Judge announces no new murder trial against Wade Wilson

It took a judge just under a month to rule that a Fort Myers man convicted of the brutal murder of two Cape Coral women in 2019 will not receive a retrial.

Lee Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Thompson on Thursday denied a request for a retrial by Wade Wilson, 30, who was convicted in the deaths of 35-year-old Kristine Melton and 43-year-old Diane Ruiz.

A jury recommended that Wilson be sentenced to death on June 25, by votes of 9 to 3 for each of the victims and 10 to 2 for each. The same jury found him guilty on June 12 of the murders of Melton and Ruiz, as well as other charges related to those crimes.

Wilson's sentencing, originally scheduled for July 23, was postponed to August 27 during a hearing on July 19.

The defense had previously argued that Wilson had suffered several head injuries during his childhood and youth while playing various sports.

Before Wilson's sentencing at 1 p.m. on August 27, Thompson was granted time to rule on pending motions during a hearing at 9 a.m. the same day.

Tomas Rodriguez is a breaking/live news reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Reach Tomas at [email protected] or 772-333-5501. Reach him on threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.