A Florida judge will weigh letters, including one from an infatuated woman, when deciding whether to give the death penalty to a man with swastikas and a skeleton smile tattooed on his face who was convicted of brutally murdering two women hours apart.
Letters have started coming in pleading with Lee County Circuit Judge Nicholas R. Thompson to spare Wade Wilson, 30, after a jury decided he may face the death penalty in the killings of Cape Coral women Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, in October 2019.
“As someone who cares unconditionally for Wade, I have deeply reflected on the gravity of the situation and impact of your decision,” a lovelorn woman from Visalia, California, wrote to the judge, according to WINK.
Court records show people from as far as Canada and California have written Thompson asking him to sentence Wilson to life without parole instead of death, the outlet reported.
Another person wrote asking the judge to “impose a lighter sentence that reflects the possibility of recovery and rehabilitation,” while a third mentioned concerns for Wilson’s mental health and the difference in his state when he is on medication.
“If you look past his tattoos to his face structure since being in prison and medicated he is healthier, his face is fuller compared to his booking picture where his face is gaunt, pale and he looks unhealthy,” a mom of two from Canada wrote the judge.
The Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits a judge from considering communications made to the judge outside of the presence of the parties involved, according to the outlet.
Wilson was found guilty by a Florida jury last month of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of Melton and Ruiz.
Wilson took Melton home from a bar on Oct. 7, 2019, then strangled her and left her tied up in her home.
Ruiz was reported missing here hours later — and Wilson later told his dad that she got into his car when he asked for directions.
He then admitted strangling her before throwing her out of the car — just to get back in and run her over “until she looked like spaghetti,” jurors were told.
“I choked her out until she couldn’t breathe anymore,” Wilson had told cops of one of the murders. “I came across my mind to murder, just kill, kill, kill.”
“This case was about killing for the sake of the killing,” Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner had told the court. “Strangulation is the epitome of life slipping through someone’s hands.”
Wilson was also found guilty of grand theft, burglary of a dwelling, battery and petit theft. He was seen with tattoos still clearly visible on his face, despite being granted permission to cover them as well as get a haircut and new suit to look presentable for jurors.
Wilson is set to be sentenced on July 23.