Who Is Wade Wilson? The ‘Deadpool Killer’ Got Tattoos to Look Like a Comic Book Character
With the appearance of a Marvel antihero and a volatile temper, the Florida resident’s real-life crimes were far darker than fiction, erupting into a deadly rampage that shocked the Sunshine State six years ago.
Published: October 07, 2025Last Updated: October 08, 2025
Wade Wilson’s 2024 conviction for the brutal murders of two women in Cape Coral, Fla., sent shockwaves through the community. Dubbed the Deadpool Killer by the media—due to his name and resemblance to the Marvel antihero—Wilson’s chilling lack of remorse made the case all the more disturbing.
Wilson, 30 at the time of sentencing, was found guilty of the October 2019 murders of 35-year-old Kristine Melton and 43-year-old Diane Ruiz. In August 2024, a Florida judge sentenced him to death following a jury’s recommendation for capital punishment, making it one of the state’s most high-profile murder cases in recent years.
Who Is Wade Wilson?
Wade Steven Wilson was born in 1994 to teenage parents who struggled to provide a stable home. Shortly after his birth, he was adopted by a family in Cape Coral, Fla. From an early age, Wilson showed signs of emotional turmoil and behavioral problems. Friends and family recalled a childhood marked by frequent school suspensions, escalating aggression and early drug use.
Despite efforts to help him through counseling and rehabilitation programs, Wilson’s troubles only deepened as he grew older. By his 20s, Wilson had amassed a long criminal record filled with arrests for violent offenses, child cruelty and domestic incidents. Friends and family described him as someone who could be charming one moment but quickly turn volatile the next. His troubled upbringing and growing instability painted the picture of a young man spiraling out of control, setting the stage for his violent crimes.
Crime Central
True crime, all the time. Stream 2,000+ episodes of chilling true crime series.
A Deadly Night in Cape Coral
Wilson’s deadly spree began on October 7, 2019. That night he went to a local bar with his girlfriend, Mila Montanez, but the couple, who had a volatile relationship, quarreled while at the bar. While there, Wilson befriended Jayson Shepard, and the two men struck up a conversation with Kristine Melton and her best friend, Stephanie Johnson. Wilson and Melton hit it off, and after the bar closed, the group went back to Shepard’s home where Wilson and Melton were intimate before Wilson, Johnson and Melton returned to Melton’s home. Sometime after Shepard left in the early morning hours, Wilson strangled Melton in her bed, stole her car and fled.
That morning, he violently assaulted Montanez at her workplace before finding his next victim a few hours later. He spotted Diane Ruiz walking to her nearby job and asked her help in locating a local school. After he’d lured her into his car under false pretenses, he strangled her. When he went to bury her body, he found she was still breathing and ran over her repeatedly with Melton’s car.
Wilson then made a chilling confession to his biological father, Steven Testasecca, in a series of phone calls, admitting he had killed the two women and providing gruesome details about their deaths. Testasecca immediately contacted law enforcement and Wilson was arrested that evening. Wilson later told detectives he “would do it again” when it came to his crimes.
A Texas Woman’s Boyfriend Killed Her for Not Wanting to Have His Baby
Adam Byrd murdered Jade Alyssa Alvarez in 2023.
Becoming the ‘Deadpool Killer’
In between his arrest and his trial in 2024, Wilson dramatically altered his appearance by getting a series of tattoos on his face and neck, including several that experts have linked with white supremacist groups.
The tattoos also include references to several comic book films, including The Dark Knight and Deadpool. Wilson shares the same name with the fictional Marvel antihero portrayed on screen by Ryan Reynolds. That, along with his physical resemblance to the character, contributed to the media dubbing him the “Deadpool Killer.”
Wilson even continued his criminal activities behind bars. In 2020, he organized a failed escape attempt that saw him and his cellmate trying to remove the bars of their cell. In 2023, Wilson was implicated in a drug-smuggling plot. Shortly after his murder conviction, Wilson pled no contest on the drug charges, receiving an additional sentence of 12 years for attempted trafficking of amphetamine or methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to traffic.
Trial and Imprisonment
In June 2024, after a multi-week trial, a jury found Wilson guilty on six counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, grand theft, burglary and battery. The evidence was overwhelming, including eyewitnesses, phone records, DNA found in the crime scene and Melton’s car and Wilson’s own confessions.
The jury recommended the death penalty. During the sentencing process, a neurologist working with Wilson’s defense team presented evidence that Wilson had suffered from brain trauma and cognitive issues for years, which might have contributed to his impulsive behavior. However, the judge dismissed a defense motion for a retrial or acquittal and sentenced Wilson to death in August 2024.
Despite the brutality of his crimes, Wilson has gained a small but vocal group of supporters—some drawn in by his resemblance to the character of Deadpool, others by his courtroom image and rebellious persona. This phenomenon mirrors the disturbing public interest seen with other killers like Ted Bundy or Richard Ramirez, where notoriety breeds fascination and, in some cases, misguided admiration.
Wilson himself has repeatedly claimed he was framed, insisting in letters and brief court comments that he was “set up” and wrongly accused and that Melton and Ruiz were murdered by an underground trafficking group. Wilson stated that he only confessed to the murders to protect his family from harm.
Despite the cartoonish nickname and comic book associations, Wilson’s crimes were anything but fictional. Behind the tattoos and pop culture nods was a deeply disturbed man who preyed on vulnerable women. Now, after years of delay and legal wrangling, the man known as the “Deadpool Killer” continues to serve his sentence at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla.
News
“NEW EVIDENCE SURFACES: THE TWIST IN KURT’S DEATH” Decades later, new details are emerging about Cobain’s last days that could change everything. Some experts now believe there was more to his death than the official narrative suggests. Was the quiet isolation really just depression, or could there have been foul play? Could the timeline have been manipulated to fit a different story altogether? 📌 Full story in the comments
Home where Kurt Cobain committed suicide 27 years ago gets new owner The Seattle home where Kurt Cobain took his own life gets a new owner 23 years later.Getty Images The Seattle home where Kurt Cobain took his own life over 27 years ago has found a new owner, The Post can report. The Nirvana frontman […]
“THE NOTE, THE WALLET… AND THE SILENCE.” A haunting scene inside Kurt Cobain’s greenhouse: a handwritten note, drugs, and a wallet on the floor. His final moments remain a chilling enigma. Investigators say the note gave no clear answers, and the surrounding evidence only added to the mystery. Sources close to the case hint at the personal struggles he faced—but what happened in those final hours? What did Kurt know… and what did he leave unsaid? 📌 Full story in the comments
Police release picture of Kurt Cobain suicide shotgun Seattle Police Detective Mike Ciesynski holds shotgun used in Kurt Cobain suicide Seattle Police Department CNN — In another attempt to quell conspiracy theories about the death of Kurt Cobain, authorities are showing a key piece of evidence from the sad chapter in rock music history. Cobain, 27, […]
“ONE HONK… AND TWO LIVES WERE LOST.” What started as a small, everyday interaction in a parking lot quickly spiraled into tragedy. A simple honk—and then, the unimaginable happened. Ava Woodcock, 22, was fatally shot by a stranger. The incident took her life and the life of her unborn child, leaving loved ones devastated and searching for answers. What could drive someone to take such a violent step over something so small? Investigators are now looking into the motive behind this senseless act… 📌 Full story in the comments
Pregnant Woman, Her Unborn Child Fatally Shot After She Allegedly Honked Her Horn in Kentucky Parking Lot.H971 Pregnant Woman, Her Unborn Child Fatally Shot After She Allegedly Honked Her Horn in Kentucky Parking Lot It started with something so small, so ordinary, so easily forgotten in the rhythm of everyday life, a simple honk of […]
“TWO GAP YEAR TRAGEDIES, BUT WHAT’S REALLY BEHIND THESE SIMILAR DEATHS?” Orla’s family made the decision to donate her organs, saving lives, but the connection between her death and her cousin William’s is becoming impossible to ignore. Is there something supernatural or sinister that ties their deaths together, or is it just an incredible series of coincidences? 📌 Full story in the comments
What Is a Double Funeral? People have heard of double weddings, but a double funeral? Even though this idea may seem strange, double funerals are actually not that uncommon in certain situations. Directors of funeral homes in Elgin, SC. share more about these events and when they might be the most appropriate choice. What is a […]
“A FATE REPEATED… 30 YEARS LATER.” Two young lives. Two gap year tragedies. One haunting similarity. Orla Wates, just 19, lost her life in a motorcycle crash while on a trip to Vietnam. Her cousin, William, met a tragic end in Honduras nearly 30 years ago, also at the age of 19. Now, as Orla’s family faces the heartbreak of losing another child, the echoes of William’s death linger. Was it fate, or something darker at play? 📌 Full story in the comments
Tycoon’s daughter Orla Wates died in gap year tragedy 30 years after her cousin was killed on HIS gap year The death of a building tycoon’s daughter in a motorbike crash in Vietnam is the second gap year tragedy to rock one of Britain’s wealthiest families, the Daily Mail can reveal. Orla Wates, 19, […]
“THE SECOND LETTER FOUND… AND THE TRUTH BEHIND IT.” In a quiet home in Mosman Park, a tragedy unfolded that left a community in shock. Police have confirmed the discovery of not one, but TWO letters. The second letter, unlike the first, is deeply chilling. It detailed a heartbreakingly specific plan for life after death… Investigators are now piecing together the devastating intentions behind these notes. Why was the second letter hidden? What was left unsaid? 📌 Full story in the comments
SAD NEWS : “WE HAD PREPARED EVERYTHING🥹”Police have reveɑled the contents of a SECOND letter found at the home in the Mosman Park trɑgedy, laying out a HEARTBREAKING plan and DETAILED financial wishes for after their pɑssιng 😱👇 SAD NEWS: “We had prepared everything…” — Second letter deepens heartbreak in Mosman Park tragedy The community […]
End of content
No more pages to load
