The case of Wade Wilson, the Florida man convicted of the brutal 2019 Cape Coral murders of two women on the same day, will be featured on Season 2 of the Netflix show “Worst Ex Ever.”
“Worst Ex Ever returns for Season 2, featuring gripping testimonials, startling bodycam footage, and vivid animated reenactments that bring harrowing tales of betrayal, violence, and deceit to life — exposing some of the most monstrous relationships and exes you’ll ever encounter,” a synopsis for the show reads on the Netflix website.
Wilson, 31, who shares his name with the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, is also at the center of the Paramount+ documentary “Handsome Devil: Charming Killer,” which was released in January 2026.
Wilson was sentenced to death in 2024 for the senseless murders of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz and currently sits on Florida’s death row.
Here’s everything to know about Florida killer Wade Wilson and how to watch Season 2 of “Worst Ex Ever”:
Convicted killer Wade Wilson featured in Netflix true-crime series
Wade Wilson, convicted in 2019 Cape Coral murders, features in Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever S2 – streams May 6.
‘Worst Ex Ever’ Season 2 release date
“Worst Ex Ever” Season 2 will stream four new 1-hour episodes on Netflix beginning on May 6 at 3 a.m. ET.
How to watch ‘Worst Ex Ever’ Season 2
‘Worst Ex Ever’ is available on Netflix with a subscription. Season 2 premieres May 6, 2026.
‘Worst Ex Ever’ Season 2 features Florida killer Wade Wilson. See trailer
How to watch ‘Handsome Devil: Charming Killer’
The Wade Wilson documentary “Handsome Devil: Charming Killer” is currently available for streaming on Paramount+ with a subscription. Plans are priced at $8.99 per month for essential to $13.99 per month for premium, with savings available for annual plans.
Watch “Handsome Devil: Charming Killer” on Paramount+
Who is Wade Wilson?
Wade Steven Wilson was born on May 20, 1994 and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida.
Wilson’s biological parents were teenagers when he was born, his biological father, Steven Testasecca, testified at his murder trial.
The couple eventually gave him up for adoption.
His adoptive parents, Cindy and Steve Wilson, addressed the court in a letter read by one of Wilson’s attorneys during sentencing.
“Wade was a joyful child. Loved his parents,” they wrote. They said Wilson became delusional after his drug addiction began.
Wade Wilson’s first appearance on first-degree murder charges
Wade Wilson has his first appearance in court via video chat from the Lee County Jail on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Fort Myers.
Amanda Inscore, [email protected]
“The system failed him on that fateful day in 2019. Please see it in your heart to not take our son.”
Wilson attended Chiles High School and has a history of arrests in Leon County dating back to 2012 on charges including sexual assault, burglary, child cruelty and firearms offenses, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
According to prison records, Wilson was incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections on burglary and grand theft convictions from Nov. 26, 2013, to Sep. 19, 2014. He served a second prison sentence for firearms theft from Oct. 17, 2017, to July 15, 2018.
- In 2015, Wilson was charged with sexual battery and kidnapping in Tallahassee but was acquitted at trial.
- In 2018, he emerged as a figure but was never charged in the Tallahassee murder conspiracy case of Denise Williams in the death of her husband Mike Williams.
- In February of 2019, a woman reported to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office that Wilson, her ex-boyfriend, beat and strangled her. According to reports, authorities did not find probable cause to arrest Wilson.
- In July of 2019, Wilson was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and charged with battery.
- In September 2019, Wilson pleaded guilty to pawning stolen property in the case involving his ex-girlfriend and was given credit for time served and probation.
What did Wade Wilson do? Crimes that sent him to death row
On Oct. 7, 2019, Wilson met Kristine Melton, 35, and her friend Stephanie Sailors at Buddah LIVE, a Fort Myers bar.
After the bar closed, Wilson and the two women went to the home of Jayson Shepard, where they stayed for several hours before leaving in the morning.
Wilson, Melton and Sailors then went to Melton’s Cape Coral home. After Sailors left, Wilson strangled Melton to death as she slept in her bed.
He stole Melton’s car and went to see his girlfriend at her Fort Myers business and tried to pull her into the car. When she fought back, he viciously attacked her. She got away and called the police.
A short time later, Wilson saw 43-year-old Diane Ruiz walking along a Cape Coral street, asked her for directions to a nearby school and lured her into Melton’s car.
When Ruiz tried to exit the car, Wilson attacked her, beating and strangling her before pushing her out of the car and running her over 10 to 20 times.
Who was Kristine Melton?
Kristine Melton grew up in Illinois and moved with a friend to Cape Coral where she worked as a waitress.
She reportedly was godmother to her cousin Samantha Catomer’s child, owned a cat and lived in a Cape Coral duplex.
Melton loved to dress up and her favorite holiday was Halloween, Catomer testified during Wilson’s trial.
Melton had a quick wit, made everyone around her feel safe and understood and “was precious, not just to me, but to everyone who knew her,” Catomer said.
Melton was 35 years old when she met Wilson at Buddah LIVE, a Fort Myers bar. After leaving the bar and spending several hours at the home of Jayson Shepard, Melton, Sailors and Wilson went to Melton’s duplex.
After Sailors left, Wilson strangled Melton to death in her sleep and stole her car.
Who was Diane Ruiz?
Diane Ruiz, 43, was a mother and engaged to be married. She was described as caring and hardworking.
Ruiz worked as a bartender at the Moose Lodge in Cape Coral and never missed a shift in five years.
Ruiz was walking to work for her 10 a.m. shift when she encountered Wilson.
A short time after killing Melton, Wilson saw Ruiz walking along a Cape Coral street and lured her into the car after asking for directions.
When she tried to leave, Wilson beat and strangled Ruiz, pushed her out of the car and ran her over repeatedly.
Her body was found in a field three days later.
How did Wade Wilson get caught, arrested?
After the murders, Wilson called his biological father Steven Testasecca several times confessing to and narrating the gruesome details of his crimes.
After initially dismissing the calls and attributing the admissions to Wilson being a “good storyteller,” Testasecca, 46, put his phone on speaker with Testasecca’s wife listening in and relaying information to police.
Testasecca asked Wilson for his location and told him he would send an Uber.
Instead, his whereabouts were provided to police who arrested Wilson on Oct. 8, 2019, at an unoccupied home he’d broken into.
Wilson was booked into the Lee County jail in Fort Myers and held there until after sentencing.
The State Attorney’s Office filed its intent to seek the death penalty on Dec. 12, 2019.
Wade Wilson attempted escape from Florida jail
In 2020, Wilson and his cellmate were accused of tampering with a window in their Lee County jail cell in an attempt to escape.
Wilson, who was reportedly the primary planner and instigator of the escape effort, also tried to set up a getaway car.
Deputies searched the 10×10 cell Wilson and his cellmate were housed in and found the window tampered with. The metal frame holding the window had been removed and there were several cracks in the thick security glass.
Wilson was charged with attempted escape and criminal mischief.
The charges were dropped in August of 2024 as part of a plea agreement involving drug charges.
Wade Wilson death penalty trial
Wade Wilson, then 30, went on trial for his life at the Lee County courthouse in Fort Myers in June 2024.
Ahead of the trial, Wilson asked the court’s permission to alter his appearance to help him look more presentable to a jury.
According to court documents, he requested to cover “numerous and varied tattoos” on his face, including “stitches,” swastikas, and other designs “that might be objectionable to members of the potential jury pool” with makeup.
He also sought permission to wear street clothes and get a haircut. The requests were granted.
Though he wore street clothes in court and appeared to have had a haircut, Wilson’s facial tattoos were conspicuously visible throughout his trial.
Jury selection began June 1, 2024. Twelve jurors and four alternates were chosen, though two were dismissed for undisclosed reasons by trial judge Nicholas Thompson on the first day of witness testimony.
After days of testimony from 29 witnesses, the prosecution rested its case on June 11. Wilson did not testify on his own behalf.
The next day, the jury found Wilson guilty on all six counts
Wade Wilson sentenced to death in Cape Coral, Florida murders
The jury reconvened June 20, 2024, for the penalty phase of Wilson’s trial, with the options of recommending sentences of life in prison without parole or death.
Florida juries don’t have to be unanimous and can recommend death with as few as 8 votes.
On June 25, 2024, the jury voted 9-3 in Melton’s case and 10-2 in Ruiz’s case in favor of the death penalty.
On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, Judge Thompson imposed the two death sentences.
Where is Wade Wilson now?
Wilson was back in court August 29, 2024, two days after receiving two death sentences for the murders of Melton and Ruiz, to resolve unrelated drug and attempted escape charges he racked up while in custody in the Lee County Jail.
His move to death row was on hold while the criminal charges he accumulated in jail were pending.
As part of a plea agreement, Wilson pleaded no contest to charges of attempted trafficking in amphetamine or methamphetamine between 28 and 200 grams and conspiracy to traffic in amphetamine or methamphetamine.
He received a 12-year sentence to run concurrently to the death sentences. Charges related to the escape attempt were dropped.
Just after 1:30 a.m. the next morning, Wilson was transferred from the Lee County jail to Florida’s death row at Union Correctional Institution.
When will Wade Wilson be executed?
Wilson’s attorneys filed an appeal after his death sentence, which went directly to the Florida Supreme Court.
If the Florida Supreme Court affirms the defendant’s conviction and sentence, most defendants will ask the United States Supreme Court to review the case, according to the Florida Attorney General’s office. This is known as a petition for writ of certiorari.
Most capital defendants continue to pursue their cases in court, even after losing their direct and discretionary appeals.
Discretionary appeals can be filed before cases even go to trial. They involve issues that may arise during or before the trial.
If Wilson loses all appeals and is denied executive clemency by the governor, he can be executed once the governor issues a death warrant.
The process can take years. Tommy Zeigler has been on Florida’s death row since 1976.
The Florida Department of Corrections lists the average as 13 to 14 years.
In 2020, the national average time from sentencing to execution was 227 months.
Kim Luciani is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s Audience team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://news-press.com/newsletters.
