAIN AT THE CENTER OF THE CASE

While the appeals have focused heavily on sentencing law, the underlying case concerns the deaths of two women whose families have continued to live with the consequences of the 2019 killings.

Wilson’s conviction established his criminal responsibility for both murders, while the ongoing legal proceedings concern his punishment and constitutional claims.

His attorneys continue to challenge the death sentences, while prosecutors have defended the application of Florida’s revised sentencing framework.

For now, the outcome is unchanged:

Wade Wilson remains convicted of two murders, remains sentenced to death and remains on Florida’s death row while his legal team considers further appeals.