Murder suspect Wade Wilson claims attorney-client privilege ‘may’ have been violated in self-filed petition

A man accused of terrorizing a community and going on a killing spree in a Southwest Florida community is asking to get his case dropped.

Wade Wison was indicted by a grand jury for the first-degree murder of two women in 2019, and on Wednesday he filed a petition for writ of mandamus without his attorney. Essentially, the petition is asking the court to do its job.

Wilson wants his case dropped because of the malware attack on the public defender’s office last month. He says because the information might have been leaked, it violated his attorney-client privilege.

After a grand jury indicted Wilson, he tried to escape jail in 2020.

Public Defender for the 20th Judicial Circuit Kathy Smith told WINK News she couldn’t speak to anyone’s case. But when asked for any update into the malware attack investigation, Smith said, “I know my ability to access files was blocked. I have no confirmation that any data was actually disseminated.”

Even if it were, law expert and attorney Pamella Seay say Wilson didn’t even file the paperwork correctly, so it’s likely to be thrown out.

“A person represented by counsel cannot petition the court on their own behalf. They have to go through their lawyer,” Seay explained. “And when you take a look at what was said, it may have occurred; it may have had an impact. If there is a question about whether it may or may not have occurred, that means that this is not something automatic.”

Another man in jail, Joseph Zieler, also filed a request exactly like Wilsons earlier this month. It was denied two days later.

Zieler is facing sexual assault and murder charges in a high-profile case from 1990 involving a young girl and her babysitter.

Both Wilson’s and Zieler’s attorneys told WINK News they could not comment on their client’s actions.