Ep. 52 - The Murders of Wade Wilson | No Remorse, No Reason

On October 7th, 2019, two women lost their lives within hours of each other in Cape Coral, Florida.

Kristine Melton.
 Diane Ruiz.

What makes this case especially disturbing isn’t just the violence…

it’s the absence of emotion behind it.

In this episode of Veil of Echoes, we examine the murders committed by Wade Wilson, a man whose actions and words left investigators searching for answers that may never come.

Through recorded phone calls, courtroom testimony, and a timeline that unfolded in a single day, this case reveals something far more unsettling than motive:

a complete lack of remorse.

We also explore the psychological questions surrounding the case, including brain trauma, substance abuse, and the disturbing phenomenon of criminals being romanticized by the public.

Because sometimes the most terrifying stories…

are the ones we can’t explain.

🎧 CONTENT WARNING:
This episode contains discussions of violence, including murder. Listener discretion is advised.

📅 Next Episode (Friday):
Slender Man — When fiction becomes real… and belief turns dangerous.

📚 SHOW NOTES + SOURCES

📰 Case Information:

•  Law & Crime Network — Coverage of Wade Wilson case 
•  Court records & trial reporting (Lee County, Florida) 
•  Fox News / CBS News / NBC2 — Case updates and arrest details 
•  Oxygen / True Crime Daily — Case breakdowns 

🧠 Psychological / Background:

•  Testimony regarding neurological trauma and concussions 
•  Court proceedings discussing substance abuse and behavioral patterns 

📞 Audio Sources Used in This Episode:

•  Recorded jail phone calls obtained through public record / media coverage 
•  Law enforcement interrogation summaries and court testimony excerpts 
•  Statements made by Wade Wilson as reported in court proceedings 

(Audio clips used under fair use for commentary, education, and reporting.)

⚠️ Listener Note:

Some details in this case are based on court testimony and reported statements. Interpretations of motive and psychology remain subject to ongoing legal and expert analysis.

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🕯️ New episodes drop every Monday (True Crime) & Friday (Paranormal) — where true crime meets the supernatural.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Beneath the ordinary world lies a veil, and behind it, the voices of the lost still whisper.

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We are your guides into the shadows, where true crime meets the paranormal.

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From chilling crimes to haunted histories, we uncover the stories that refuse to rest. This is Vale of Echoes. I mean, I ran over her with a fucking car a hundred times, you know.

SPEAKER_05 0:41

Listen to that again. No hesitation, no emotion, no choice of what most people would feel after taking away. Because by the time that call was recorded, two women were already dead. He wasn't running. He wasn't even high. He was talking about it. Welcome back to Veil of Echoes, the podcast where true cry meets the unexplained, and where some stories leave behind more than just questions.

SPEAKER_04 1:40

Each week we step into cases that unsettle us. Crimes that don't always make sense, and people who don't always behave the way we expect them to.

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We look at the timelines, the evidence, and the psychology behind what happened. And sometimes what didn't.

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We're your host, I'm Lindsay.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

I'm Zach.

SPEAKER_05 2:05

And I'm Bria. Before we begin, this episode discusses multiple acts of violence, including murder. Some details may be disturbing, unless in our discretion is advised.

SPEAKER_04 2:18

And if you've been listening to Veil of Echoes, following the show or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify really does help us grow.

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It takes less than a minute, but it helps these stories reach more people.

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And we appreciate you more than you know.

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To understand what happened in this case, we have to go back to October 2019. Cape Coral, Florida. A normal day, a normal city.

SPEAKER_05 2:53

And a man who would cross paths with two women who had no idea what kind of person they were about to meet.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Wade Stephen Wilson was twenty-five years old. Living in Florida. At first glance, there was nothing that immediately stood out. No headline. Just another person moving through his day.

SPEAKER_04 3:30

Wade was born on May 20th, 1994, to teenage parents. He was later adopted and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, a place where he spent most of his childhood.

SPEAKER_05 3:44

Growing up, people who knew him would later describe him as troubled. Not in a way that always drew attention, but in ways that showed up over time.

SPEAKER_04 4:09

In later years, Wade would point to those injuries as part of the reason he felt unstable.

SPEAKER_05 4:17

Which I guess I could see.

SPEAKER_04 4:19

I mean, they do they do say when you have some traumatic brain injuries, it can cause this kind of shit.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

And multiple accounts.

SPEAKER_04 4:29

Yeah. Yeah, he he grew up troubled.

SPEAKER_05 4:33

Oh yeah. Neurologists also noted that Wilson experienced at least two concussions while playing sports as a child. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 4:45

I mean it can cause that shit, so. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

A little roughness.

SPEAKER_05 4:48

Well, who was it who fell off the was it Albert Fish who fell off the tree when he was a kid?

SPEAKER_04 4:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 4:54

Yeah, and they blamed.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

I mean, it can cause chemical imbalance. I mean, depending on which way you've hit your head and the way your brain smacks your skull. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:08

I mean, I can see it causing a lot of Oh, definitely. A lot of emotional chemical issues.

SPEAKER_05 5:18

By 2012, his encounters with law enforcement had already begun. Burglary, assault, and firearm-related offenses.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

In 2013, he was sentenced to prison for burglary and grand theft. Serving time until 2014.

SPEAKER_05 5:36

So he was 19 then. So he's a year behind us. Yeah. Geez. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:46

And after his release, the pattern didn't stop. It escalated.

SPEAKER_05 5:52

In 2015, he faced charges of sexual battery and kidnapping. After a woman accused him of assaulting her. He was later acquitted. But the accusation remained part of his history.

SPEAKER_03 6:07

By 2017, he was incarcerated again.

SPEAKER_04 6:19

Even while incarcerated, his name surfaced in connection to something else. An alleged murder for hire plot. A claim that he had been offered money to carry out an attack after his release.

SPEAKER_05 6:42

She initially accused him of more, but those charges were not pursued. Due to lack of evidence and an existing no contact order.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

By July of 2019, just months before the murders, Wade Wilson was arrested again. But this time for battery.

SPEAKER_04 7:04

Looking back, it's easy to connect the dots, to see the pattern, and to recognize the escalation.

SPEAKER_05 7:11

But in real time, those moments were scattered. Separate incidents, separate warnings that never fully came together.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

Nothing that clearly said this person would go on to take two lives.

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Until October 6th, 2019.

SPEAKER_04 7:32

The first person Wade Wilson encountered that day was Christine Melton.

SPEAKER_05 7:38

Christine was 35 years old. A mother, a woman with a life rooted in the people around her. Someone who had built connections that extended far beyond a single moment.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

She lived in Cape Coral, Florida.

SPEAKER_05 8:04

On October 7th, 2019, Christine met Wade Wilson. They spent time together. Talking, driving, an interaction that didn't immediately raise concern.

SPEAKER_04 8:17

At some point, they went back to Christine's home.

SPEAKER_05 8:25

And at some point that night, their interaction became more personal, more familiar, the kind of moment where trust is assumed. And that's what makes what happened next even harder to understand.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

And somewhere inside that home, the dynamic changed. There was no public argument. No clear escalation anyone could see.

SPEAKER_04 8:54

Mm-hmm. Big time anger issues.

SPEAKER_05 8:58

I mean, just listen to his interviews. Makes me want to punch him in the face.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

His face makes me want to punch him in the face. I know. Him sitting in the courtroom just smiling and half cocky, like I'm gonna get away with this bullshit. No, you ain't motherfucker. You ain't gonna get away with shit. You've been. You've been getting away with some shit, but it ain't happening no more. You done fucked up. Yeah, people thought he was good looking.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

Like, what in the fuck could have happened that made you do what you did?

SPEAKER_05 9:28

Well, he was always a troublemaker, obviously.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Yeah. But just his defense on like, what could he have like there's nothing they could have said that could have led to this escalation of violence. No. To run somebody over like that.

SPEAKER_05 9:42

Well, because he had anger issues.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Exactly. Like I don't think the CTE was the only problem.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

Oh, I feel like he was also very sexist.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

I think his anger issues probably led to a CTE because he was playing too violent doing sports. Like, there's no reason for you to be that rough. Like, you can tackle somebody and put them down. There's no reason to try to break yourself in the process.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

No. Investigators later determined that Wade Wilson strangled Christine Melton inside her own home.

SPEAKER_03 10:17

After killing her, he didn't call for help. He didn't leave immediately.

SPEAKER_04 10:24

He stayed. He used her phone, drove her car, moved through the rest of the day as if nothing had happened.

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No urgency, no visible panic.

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Just continuing on. And just hours later, he would encounter someone else.

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The second victim was Diane Ruiz.

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Diane was 43 years old, a mother of two and a bartender. Someone who had lived a full life with responsibilities, with people who knew her and with people who loved her.

SPEAKER_04 11:08

Her life wasn't without challenges, but she was still someone who mattered. Still someone who was here.

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Alone.

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Moving through her day with no reason to believe anything was wrong.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

At some point, Wade pulled over and offered her a ride.

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She got into the car.

SPEAKER_05 11:48

There was no visible threat, no raised voice, and no sign of what had already happened earlier that day.

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No way for her to know that she was sitting next to someone who had already taken a life.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

At some point during that drive, Wade Wilson strangled Diana Ruiz.

SPEAKER_05 12:11

Then he drove over her body multiple times.

SPEAKER_04 12:17

Two women hours apart, both killed by the same person.

SPEAKER_03 12:23

Two separate encounters. Two moments of trust. Both ending the same way.

SPEAKER_04 12:39

Oh, absolutely. Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_05 12:41

And that's what sucks for people who say they actually need help, and now you see people like that, and you can't help but think about it.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

I don't know how this dude looked one bit of trusting at all myself. I mean, I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover.

SPEAKER_05 12:55

Well, he didn't have the tattoos yet.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

I mean, I'm sorry. If you got like regular tattoos, I'm like, cool, but when you're fucking got some weird shit going on your face, he didn't have those yet. He didn't have them yet? That was just before.

SPEAKER_05 13:06

I know he was.

SPEAKER_04 13:08

I think he was on the process too of working on his neck.

SPEAKER_05 13:11

Yeah, because I noticed he didn't have them on his face yet. Yeah, he was like prison.

SPEAKER_04 13:15

Yeah, he was going through the process of his neck getting tattooed. Um, and then when he was in prison, he did the the half, because it is it I think the one half of his face is supposed to be Florida. He's stupid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 13:28

Well, he just looked like a troublemaker.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

I don't know how he looked one bit of trusting. I didn't know he didn't have the tattoos before then.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

No, he did that to be a dick. Yeah, he did that in in prison because then he also had swastika's tattooed on him. Yeah. Because he's a neo-Nazi. Because he's a piece of shit.

SPEAKER_03 13:46

Yeah, it's just it does. It makes you think.

SPEAKER_05 13:48

He really thought he was gonna get away with all this shit.

SPEAKER_03 13:50

Oh yeah, he should be around.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

Oh my god, I was watching the video where they were trying to like one time they were trying to arrest him for s I don't remember, but he would not get out of the fucking car, and then he just took off. I'm like, you fucking idiot. Get out of the car. That's and then the cops chased me.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

You can't really plead for insanity when you fucking No You said you ran over multiple times.

SPEAKER_05 14:11

Like spaghetti.

SPEAKER_03 14:12

Yeah. Like if you're just like, I don't know, like there's no reason to run somebody over. And the dude multiple times is like, bro, you did that on purpose. You can't even be like, it was an accident. How the fuck?

SPEAKER_04 14:24

Yeah. It was an accident. I just kept driving.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Like running over somebody's foot's an accident. Running over a whole person is not an accident.

SPEAKER_04 14:32

No, and it it's like I have a feeling that he honestly, after he did it, he probably just laughed.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

That's one description I wish I would have just heard from like not him, because the way he said it was just like, alright, bro, that's disrespectful and ignorant. Like, I know that's how you are, but come on. Yeah, ran her over until she was like, I ran her ran her over multiple times. That's it. You could have just stopped there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:57

Ran her over until she looked like spaghetti. Like.

SPEAKER_05 15:00

And he still don't have no remorse.

SPEAKER_03 15:02

Well no, she's not going to.

SPEAKER_05 15:04

That's not because the first critic, I think I think they had sex too.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

Like you're the one that brought the story to my attention. I don't didn't really ever pay attention to the what was going on back here.

SPEAKER_04 15:17

He fucked up. And and I'm sorry, who followed his case and thought he was attractive and didn't deserve any of this. You've got problems yourself. I understand. The dude was a good-looking guy. He really was. You stupid. But to sit there and sexualize him after what he did to two women, absolutely fucking not.

SPEAKER_05 15:40

Oh, it's like not even him. Like people like Marilyn uh Marilyn Manson, Charles Manson. How you know this woman from Missouri got married too, like. Before shortly before he died. I don't know, but like or Ted Bundy, for example.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

Getting married on trial and shit.

SPEAKER_05 15:59

Or um Jeffrey Dahmer, even, like, everyone was.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

The Ted Bundy one got me too, because like you just listened to him like confess to murdering 16 something plus people, and you're like, I'll still marry you.

SPEAKER_04 16:13

I'll still bed you down. I still yeah. She's like, fuck why not? No, if you find any type of serial killer d remotely attractive, you've got psychological problems that you need checked out.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yeah, because that's I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 16:31

Because if you come up to me and tell me, oh well, he was a good looking guy, I don't give two shits what he looked like. He fucking ran a woman over.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Like, of course it's different until you figure it out.

SPEAKER_04 16:43

Like, once you learn and you know what he's done, then it's like uh But even the people that have learned and known that they've done and they're still like, oh my gosh, he is so good looking, he doesn't deserve No. Then go be in there, go be in there with them. See see how you like it in there with them.

SPEAKER_05 16:58

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Like, he's a I hope he's just so cocky and he just uh I hope he is the I don't know, the runner of the prison. I hope he is his bitch. I just hope he's miserable every day. I really hope he is too.

SPEAKER_03 17:20

There's something definitely dementia. If you're just going on a date with somebody and then oh, all of a sudden you've seen somebody who needed a ride, and now they're both dead.

unknown 17:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

Fucking stupid ass motherfucker is what he is.

SPEAKER_03 17:32

Wasn't he driving in the one's vehicle when he found the other one?

SPEAKER_05 17:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

That's what that's from what we were just going over, that's what I remember. Is after he murdered her, he was parading around in her car like nothing happened, and that's when he came across her needing a ride.

SPEAKER_05 17:50

And he didn't even have a reason, he just randomly decided to pick her up.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

What the f there's never a reason, but what the f Just be like, I was bored, so I wanted to murder somebody. Like, what is going on?

SPEAKER_05 18:03

Yeah, it says after he strangled her, he drove over her body until it was disfigured.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

It's hard to deny some of the arguments they have about like uh leaving her body in a field.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

No, of course, he left the body.

SPEAKER_03 18:18

Like, if somebody's gonna do it, they're gonna do it. I don't think anything really influences him. I think they're just demented that they're already on that path.

SPEAKER_05 18:26

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

It's just sad because there's no reason. Just two innocent people trying to get through their day.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

Cause yeah, it's an asshole. Oh, but he's just so attractive, guys.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

I made everybody on edge.

SPEAKER_05 18:41

Like, you're never like especially at the point where I'm sorry, his so gross.

SPEAKER_03 18:46

This was 2019, correct?

SPEAKER_05 18:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

And that's like in the mist, like, we're three or four years into Uber and Lyft booming, so now like people can't even pull up to do their job anymore without you being like, what the fuck are you doing here? Yeah, why would you pull up on me, Dick? You don't look the same.

SPEAKER_04 19:03

Your picture doesn't look like what Uber sent me.

SPEAKER_03 19:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:05

Ew, have you listened to his phone calls with his girlfriends and stuff like that? Yeah, she's like disturbing.

SPEAKER_04 19:11

It's gross how he And she was like agreeing with them, but then would take the information back to the investigative team. And then his dad also testified against him, but his he had phone calls with his dad, where his dad's like, we're gonna get you out.

SPEAKER_05 19:27

I'm like, no the fuck you wait. Sounds like his dad just is nuts. I'm like, the f dude, except his dad the one who he called on him, I thought.

SPEAKER_04 19:36

Yeah, yeah. And his dad testified against him, but there there was calls, prison calls between the two where he was like, Oh, well, we're gonna do this and we're gonna try and it's like no.

SPEAKER_05 19:45

Yeah, leave your piece of shit to son where you're gonna be.

SPEAKER_04 19:47

Leave him there. Like, right. Come on, gross. He killed two women for no fucking reason because he's fucking psychopath. Exactly. He doesn't deserve to be in society. And he has no remorse. No.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Dahmer's dad didn't even try to be like, I'm gonna get you out. He was just like, he fucked up, dude.

SPEAKER_04 20:04

Yeah, he was just like so bad for his dad.

SPEAKER_03 20:06

Well, yeah, because he tried to do that.

SPEAKER_04 20:07

But I mean, even his dad had admitted that he knew he played a part in in Jeffree's issues because of doing the whole taxidermy stuff with within.

SPEAKER_05 20:18

But you wouldn't think like, oh, my son's gonna end up with a lot of things. No, you wouldn't think that. You know, so he's like, I would have never done that.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

There's so many things that you just don't think about in everyday life.

SPEAKER_05 20:27

He would have probably found something else to do, you know. He would always find his way to what happened he did.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

It would have always been someone else's fault.

SPEAKER_05 20:34

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

Well, if he wouldn't have done this around here. Well, but he took full accountability for what he was doing. He thought he was wrong for it and needed to be locked up, but I mean he still continued to do it while he wasn't locked up, so he was just kind of fucked up.

SPEAKER_04 20:49

Yeah. Well, it's kind of like that Ashley Parmeley girl. She just got let off with a slap on the wrist. I'm sorry, she's in a mental facility. No, she does not deserve to be in any mental facility. Aren't they like she needs to be executed? I say firing squad. Or actually medieval times her devices. Fucking put her on a fucking board, string her fucking legs over, string her fucking arms over, and then start fucking pulling those shits apart. Actually, do it the way they used to do it with the horses. They would take horses, dude. We need to do an episode Wild Winds Days.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Well, for people like her, they need a slow, slow like the Brahmin Bull thing.

SPEAKER_05 21:33

Oh yeah. I can't think of I can't think of that without thinking of Antonio. Well, I mean Isn't that what was in that movie?

SPEAKER_03 21:41

If you're gonna do something like that to your own children, there's no other way for you but slow torture.

SPEAKER_04 21:46

It was a giant ass Satan statue with a penis. Oh my god. Remember the penis sticking up from Yes, I forgot about that part to the mention.

SPEAKER_05 21:56

Oh, she thinks it's funny too.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

I think that was the worst decision we all ever collectively agreed to. That was the sad part. That's funny. I mean, none of us were cursed, so I think we're alright. I don't know now. Shit, weird shit's been. I mean, you know, I it it may have just been cursed because of what was done to the movie.

SPEAKER_05 22:22

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 22:24

It's funny.

SPEAKER_05 22:27

By the time it was over, he would call someone and admit to everything.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Not long after the murders, Wade Wilson made a phone call to his biological father.

SPEAKER_05 22:42

During that call, he confessed, telling him that he had killed two women.

SPEAKER_04 22:49

His father and his stepmother didn't hesitate. They contacted police immediately.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

The following day, Wade Wilson was arrested. He was found driving Christine's car, but still moving through life, as if nothing had happened.

SPEAKER_05 23:09

And when questioned by investigators, his responses weren't what you might expect. There was no visible remorse, no emotional reaction to what he had done.

SPEAKER_04 23:23

At one point, he described Diane's body after running over her and compared it to spaghetti.

SPEAKER_03 23:35

Not as a moment of shock, but not with hesitation. But casually. As if he wasn't talking about a person at all.

SPEAKER_05 23:45

And during questioning, he said something else. He told investigators he would be willing to do it again. No anger, no remorse. Just nothing.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

As the case moved into court, the focus shifted. Not just what to Wade Wilson did, but why.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

I don't know, but I'm gonna start comparing this guy as Wade Wilson, whereas Deadpool's gonna be Wade fucking Wilson. There we go.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

Well, I mean, well, we got Wade Wilson, Deadpool 91. This dude was born in 94, so they probably named him after him.

SPEAKER_04 24:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:35

And he is a mouthy motherfucker.

SPEAKER_04 24:37

Yep. Yeah. He doesn't care. No, Deadpool doesn't care. But I like Deadpool. I don't like it. Deadpool is your anti-hero hero. Well, this guy's just a shitty fuck. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Who decided to do something because he was abored.

SPEAKER_04 24:51

Deadpool has some sort of morals. This guy does not. He has some sort of morals. I mean, deep down inside Deadpool, there's morals.

SPEAKER_03 24:58

Yeah, they're down there.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

But this guy turned saving his girlfriend. Yeah. But this guy, nah. He ain't got shit. No.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

He saved Logan.

SPEAKER_05 25:10

Fucked up. During trial, his defense introduced evidence of brain trauma, multiple concussions, neurological damage that experts said could impact impulse control.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

Bullshit.

SPEAKER_05 25:27

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_04 25:30

But the prosecution argued something else. That his behavior was driven less by injury and more by drug use. Maybe. Can definitely add to it.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 25:45

Two explanations. Neither of them changing what happened.

SPEAKER_05 25:51

In court, his father testified, repeating what Wade had told him on the phone.

SPEAKER_04 25:59

That after strangling Diane, he ran her over again. Because she wasn't dead yet.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

And when he asked why, Wade didn't offer an explanation.

SPEAKER_05 26:12

He said, I just wanted to do it.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Yeah. She got in the fucking car with you?

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that was it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

No motive. No gain. No emotion.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

Just the desire to kill.

SPEAKER_05 26:36

The jury recommended the death penalty. Nine jurors for Christine. Ten for Diane.

SPEAKER_04 26:45

And the judge agreed. Two death sentences.

SPEAKER_03 26:49

The case drew national attention. Some people pointed to his brain injuries, but others focused on the brutality of the crimes. But not all the attention was outrage.

SPEAKER_05 27:04

Some of it was admiration.

SPEAKER_04 27:08

There were women who began writing to him, sending letters, expressing attraction, and even support. Yeah. Yes, he was a good looking guy, I will admit. But to sit there and say and plead out.

SPEAKER_05 27:29

Like why would you fucking write to a murderer say you're what?

SPEAKER_04 27:33

You're sexy.

SPEAKER_05 27:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:35

Like fuck you. I think they have some issues themselves. Exactly. They need to go sit down in a mental ward and have their brains fucking scanned to see what where the fucking holes in the brain are coming from demented against the attractive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

And the thing is that they don't think it's gonna happen to them. Like, no. This is just two random people.

SPEAKER_04 27:56

Yeah, if he just oh, it it was just two people, he would have continued to do it.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Right. Two people from most accounts, it seems like he hasn't seen till that day. Gross. This was a phenomenon seen before, where violence and notoriety became something distorted.

SPEAKER_05 28:16

But there's nothing romantic about this. Nothing misunderstood, and nothing to excuse.

SPEAKER_04 28:24

Just two lives taken, and families left behind. While awaiting trial, he tattooed his face, including a swastika beneath his eye. And another on the side of his head. Idiot. Fucking neo-Nazi piece of shit needs to be fucking. This dude pisses me off more than anybody. Here, let me enjoys it. Here, let me put half of Florida on my face.

SPEAKER_05 28:55

He enjoys it. He's a fucking someone needs to I hope he gets punched every day. I hope he gets maybe gets a pineapple shoved off his ass. Like Hitler did.

SPEAKER_04 29:05

Pine cones. Multiple pine cones. Yeah. Like multiple pine cones. Here, let me let me put half of Florida on one side of my face. Let me let me tattoo fucking skull on the other side of my fucking face. And then let me put fucking swastikas on my face. Obviously, he has something wrong up there. He thinks that looks if I was in prison and had to see his face every day. I would be that person that would finally say, you know what? I'm gonna be the demented one now, and I'm gonna skin his face. Get rid of that shit. I don't wanna see it.

SPEAKER_03 29:41

Yeah, like he thought the tattoos were gonna save him from his penalty.

SPEAKER_04 29:44

I don't know. He was just being a dick. He it was just another form of him to to give it to the man. Yeah. That's what he was doing.

SPEAKER_05 29:53

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 29:54

But yet women were still, oh my god, he's even more attractive with the tattoos. Guess what? He's not gonna be attractive when I fucking rip his face off. He's gonna look like an actual fucking skeleton. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:06

It's a whole I like I just don't understand. Like, man, there's so many other things you could do with your day.

SPEAKER_05 30:13

Yeah. He had no not no like motive for it.

SPEAKER_04 30:17

He just did it. Yeah. That's the thing. He's fucking nuts. Like, go do your drugs in your house and just something somewhere out of society. God, don't like bro. Seriously. First off, and and another thing for the for the women that have been, you know, writing to him and saying how attractive he is. What about those those kids?

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:43

That those families, you know. What where do you what are you thinking about them kids? Yeah, that's. You're a piece of shit too if you ain't thinking about them damn kids that just lost their parent. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

Later he was involved in an attempted escape, tried to organize a getaway, even while already facing death.

SPEAKER_04 31:03

Does that surprise me? Why don't you just attempt your escape off of a damn bridge? Yeah, escape life.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

What was he even doing? I can help you.

SPEAKER_04 31:12

What, did he take a spoon and try chiseling away at the brick?

SPEAKER_03 31:15

Allegedly.

SPEAKER_04 31:17

I'm curious.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

What you making this brick out of nowadays that they can get through it with a spoon?

SPEAKER_04 31:22

Hey, you never know. Some of them fuckers are determined.

SPEAKER_05 31:25

He attempted to escape from the Lee County Jail in September of 2020 while awaiting trial for double murder. Wilson was identified as the primary planner and instigator of the attempt. He allegedly used fellow inmates to try and arrange a getaway vehicle for a late-night pickup. Wilson and his cellmate, Joseph Katz, tampered with the only window in their 10x10 cell. They successfully removed the metal frame and caused several cracks in the thick security glass. Deputies received a tip about a possible escape attempt. Upon searching the cell, they discovered the damaged window in a note signed by Wilson detailing the getaway plan. You fucking idiot.

SPEAKER_04 32:06

It's like you're fucking stupid. You are gonna get caught.

SPEAKER_05 32:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

He's like, this is where you can find me.

SPEAKER_05 32:11

Wilson was initially charged with attempted escape and criminal mischief. However, these charges were later dropped in August 2024 as part of a plea deal involving unrelated drug trafficking charges he also accumulated while in custody. Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Just getting charged about it.

SPEAKER_04 32:28

You know what? The death sentence is best for this dude. Gosh.

SPEAKER_05 32:35

When you step back and look at everything, the violence, the detachment, and the lack of remorse. It leaves one question. Was this someone shaped by trauma? Or someone who had always hid this in him?

SPEAKER_03 32:49

It doesn't really seem like with the football trauma to the head or the sports trauma or whatever he did.

SPEAKER_05 32:54

Again, like I feel like this is like with everyone. Like were they shaped, were they born with it, or were they I I I can see it going either way.

SPEAKER_04 33:02

See, he's probably he was probably born with it, and a head injury kind of just brought it off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:11

Because sometimes the most terrifying thing is not understanding why. Christine Melton, Diane Ruiz, two women who should still be here. Two lives that mattered. They weren't headlines, they weren't a story, they were people with families, with memories, and with futures that were taken from them.

SPEAKER_04 33:40

And no matter how much attention cases like this get, we cannot lose sight of that.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

There's nothing intriguing about this. Nothing misunderstood. Nothing to admire.

SPEAKER_05 33:55

And the fact that people choose to romanticize individuals like this, write to them, support them, be drawn to them, is something we should be questioning, not feeding. A hundred and ten percent.

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Yeah. Question, question, question.

SPEAKER_04 34:12

Yeah. Because when attention shifts towards the person who caused harm, we risk forgetting the ones who suffered it.

SPEAKER_05 34:23

And this story should never belong to him. It belongs to Christine and Diane. And that concludes this episode of Veil of Echoes. If you found yourself drawn into this story, please take a moment to follow the show, leave a rating, or share this episode with someone you trust. It helps our voices carry further than we ever could alone. And this Friday, we're stepping into something different.

SPEAKER_03 34:53

A story that started online. With no history and no origin.

SPEAKER_04 35:00

But people didn't treat it like fiction.

SPEAKER_05 35:05

I believed it enough to act on it.

SPEAKER_03 35:09

Because in 2014, two young girls made a choice to prove something was real.

SPEAKER_04 35:18

Even if it meant hurting someone else.

SPEAKER_05 35:22

So what happens when something fictional stops feeling fictional? Until next time, keep your ears open.