Convicted double-murderer Wade Wilson was back in court this week, as his attorney asked a judge for a brain scan before his sentencing later this month.
According to FOX 4, his lawyer Lee Hollander claimed a doctor found possible traumatic brain injury indications with his client — and wants to know for certain before he’s sentenced on August 27. “So in order to find it, or not find it, [the doctor] recommended a radiological work up for traumatic brain injury,” Hollander said in a hearing.
Testing would include an MRI, diffusion tensor imaging and NeuroQuant. The prosecution didn’t object, so the motion was granted. The results are expected before Wilson’s Spencer hearing — during which both the prosecution and defense can present further evidence and make legal arguments as to the sentence.
A jury already recommended the death penalty in Wilson’s case back in July, after he was found guilty of two counts of First-Degree Murder, as well as Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Battery, Burglary of a Dwelling, and First-Degree Petit Theft by the same jury back in June.
Wilson, 30, was found guilty after just two hours of deliberation — following a trial which saw the heavily-tattooed criminal reportedly attempt to cover up swastika ink, as well as skeletal markings around his mouth, with makeup. His tattoos have increased with his time behind bars, with two swastikas, a “Why So Serious? Ha Ha Ha” tattoo likely inspired by the Joker and others all appearing on his face after his arrest.
He’s been dubbed as the “Deadpool Killer,” as he shares a name with the Marvel superhero made famous by Ryan Reynolds’ movies.
According to the prosecution, Wilson murdered Kristine Melton, 35, in her home on October 7, 2019 after the two had taken drugs and slept together. He then allegedly stole her car and used her cell phone to contact another woman, Melissa Montanez, 41; reportedly his girlfriend. After meeting up with her, Wilson allegedly assaulted Montanez and fled in Melton’s car.
He then encountered Diane Ruiz, 43, in Cape Coral while asking for directions, according to the case, and murdered her by strangulation, running her over repeatedly with Melton’s car “until she looked like spaghetti,” per what his father testified Wilson told him during the trial.
According to Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, Ruiz’s body was found only because vultures were circling it. She was found dead in Melton’s car, abandoned in a field near her home. Her family had to ID her by tattoos on her back due to advanced decomposition, per the prosecution.
After murdering Ruiz, Gardiner told the jury, Wilson went into a restaurant covered in blood and told the owner, described as an acquaintance, that he’d killed two women. But when the owner called 911, the prosecution noted, Wilson fled. They then argued he broke into the home of a couple who were out of town, completing his deadly crime spree.
Wilson was reportedly expressionless as the guilty verdicts were read. “There is no situation where he’s going to be walking the streets. An animal like this needs to be put away,” Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore told local Fox affiliate WFTX.
Like the jury, the State is also requesting the judge impose a death sentence.
