The father of a Florida man who has been in jail on murder charges for nearly five years said his son confessed to killing one of his suspected victims, leaving her ‘looking like spaghetti’ after running her over.
Wade Wilson’s double-murder trial began in Cape Coral this week with jury selection. He is accused of murdering Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, in October 2019.
His trial has been five years in the making as Wilson’s first attorney died, and he once escaped from holding. His defense team was also granted an unusual request to allow Wilson to wear makeup in court to cover tattoos on his face, including swastikas. However, they were still visible at the start of the trial.
Attorneys wanted to cover the tattoos so Wilson would ‘appear presentable’ to the jury.
Wilson, 30, previously denied killing the women in an interview with NBC2. But his father told investigators that his son called him after spending the night with Melton and asked for help.
He explained how his son admitted to strangling Melton while she was sleeping, then rolled her up in a carpet. The dad added Wilson said he picked up a woman, asked for directions, choked her and ran her over so many times, “he made her look like spaghetti,” he told investigators, according to the outlet.
The defendant admitted to meeting the woman and sleeping at Melton’s house before authorities discovered her dead body. However, he asserts that Melton was alive when he left in her car.
Later that same night, Ruiz was reported missing after she vanished while walking home from a job at the Moose Lodge about a mile from her home, according to Fox 4. She was found dead the next day behind a Sam’s Club. Police linked the two deaths, and both women were strangled.
An ex-girlfriend also told the news outlet Wilson admitted to committing the crimes.
Wilson faces the death penalty if convicted. Juries in Florida only need eight out of 10 members to recommend the death penalty.
Family members of the victims were not seen in the courtroom as jury selection began. Arguments and evidence are expected to be released in the trial next week.
The legal proceedings have been complicated by two events. One of Mr Wilson’s prior attorneys died while awaiting trial, and the defendant previously tried to escape from jail.