Wade Wilson’s automatic death penalty appeal begins

The man convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of two Cape Coral women has begun his first of many appeals to the death sentence he got last year.

Wade Wilson was in court Monday, as his first automatic appeal hearing took place in Fort Myers.

Monday’s hearing was another step in the automatic appeals process for the man convicted of killing Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz, both of Cape Coral.

During Monday’s court, Michael Ufferman, appellate counsel for Wilson, said that all of the transcripts that have been requested have now been filed.

“The next step is for the circuit court clerk to compile a record of appeal based on those transcripts,” Ufferman said.

With transcripts of Wilson’s June 2024 trial successfully filed, the circuit court clerk in charge of that next step told WINK News he should have that record wrapped up by the end of the day Tuesday.

Back in August, Wilson was sentenced to death for the murders.

It was an emotional trial with the family of the two women breaking down about their loved ones.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, since September of 2024, there have been a number of disciplinary reports documenting Wilson’s behavior, he has received at least ten violations.

There are several reports of Wilson disobeying orders, A few weeks later another violation for unauthorized use of drugs.

The most recent infraction was less than a month ago for misusing state property.