A murder convict was seen smiling in a Florida courtroom earlier this week when a jury recommended he be sentenced to death for the brutal murders of two women.
Wade Wilson was found guilty of strangling Kristine Melton to death while she was sleeping after meeting her at a bar in 2019.
Later that same day, he hit, strangled, and ran over Diane Ruiz with his car after seeing her in the street.
The jury at the Lee County Courthouse in Fort Myers issued its decision, with ten of twelve members voting in favor of the death penalty for Ruiz’s murder and nine of twelve for Melton’s murder.
State law requires that at least eight jurors vote in favor of the death penalty. Judge Nicholas Thompson will make the final decision on July 23.
Wade Wilson was seen with a smile on his face in a Florida courtroom earlier this week.
Wilson was seen smiling as a jury recommended that he be sentenced to death for the brutal murders of two women in 2019.
Aside from the brutality of his crimes, it was Wilson’s demeanor in court, in which he appeared “smug” and “smirking,” that made the case go viral.
On social media, commentators called him “soulless” and expressed anger at his apparent lack of remorse.
An “Wade Wilson makes me think that life in a cell with three meals a day, in a detention center, is not right.”
Another commented: ‘Note the psychopathic smile on the serial strangler’s face.’
Kristine Melton was strangled to death in her sleep after meeting her at a bar in 2019
Later that same day, he hit, strangled, and ran over Diane Ruiz with his car after seeing her on the street.
“Wade Wilson was sentenced to death in Florida for murdering two women. His own father converted him because the creature was a soulless monster,” noted a third.
Following the jury’s recommendation that Wilson receive the death penalty, Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Miller made a statement.
‘You know, you’re asking someone to take another life, and so it’s always a difficult thing. I believe that in this case it was a justified act given the horrible nature of the case. Both murders were especially heinous, heinous and cruel. He caused her pain and showed total indifference to her (Melton) life.
Wade Wilson seemed particularly casual during this capital murder trial at the Lee County Courthouse in Fort Myers in June.
A jury has recommended Wilson be executed for the brutal murder of two women
Judge Nicholas Thompson will make the final decision on whether Wilson will be sentenced to death on July 23.
During the trial, the brutal details of Wilson’s crimes were laid bare and the impact on the victims’ families highlighted.
During the penalty phase of Wilson’s murder trial, the defense argued that Wilson had a “sick mind” and struggled with drug addiction.
ASA Miller dismissed the charges, telling jurors: ‘It is not credible that mental illness caused the defendant to murder Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz. ‘He was under the influence of power, of lust, of control, of hate. A lot of people suffer from drug addiction, but they don’t go out and commit murder.’