John Jefferson
Wade Wilson, center, murdered Kristine Melton, left inset, and Diane Ruiz, right inset. (Images: Law&Crime Network)
Jurors on Wednesday convicted a man of murdering two women, and thereby setting the stage for the death penalty phase of his trial to begin this Thursday.
Wade Wilson, 30, remained apparently impassive behind his many face tattoos as jurors in Lee County, Florida, convicted him on all charges: two counts of first-degree murder, and a count each of grand theft of a motor vehicle, battery, burglary of a dwelling, and first-degree petty theft.
Authorities said that Wilson first killed Kristine Melton, 35, stole her car, and was driving it when he encountered Diane Ruiz, 43. Melton was found dead in her home, and Ruiz was discovered in a field.
His defense argued that though Wilson killed the women, it was not premeditated — Wilson had been on drugs.
Wilson’s biological father, Steven Testasecca, took the stand for the prosecution. Now 46, he had learned at age 14 or 15 about the pregnancy. Neither he nor the biological mother were in a position to care for the child, so they put him up for adoption. Church friends of maternal grandparents took in the baby.
When Wilson was 18, he got back in touch with Testasecca. It was their first time meeting. Wilson seemed to want a relationship, and Testasecca tried. They had phone calls, but having lived in different cities, they did not see each other in person often.
Wilson often asked for money, he testified.
“Did your relationship turn into a situation where he was just asking for your help?” the prosecutor said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Testasecca said.
Testasecca said that his son called him once again for help in October 2019. Seeming proud and without remorse, Wilson confessed to killing two women, his father said.
Describing his son as a “storyteller,” Testasecca said he did not initially believe him at first. Wilson described meeting a woman — this would have been Melton — at a bar. Wilson did not have his face tattoos during the time of the murders.
Kristine Melton’s friend testified that when they met Wade Wilson at the bar, he called himself J.R. She said he was charming and there were no red flags. He also had no tattoos on his face @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/geN9PgvErp
— Angenette Levy (@Angenette5) June 10, 2024
They went back to her home, hung out, and she went to sleep, the defendant said, according to his father’s testimony. After she went to sleep, Wilson got on top of her and choked her, the defendant said.
“I choked that b—-,” Wilson said, according to his father.
Wilson claimed to have stayed in the house for a little while, rolled up the body, and was going to try to put her in her vehicle trunk, but he could not lift her, likely because of rigor mortis, according to testimony. He left her there and took the car, later encountering a second woman — Ruiz — walking down the street. He asked her for directions, and she got into the vehicle with him before he reached over and choked her, he said, according to his father’s testimony. He found a place where he dumped the body, but realized she was still breathing.
“He said he got back in the car and ran her over until she looked like spaghetti,” Testasecca said.
The father testified that he was initially conflicted about giving his son over to law enforcement. He changed his mind.
“I just thought ‘what if that was my mom or my daughter or sister or wife.’ I wouldn’t want somebody to do that,” he said.
He worried that his son would have done it again if not arrested.
Only knowing that his son was hiding out at a home, but not the address, he asked for the address and promised to send an Uber. Instead, his wife was relaying details to law enforcement, who found Wilson and arrested him.
“I didn’t want him to do anything stupid and end up getting killed, so I just told him to put his hands up and just go outside,” Testasecca said.
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