okay weap invol mention uh yeah he he uh he said he stabbed somebody I guess are you anyone else in danger right now um I'm sure everybody is around here right now [Music] evil an age-old concept that perplexes philosophers and instills fear in the hearts of the innocent manifests in the darkest corners of human behavior it is the deliberate choice to inflict harm to Revel in the suffering of others and to disregard the sanctity of Life the crimes committed by Wade Wilson exemplify this kind of evil Wilson's heinous actions reveal a man utterly lacking in empathy or remorse highlighting the hostility that can reside in some individuals however his story also showcases the resilience integrity and strength of the people and systems that resolutely opposed his actions and worked tirelessly to secure Justice for the victims let's dive into the harrowing case of the face of evil it was a seasonably warm 84° in Fort Meers Florida on the evening of October 6th 2019 Melissa monz and her boyfriend of 6 months Wade Wilson decided to head to the budha bar for a night of drinks music and fun according to a police report they pulled up in Melissa's Sleek gray 2015 Dodge Hellcat inside the bar heated argument erupted between them about Wade's desire to leave and visit someone's house a plan Melissa was firmly against frustrated Wade claimed he needed to grab something from the car and went outside moment later Melissa followed only to witness her Hellcat leaving the parking lot strangely Melissa didn't observe Wade in the driver's seat the harsh reality dawned on her he had abandoned her stranded without a ride and not wanting to go home Melissa reached out to her friend Amy who promptly picked her up and took her back to her place exhausted Melissa soon passed out by 8:00 a.m. the next morning she groggy realized that way had been trying to contact her multiple times from an unfamiliar number when she finally picked up Wade's voice came through loud and Furious demanding to see her immediately uneasy due to his history of violence and drug use Melissa agreed to meet in public at her workplace she asked Amy to come with her for support and safety and Amy agreed as soon as Wade pulled up to her location she knew something was off as she did not recognize the car he was driving so where did you agree to meet him now when you arrived at Mila's Spa did you see your Hellcat no uh did you see a different car yes and was it a car that you recognized no I'm showing you States exhibit 5 does this look like the car that he was driving yes and again was that a car you had ever seen before no now when you got there did you get out and try to talk to him yes and again what were you trying to talk to him about um I went to the driver side window he wrote it down I said where are my keys where's my car um he was calm and just saying get in the car get in the car and it escalated quickly did you agree to get in the car no and when you would not agree to get in the car how did he act violent aggressive tried to pull me in the car physically and I resisted got plank style so that he could not grab me into the vehicle when you say you got plank style could you just show the jurors what you meant what you mean by that and I was being pulled into the car by my dress okay so for the record you just stood up and put your hand straight above your head yes so that I was not being able to be budged into the vehicle um and you said he's pulling at your dress can you describe in more detail how he's pulling at your dress he's pulling dress probably little hair everything and then the dress starts to rip off of my body um and what happens after that once he realizes that the threads were becoming uh I was getting away from him and he was still holding on to the Dress he opens the car door obviously forgets to put it in park the car starts to roll forward he tackles to me to the ground the car grazes both of our legs and I'm pummeled to the ground um how hard did he push you to the ground uh I'm sorry I don't recall it was this is also fast and he's very heavy and I'm I'm 5'2 he's 66 so now um what happens after you are pushed to the ground I started to get beat describe what you mean when you say he was beating you it all went so fast and so slow whether it be punches slapping choking that kind of nature um yes now you you mentioned that the fight is happening around the car does the fight move at some point yes so I either get drug pulled Can't Remember by my hair or arm or dress to I'm trying to reason with him trying to talk to him but there's nobody behind those eyes anymore so there was no reasoning with him I got to the the front of the staircase and I'm holding on to that and a crowd begins to develop I'm expecting people to help call 911 so I'm just trying to bide my time at that point as quickly as help can get there and that's not where working either I'm starting to get punched and grabbed and choked and all kinds of things again somehow we move up to the upper level I'm trying to convince him let's just okay let's just go and M SP let's just we'll talk about it there we're safe there Melissa eventually managed to break free and ran to a nearby business seeking safety moments later at 8:48 a.m. Fort Meers police arrived at the scene of the altercation multiple 911 calls had reported a man assaulting a woman officer Tim McCormick met Melissa at the Milo Spa in downtown Fort Meyers where she identified Wade Wilson as the as salant she recounted the harrowing assault and mentioned that Wade was last seen driving a black Nissan Versa by then Wade had already fled the scene prompting the police to issue an alert for his capture at the station Melissa provided detailed information during an interview with a detective she explained that she and Wade had been together for 6 months after meeting through a mutual friend they lived together for the first 2 months until Wade was incarcerated for about 3 and 1/2 months despite his imprisonment Melissa maintained contact with him and decided to give him a second chance upon his release while she had heard from others about Wade's abusive Behavior her primary concern was based on her own experiences with him Wade's criminal records however revealed him as a habitual offender with over 20 arrests since 2010 for charges including fraud trespassing and physical abuse in subsequent Court testimony Wade's biological father provided additional insight into his son's upbringing good good morning please state your name for the record Steven Testa Mr Testa where are you employed I'm self-employed what type of work do you do window and door replacement are you you married yes ma'am what is your wife's name how old are you sir I'm 46 you know someone by the name of Wade Wilson yes ma'am how do you know Wade Wilson he's my son how old were you when you found out you were going to be his father 14 or 15 how old was his mother at the time a year younger than me now were either of you in a position at that age to be able to raise him no ma'am was he placed up uh for adoption yes ma'am who was he adopted by candy and Steve um Wilson and did they have any connection to you or Wade Wilson's mother they went to church with uh Wade's mother's parents so uh that was how they connected and and ended up raising Wade Wilson yes ma'am now do they have any other children yes ma'am two daughters now uh at some point did um you and Wade Wilson connect yes ma'am uh how old was Wade Wilson when he connected with you 18 and was he uh wanting to connect with you because you his biological father Yes and up until that point had you ever met him no ma'am did you end up um attempting to have a relationship with him yes ma'am that he seemed to want to have a relationship yes ma'am now uh did you have phone calls often yes ma'am and did you have occasions where you would see each other no I went up and visited him one time in Tallahassee okay now did he often um ask you for money yes ma'am did your relationship turn into a situation where he was just asking for your help yes ma'am as Melissa's inter interv with the detective continued she expressed that she was terrified of Wade believing that if he had succeeded in forcing her into the vehicle she would not be alive to tell her story Melissa mentioned to the detective that Wade had been calling her in the morning hours from numbers she did not recognize including one with a 603 area code that police ran against a database they learned the number belonged to a Christine an Melton of Cape Coral whom Melissa had never heard of soon thereafter officers arrived at Christine Melton's home on the 4,000 block of Tutor Drive only to discover that officers from a neighboring jurisdiction were already on the scene 10 we have an update on the story we've been following all day Cape Coral Police confirm that they are investigating the death of a woman who lived on twoo drive that woman has been identified as 35-year-old Christine Melton viewers tell us she is a waitress and those we spoke to said they didn't see Melton very often and were wondering what happened well you think something bad has happened because you don't get uh yellow crime scene tape put up for no reason 35-year-old Christine Melton was described by those closest to her as a protector Who Loved fiercely a precious soul and an Irreplaceable force a once- in a-lifetime person Cape Coral police officers classified her death as suspicious and launched a homicide investigation notably her vehicle was missing from the driveway a black Nissan Versa this discovery intensified the Authority's efforts to locate both Wade and Christine's vehicle prompting an urgent and expanded search soon after about 5 miles away Fort Meers police officer Tim McCormick received information regarding Melissa's battery and spotted a vehicle and Driver matching weight description in the parking lot of a Joe's Crab Shack restaurant to ensure a coordinated response and his own safety officer McCormick quickly called for [Music] backup how you doing what's going on man you're waiting on your girlfriend oh okay that's so problem no I got a call somebody was sitting in their car and everything like that oh okay she's on her way now okay okay 41 Bike 5 ET got me up 10 12 H I'll explain to you when my partner gets here okay yeah how about this morning say again yeah I can do that but I'm just waiting for my partner to get here absolutely and here's what's going to happen this the car running shut the car up for me it's off um I'm going to detain you until I figure out what exactly is going on wait you don't any trouble for me okay okay yeah that's what I'm saying so I'm going to going to have you step out of the car and I'm going to detain you not arrest detain you right now okay and I I can't have any problems you understand me all right what's that like fire I at Joe's Crab Shack in the parking lot I will I give you my word no I have to detain by our by our procedures I had to detain because of the battery this morning there wasn't any battery no just relax give me let me see the keys to the car let me see the keys to the car keys keys wait we're not going to have any problems just give me the keys to the car wait just wait till my uh partner gets here l41 need a couple more units don't go anywhere hey don't do it he's in his car is attempting to uh take off yes please he's taking off for Myers just ran a stop sign going up towards McGregor Wade managed to escape and drove over 6 miles from Fort Meers to a business on Hancock Bridge Park qu in Cape Coral desperate for help Wade approached Josh a businessman he knew through a previous employer he pleaded for money to buy a bus ticket out of town when Josh declined Wade in a state of agitation said no you don't understand Josh I killed people last night alarmed Josh stepped outside and immediately called 911 911c I have a a very unstable uh man that I just wanted at my office hand Parkway um he tattoos Shir he said killed some people and uh he just heard a girl hand Park okay what is what is the phone you're call 239 the gentleman's name is something I have no idea he he I I went back to my office my my place business there and he was there he just associate just did something bad I rning from somebody get out of my place he's say he done all these these crazy things from somebody and and have a stolen car there OD very OD police quickly arrived at the scene but were unable to immediately locate Wade during their search the Cape Coral Police Department learned that Wade was also wanted by the fort Meers Police Department for the battery against Melissa Cape Coral officers established a perimeter and extensively searched but Wade remained elusive as Cape Coral Police contended with his Escape they were alerted to another UR situation nearby authorities announced they were looking into The Disappearance of a 43-year-old mother of two Diane Ruiz beloved by the community Diane was reported missing around 400 p.m. after failing to show up for her morning shift at the local Moose Lodge her purse was later found abandoned along a roadway the investigation into Diane's disappearance suggested possible Foul Play prompting authorities to classify her as missing and in endangered a black 2019 Nissan Versa was reportedly observed between 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. traveling eastbound near the area where Diane was last seen later that evening authorities receed the break they had been hoping for a detective had previously contacted Wade's biological father and asked him to alert the Police if Wade called during court testimony Wade's father frankly recounted what transpired now did he end up calling you later that evening yes ma'am and uh what did he tell you in that call that evening the final call nope the call and the call before the final call he just told me you know he did something there was two people gone that would not be back he he said I'm a killer um you know see me I just told him to call me back I just thought it was another story you know so so at this point when he says that um there were two people that wouldn't be with us and that uh he was a killer did you put a lot of weight into that no ma'am do you think he was just telling you a story he's a good Storyteller so did he then uh call you back a third time yes ma'am what time did he call you back it was around 10:00 I want to go back to that that dinner time call when he talked about these two people who were no longer with us and that he was a killer did he show any type of remorse oh man so let's go now to the 10:00 call um again your wife knew about kind of what was going on during that day yes ma'am and when he called back at 10 uh did he go into more details about what he had told you earlier yes ma'am so let's start with the first girl if you could tell the jurors what did he tell you he just said he met a girl at a bar they went back to her house hung out for a little bit and then she fell asleep what did he say happened after she fell asleep he said he got on top of her and choked her what name did he call her did he did he refer to in a derogatory term he said I I choked that okay um and what did he say he did after he choked her he said he stayed in the house for a little while and then um he rolled her up and was going to try to put her in her trunk but he couldn't lift her did he say why he was unable to put her in her trunk he said that he felt like rig mortise had started to set in and does rigger mortise make your body stiff you didn't know I think so yeah so he just told you that that was the reason that he couldn't lift her and get her under her trunk yes ma'am and when he said her trunk you it was the trunk of her car he was going to put her in yes ma'am so what did he tell you he did when he couldn't get her body into her own trunk he left her there and took her car what did he say uh about the second girl he said he saw her walking down the street and stopped and asked her for directions and she got in the car with him what did he say happened once she got in the car with him he said he reached over and choked her and did he tell you that he choked her while he was driving yes ma'am now what did he say happened after he choked her he said he was looking for a place to put a Rody um did he find a place where he eventually dumped her body yes ma'am what did he tell you about uh the situation when he got to the place where he was going to dump her body he said that he pulled her out of the car and realized that she was still breathing so what did he tell you he did when he realized she's still breathing he said he got back in the car and ran her over until she looked like spaghetti now the whole time that he's telling you these deep details is your wife hearing any of these details I had the phone on speaker phone now prior to him telling you these details how did you feel about turning him into law enforcement I initially wanted to help him okay um did you feel conflicted about giving him over to law enforcement initially yes ma'am uh at some point when you're talking with him did that feeling change yes Ma'am why I just thought you know what if that was my mom or my daughter or sister or wife I would want somebody to do that and did you have additional concerns of what might happen if you didn't turn him into law enforcement yes ma'am what was that sir he would have done it again now after he's telling you all these details do you know where he's at when he's telling you these things I just knew he was in a house that uh he broke into when he was running from the uh police did you know uh the actual address of this house he broke into no ma'am now when you were talking to him you decided that you needed to give the information to law enforcement about his whereabouts how did you get that address from him I told him I was going to send a maneuver and I needed the address Wade's father relayed his son's whereabouts to a detective who then passed the information to the US Marshall service and the regional fugitive task force Wade had broken into and was hiding in a home occupied by a married couple who fortunately had left town for Ohio just that morning the agencies made contact with Wade and after about 30 minutes of giving loud verbal commands for him to exit the residence he opened the front door where agents took him into custody without incident Wade was transported to the Cape Coral Police Department for booking and later to the Lee County Jail according to a report published online dated October 15th 2019 and authored by Caitlyn green knle Wade's ex-girlfriend Melissa claimed that Wade called her from jail the previous day and confessed to killing Christine Melton and Diane Ruiz whose body was found in a field behind the Sam's Club on October 10th he admitted over the phone to me that he murdered killed both those women he strangled both of them he said he just felt like it he said he was on drugs and it messed him up explained Melissa about 6 weeks after the deaths of Christine and Diane the state attorney's office organized a press conference to make an important announcement regarding the case against Wade Wilson good afternoon everybody thank you so much for coming I am State Attorney Amira Fox and I stand here today with Cape Coral Police Chief Dave nulan and our teams from both our offices to announce the indictment of Wade Steven Wilson for the murders of Christine Melton age 35 and Diane ru 43 both of Cape Coral the Lee County grand jury met today and returned an indictment against Wilson for two counts of first-degree premeditated murder he was also in dicted for one count each of battery grand theft of a motor vehicle burglary of a dwelling and first deegree petty theft Christine Melton was found dead in her Cape Coral home on October 7th the body of Diane Ruiz was found on October 12th in a field in Cape Coral 4 days after she was reported missing I hope today's indictment brings some small Comfort to the families of these victims these two women were prayed upon by the defendant and their murders impacted their families and shook our community the Cape Coral Police Department investigated these homicides and the events leading up to them which led to the arrest of the defendant and I want to say a huge thank you to chief nulan his Command Staff and the two detectives who worked this case among others who stand up here with us today detective Bell and detective Jones and thank them for the absolutely excellent investigative work they were meticulous they were patient and that is why we stand here today with an successful indictment for two counts of first-degree murder the following day Wade made his initial court appearance on the charges via remote video Wade Wilson 19 CF 568 Mr Wilson uh you're charged with first-degree murder Grand Theft Auto battery uh a second uh first-degree murder burglary of a dwelling occupied and petty theft State want to be heard judge Andreas gner on behal of the state state respected your requesting Mr will to be held no by defense I believe judge bring took testimony ins sign Bond any other um Bond motions will be conducted with the trial judge very good Mr Wilson will be held without bond your core date is November 25th 2019 at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 4A if somehow you get out of jail you will have no contact Direct is that some all right you will have no contact directly or indirectly with Melissa Lynn Montes is away from9 Street in Fort Myers Florida you understand that sir sure that's all for today since his arrest in the early hour of October 8th 2019 Wade was held in custody without bail his trial faced numerous delays over the years due to frequent continuances and pre-trial motions during this period Wade underwent a bit of a personal transformation notably adding numerous facial tattoos including Nazi symbols in response the defense requested the court allow facial makeup to cover these tattoos arguing they could Prejudice the jury although the court Court granted this request the defense ultimately chose not to use the makeup following an alleged escape attempt by Wade the trial was finally ready to proceed on June 10th 2024 a jury was seated and opening arguments were heard in the capital case of Florida versus Wade Wilson throughout the trial multiple Witnesses came forward to report that Wade confessed to the murders of Melton and Ruiz in fact the defense did not dispute many of the facts in the case but argued for diminished responsibility at one point claiming he's just whacked out of his mind after roughly two hours of deliberations the jury reached a verdict verdict do you have the verdict form all right we pass that to the bill [Music] verdict form appears to be in order I'll have the clerk publish the verdict in the Circuit Court of the 20th judicial circuit nn4 Lee County Florida criminal action State of Florida versus Wade Wilson case number 19 CF 0568 verdict we the jury finds as follow as to the defendant in this case count one first deegree murder Christine Melton the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder count two grand theft motor vehicle the defendant is guilty of Grand Theft motor vehicle count three battery the defendant is guilty of battery count for first deegree murder Diane R Ruiz the defendant is guilty of first degree murder a jury found Wade Wilson guilty on all counts including the first-degree murders of Christine Melton and Diane Ruiz the penalty phase of the capital case against Wade will begin on June 20th in this tale of one man's evil actions we take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary resilience and courage of those who dared to stand against him the brave individuals who played a vital role in ending Wade Wilson's reign of terror deserve recognition for their selfless actions and unwavering determination for example Steve even Testa who became a father in his early teen years and made the difficult choice to have him put up for adoption faced an unimaginable emotional conflict when he decided to turn his son into the police the bond between a father and son is deeply rooted in love loyalty and protection so he was likely tormented by the thought of his son facing the consequences in a capital case on the other hand Mr Testa understood the gravity of his son's actions and the urgent need to prevent further harm he felt a moral and civic responsibility to protect the community and ensure that no additional lives were lost due to Wade's violent tendencies he stepped up and made the right call similarly Melissa monz showed remarkable bravery in the face of fear her willingness to provide critical information and testify against Wade was instrumental in his arrest and conviction her actions helped to bring Justice to the families of Christine Melton and Diane Ruiz offering them some measure of peace and closure these acts of courage and integrity highlight the strength of individuals and the systems in place to uphold Justice it reminds us that it takes a village to ensure that justice prevails and that the light of humanity shines through [Music]