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'Deadpool' namesake Wade Wilson sentenced to death for murdering two women

A Florida man who named the alter ego of Marvel's Dead Pool character, was sentenced to death five years after the murder of two women.

Wade Wilson, who was convicted in June of the 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and mother of two Diane Ruiz, 43, was sentenced to death by a Florida judge on Tuesday, August 27, according to reports from the News-Press, WBBH and Fox 4.

A jury recommended the death penalty on June 25, and Judge Nicholas Thompson agreed. News-Press reported.

According to media reports, Wilson killed Melton and Ruiz within a few hours in Cape Coral, Florida in October 2019.

Fox 4 had previously reported, citing authorities, that Wilson met Melton at a bar and went home with her before strangling her the next day. The outlet reported that Wilson saw Ruiz hours later on his way home from work and asked her for directions. Her body was found dead in a parking lot after he strangled her.

Kristine Melton.

Kristine Melton/Facebook


“This case was about killing for the sake of killing,” Assistant District Attorney Andreas Gardiner said during closing arguments at his trial, Fox 4 reported. “Strangulation is the epitome of life slipping through your hands.”

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Diane Ruiz.

Diane Ruiz/Facebook


Wilson confessed to the murder and told investigators, “I would do it again,” Fox 4 reported. According to the News-Press, Wilson also called his father to confess to the murders.

After Wilson was found guilty, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore issued a statement.

“This afternoon, I sat with the families of Diane Ruiz and Kristine Melton in the Lee County Courthouse as the verdict was read: Wade Wilson was found guilty on all counts,” said Sizemore. “The families expressed their gratitude to me for the hard work of our team.”