In the quiet suburban streets of Cape Coral, Florida, on October 7, 2019, Wade Steven Wilson transformed from a local man with a troubled past into one of the state’s most notorious double murderers within the span of just a few hours. Then 25 years old, Wilson met Kristine Melton, a 35-year-old woman, and her friend at Buddha Live, a Fort Myers bar the night before. What began as an ordinary evening out quickly spiraled into unimaginable violence. After leaving with Melton to her residence, Wilson waited until she fell asleep before strangling her to death. He then stole her vehicle and drove away, leaving her body behind in a scene that investigators would later describe as calculated and cold. Hours later, while still driving the stolen car, Wilson spotted Diane Ruiz, 43, walking to work in Cape Coral. He pulled over and lured her inside under false pretenses, promising a ride.

Once she was in the vehicle, the attack began. Wilson strangled and beat Ruiz before running over her body multiple times with Melton’s car, an act so extreme that when he later recounted it to his biological father, Steven Testasecca, he used language that still reverberates through true-crime discussions years later. “She looked like spaghetti,” Wilson reportedly said during the recorded phone call, adding without hesitation or remorse, “I’m a killer. I killed two women today.” Testasecca, stunned by the graphic admission, contacted authorities, leading to Wilson’s arrest the following day at a burglarized home. Forensic evidence, phone records, Wilson’s own words, and witness statements created what prosecutors called an ironclad case. The Lee County jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder along with related charges of grand theft, battery, and burglary. In August 2024, Judge Nicholas Thompson imposed two death sentences after the jury recommended the ultimate penalty in non-unanimous votes of 9-3 and 10-2, describing the crimes as heinous, atrocious, and cruel.

Wilson’s criminal history prior to the murders already painted a pattern of escalating behavior, including convictions for burglary, grand theft, firearm theft, and battery. Raised in Tallahᴀssee after being adopted as an infant by Steve and Candace Wilson, he had long been described by those who knew him as troubled, struggling with substance issues and repeated run-ins with the law. Yet nothing in that background prepared the community for the sheer brutality of that single day in October 2019. Ruiz’s body was not discovered immediately; it was found days later in a field, circled by vultures, a detail that underscored the complete disregard for human life. Melton’s loved ones and Ruiz’s family have since spoken of the permanent void left behind, with working women who had families and futures reduced to victims of a man who showed no hesitation and no regret. As of 2026, Wilson remains on death row at Union Correctional Insтιтution in Raiford, Florida, with appeals still pending and no execution date set.

The recorded confession to his father continues to serve as one of the most disturbing pieces of evidence, not only for its content but for the casual tone in which a human being was reduced to something resembling food. Investigators and prosecutors have repeatedly emphasized that these were not impulsive acts driven by panic but deliberate, degrading killings. The “spaghetti” description, in particular, has become a grim shorthand in coverage of the case, illustrating the dehumanization at the core of Wilson’s actions that day. Families of the victims have vowed to attend any eventual execution, viewing it as the only form of finality available after years of legal proceedings. In the meantime, the facts of October 7, 2019, remain as horrifying as they were when first reported: two women ᴅᴇᴀᴅ within hours, a stolen car used as a weapon, a father forced to turn in his own son, and a killer who openly admitted he was capable of repeating the acts. The case stands as a stark reminder of how quickly ordinary surroundings can become the setting for extraordinary cruelty when opportunity meets a complete absence of empathy.