Social Media Has Put All of Their Focus on Wade Wilson, Ignoring His Victims Entirely
"This case was about Diane Ruiz. This case was about Kristine Melton, and it should remain that way."
Published Sept. 3 2024, 3:00 p.m. ET
Convicted killer Wade Wilson began his 2024 Labor Day weekend not at a BBQ or a pool party, but rather en route to a Florida prison. He would then sit on death row until his proverbial number was called. According to the Fort Myers News-Press, he could be awaiting execution for several years.
Had he been convicted before April 2023, Wilson might have received a life sentence. Before that date, a death sentence occurred after jurors voted on it unanimously. The modified law currently states that an 8-4 vote is all one needs to declare a person eligible for capital punishment. What exactly did the man known as the Deadpool Killer do to earn the harshest punishment possible? Wade Wilson's victims were brutally murdered. Here's what we know about them.
Wade Wilson's victims were killed at random, within hours of each other.
On Oct. 6, 2019, 35-year-old Kristine Melton was out with her friend Stephanie Sailors in Fort Myers, Fla., near where they both lived, per USA TODAY. They ended up at the Buddha LIVE bar where they met Wilson. The left the bar in the early hours of October 7, and headed to the home of a man named Jayson Shepard. All three remained there for a few hours before Melton and Wilson ended up at her home in Cape Coral.
When Sailors left, Melton and Wilson went to bed. Once Melton was asleep, Wilson strangled her to death then stole her car. While driving aimlessly around Cape Coral, Wilson spotted Diane Ruiz, 43, on her way to work. He pulled up next to Ruiz and pretended to need directions to a nearby school. When she got in Melton's car, Wilson attacked her. He beat Ruiz then strangled her before finally shoving her out of the car and running over her repeatedly.
Kristina Melton and Diane Ruiz were more than just victims.
In a press conference following Wilson's sentencing, Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner said in a press conference, "This case wasn’t about Mr. Wilson. This case was about Diane Ruiz. This case was about Kristine Melton, and it should remain that way." This is an important reminder in general but especially as it pertains to Wilson, who has risen to twisted fame on social media. He has fans all over the internet who constantly refer to the convicted killer as "hot."
The families of Kristina Melton and Diane Ruiz could not disagree more. "I didn’t get to say I love her, and I miss her," said Ruiz's father, Feliz Ruiz. His grandsons — Brandon Cuellar, 29, and Zane Romero, 19 — were devastated by the loss of their mother, reported Newsweek. Romero said that his mom was supposed to watch his debut in the high school marching band a few days after she was killed. "I never got to see her in the crowd," said Romero.
Melton had moved down to Cape Coral to help care for her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. "Kristine was her best friend," her brother Robert Melton told Newsweek. "They had coffee every morning." Robert said without Melton, he would not be as connected to his extended family in Florida. Days before she was killed, the two of them were joking about their mother's spending habits, which were exacerbated by the Alzheimer's. That has since worsened since Melton was murdered.
Robert told the outlet that most of the time his mother thinks Melton is married, with children of her own. On her better days, his mother remembers what happened to her daughter and has to experience the loss again and again. Regarding Wilson's growing popularity on social media, Robert said, "I don't want anything in this to be about him. Two wonderful people died. This should not end up being about Wade."
