A convicted murdered was seen smirking in a Florida courtroom earlier this week as a jury recommended he be put to death for the brutal murders of two women.
Wade Wilson was found guilty of strangling Kristine Melton to death as she slept after meeting her at a bar in 2019.
Later that same day, he beat, strangled and ran over Diane Ruiz with his car after seeing her on the street.
The jury at the Lee County Courthouse in Fort Myers delivered their decision with ten out of twelve jurors voting for the death penalty for the murder of Ruiz and nine out of twelve for Melton’s murder.
State law requires at least eight jurors to vote for the death penalty. Judge Nicholas Thompson will make the final decision on July 23.
Wade Wilson was seen with a smirk on his face in a Florida courtroom earlier this week
Wilson was seen smirking as a jury recommended he be put to death for the brutal murders of two women in 2019
Aside from the brutality of his crimes, it is Wilson’s demeanor in court, in which he has appeared ‘smug’ and ‘smirking,’ that has seen the case go viral.
On social media, commenters called him ‘soulless’ expressing anger at his perceived lack of remorse.
One user on X wrote, ‘He’s remorseless & says he’d do it again. I’m not ‘an eye for an eye’ person. I never have been. But smug aloofness as Wade Wilson displays makes me think life in a cell with 3 meals a day, in genpop, isn’t okay.’
Another commented: ‘Note the psychopathic smirk on the face of the serial strangler.’
Kristine Melton was strangled to death as she slept after meeting her at a bar in 2019
Later that same day, he beat, strangled and ran over Diane Ruiz with his car after seeing her on the street
‘Wade Wilson was given the death penalty in Florida for murdering two women. His own father turned him cause the creature was a soulless monster,’ a third noted.
Following the jury’s recommendation for Wilson to receive the death penalty, Assistant State 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 think in this case it was a justified act given the horrific nature of this case. Both murders were especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. He inflicted pain, and he showed utter indifference to her [Melton’s] life.’
Wade Wilson was seem looking particularly casual during this capital murder trial at the Lee County Courthouse in Fort Myers throughout June
A jury has recommended Wilson be put to death for the brutal murders 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 while the impact on the victims’ families was highlighted.
At the penalty phase of Wilson’s murder trial, the defense argued that Wilson had a ‘diseased mind’ and struggled with drug addiction.
ASA Miller dismissed the claims, telling jurors, ‘It’s 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. Many people suffer from drug addictions, but they don’t go out and commit murders.’