Judge sentences Wade Wilson to death following the murders of 2 Cape Coral women in 2019

2024-08-28 23:35:03

After five years of waiting, a decision was finally made in the Wade Wilson case.A Lee County judge affirmed the jury’s recommendation on Tuesday. Wilson will receive the death penalty.The 30-year-old was convicted of killing Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, on Oct. 7, 2019.Nine of the 12 jurors recommended the death penalty for the murder of Melton, and 10 of them recommended death for the murder of Ruiz on June 25.In a last-ditch effort to save his life, Wilson’s defense attorneys had a neurologist elaborate on possible brain abnormalities during his Spencer hearing. Dr. Mark Rubino’s findings were used as a possible rationale for Wilson’s “cognitive and emotional dysfunction.”Rubino said while completing a series of neurological tests, Wilson was getting frustrated and paranoid.He said Wilson presented as “normal” up until 11 years old when he told his parents he was “going crazy.”Rubino said Wilson was also a passenger in a car that went off the highway and crashed into an oak tree. Wilson allegedly left the hospital that day against medical advice without being evaluated. The neurologist also noted that Wilson experienced at least one concussion while playing sports as a child.The defense argued that all these events may have contributed to Wilson’s actions and decision-making on Oct. 7, 2019.A letter was also read from Wilson’s adoptive parents by the defense.It explained how Wilson succumbed to his mental illness, and the system failed him, according to his adoptive mother and father. They asked the judge to spare him from the death penalty. Dr. Thomas Coyne, a neuropathologist and chief medical examiner in Tallahassee, testified for the state. Looking at the same brain scans used to support the defense’s claim, Coyne suggests there is no evidence of trauma.Coyne claimed Wilson’s brain scans look like that of a “normal person,” and there are no signs of “chronic traumatic brain injury.”A press conference is set to take place following the sentencing.State Attorney Amira Fox was present at the sentencing, as well as Cape Coral Police Department Chief Anthony Sizemore. Count on ABC7 to bring you the latest updates as they become available.