The Deadpool Killer, born with the name Wade Wilson, is awaiting his own death after murdering innocent mothers Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz – and still receives love letters
It was a shocking crime spree that would leave two innocent women dead and turn their killer into a twisted ‘celebrity’. The murders were truly brutal and yet the perpetrator, Wade Wilson, has attracted a great deal of morbid curiosity from the public and female fans are keen to date him. Even after his arrest, Wilson continued to shock with his attention-seeking behaviour, but the focus should remain on his crimes. In October 2018, Wilson, then 25, already had a criminal record and he had an outstanding battery charge. Wilson had been adopted as a baby and shared his name with the Deadpool character in the Marvel films. He had lots of tattoos around his neck and arms but before the murders, they weren’t on his face. Rather than looking intimidating, Wilson had a charismatic charm that would often deceive women into thinking he was a good man to date.
On the night of October 6, Wilson went to a live music venue called Buddah LIVE in Fort Myers, Florida. There he met Kristine Melton, 35, who was out with her friend. Kristine had grown up in Illinois and had moved to Cape Coral, where she’d found a duplex apartment and owned a cat. She was working as a waitress and was excited about being a mum one day. Kristine loved dressing and having fun – especially at Halloween. Her quick wit and warmth made her well-liked, reports OK!
There was an attraction between Wilson and Kristine. They hung out together and then Wilson went home with Kristine and her friend. When the friend left, Kristine fell asleep. In the morning, Wilson strangled her to death in her bed. Her body would be found later that day wrapped in bedding and clothing. Her face was black and blue from being beaten and her fingernails were broken where she’d bravely tried to fight back.
After killing Kristine, Wilson had stolen her car and fled the scene. Meanwhile, engaged mum of two Diane Ruiz, 42, was walking half a mile to work as a bartender. She hadn’t missed a shift in five years and was known for her loud laugh and for having everyone’s back. Wilson pulled up in Kristine’s car and asked Diane for directions to a local school.
Somehow, Wilson persuaded Diane to get into the car and they drove away. When she didn’t turn up to work, she was reported missing. Diane’s body would be found three days later in a field behind a retail store, with vultures circling overhead. She had been beaten and strangled, then pushed out of the vehicle. Wilson then ran her over 10 to 20 times. Within hours, two women, chosen at random, were dead and Wilson wasn’t done. He drove to his ex-girlfriend’s workplace in Fort Myers and attacked her. Melissa Montanez, who was a petite 5’ 2” was punched and slapped by 6’6” Wilson and held up against a wall by her throat. Eventually, he drove away in her car, and she called the police.
While Wilson was on the run, he called his biological father, Steven Testasecca, and confessed that he’d killed two women. ‘He was excited,’ Steven would later testify, recalling that Wilson had described Diane over so many times she ‘looked like spaghetti.’ Wilson asked Steven to order him an Uber and gave him the address of an unoccupied house in Cape Coral he’d broken into. Steven gave the details to the police, and they went to the location on October 8 and arrested him.
Wilson was charged with the murders of Kristine and Diane and for the attack on Melissa. He was denied bail. From the start, Wilson, dubbed the ‘Deadpool Killer’ garnered a lot of press attention. While behind bars, he added a number of new tattoos to his face including several swastikas, the words ‘Bred for war’ on his neck and a Joker-like mouth tattoo. The new ink suggested that he was part of a racist white supremacy prison gang called Unforgiven. Incredibly, despite being charged with murder, Wilson became the focus of social media attention and even females keen for a relationship. Even in prison, his crimes continued.
Two months after his arrest, Wilson and a cellmate were caught attempting an escape. They had tampered with a window in their cell and had tried to arrange a getaway vehicle to wait outside. He was charged with attempted escape and criminal mischief. In 2023, he was charged with having drugs in his cell and being part of a drug smuggling ring.
It was a long way for the trail. The pandemic, changes in legal teams and court hearings, meant there were extensive delays, but he continues to deny the killings. Wilson said that he had left Kristine and Diane alive.
When the trial was announced for 2024, there were challenges getting a jury who weren’t biased from the press coverage. Wilson’s lawyers requested that he be allowed to wear make-up on his face to make him appear more ‘presentable’ to the jury. The judge allowed it but when Wilson appeared in court in June, his facial tattoos were clearly visible.
The prosecution said that Wilson had committed the murders for ‘the sake of killing.’ He went after three women that day, but only one survived. They said that Kristine had been sleeping when he strangled her, and she’d fought back. Diane had still been breathing when he’d rolled her out of the car which is why he’d run over her body multiple times. Wilson’s biological father Steven testified. He described how Wilson had been adopted as a baby and he and Wilson’s biological mother had both been teens. He’d reconnected with Wilson when he was 18. He recounted the call when his son confessed. ‘He said, ‘I’m a killer’,’ Steven told the court. At first, he thought Wilson was telling stories but then realised it was true when he went into gory details about the killings. ‘He was wanting me to feel the same way he was feeling,’ Steven told the court. ‘He would’ve done it again.’
Wilson’s defence argued that his life had been shaped by drug addiction, but was clear his actions were intentional and deliberate.
The jury found Wilson, now 30, guilty of murdering Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz. He was also convicted of battery of Melissa Montanez, 41, the burglary and theft of two homes and the grand theft auto of Kristine’s car. The jury recommended the death penalty – but it would be the judge’s final decision. Wilson appeared to show no emotion, but then he seemingly flashed a hand signal, which triggered online speculations that it was a deliberate message of some kind.
Before the sentencing, the judge heard victim impact statements and even had to consider pleas of leniency from infatuated females who had written letters insisting he could change.
Kristine Melton’s cousin, Samantha Catomer described her as a kind person who had always dreamed of being a mum. ‘Kristine will never experience motherhood, a role she was born to play,’ said. Diane was a mother of two sons, and the youngest, Zane Romero, 19, said his mum was killed just days before he was set to debut at his school’s marching band. ‘I never got to see her in the crowd,’ Zane said.
The judge handed down the death penalty. His lawyer shared a strange demand from Wilson who officially requested to be on death row as soon as possible.
Wade Wilson has been described as ‘pure evil’ by many and yet the prison still receives love letters and staff continue to intercept ‘inappropriate’ photos sent to Wilson from women. The Deadpool killer now awaits his own death.
