Wade Wilson asks court if he may cut hair, cover tattoos ahead of capital murder trial

A Fort Myers man facing the death penalty linked to the 2019 murders of two Cape Coral women, set to stand trial beginning Monday, is asking the court for permission for cosmetic changes he says would help him appear presentable to a jury.

His trial is scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection before Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson. It's expected to last three weeks.

What is Wade Wilson accused of?

Wade Wilson, 29, is charged with the first-degree murder of Kristine Melton, 35; grand theft of Melton's car; battery on Melissa Montanez, 41; first-degree murder of Diane Ruiz, 43; burglary of a dwelling belonging to Kent Amlin or Fannie Amlin; and petty theft from Kent Amlin or Fannie Amlin.

Melton and Ruiz were killed within days of each other in October 2019. Melton was found dead in her home; Ruiz’s body was found in a field days after her disappearance.

Wilson was indicted by a Lee County grand jury in November 2019. He has been at the Lee County Jail since October 2019.

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State prosecutors have said in court documents that on Oct. 7, 2019, Wilson stole Melton's car after killing her and visited Montanez in Melton’s car and use Melton’s cellphone to contact Montanez.

After Wilson attacked Montanez, Gardiner said, he fled in Melton's car and encountered Ruiz in Cape Coral, where police say he killed her and repeatedly drove over her body using Melton's car.

Wilson then entered a nearby business, where he confessed the homicides to an acquaintance. When the acquaintance dialed 911, Wilson fled on foot and broke into a nearby home, leading to the latter two of the six charges.

Authorities found Ruiz's body in Melton's car, along with both women's cellphones, according to court documents.

Wade Wilson challenges the death penalty

Since January, Wilson has challenged recent changes to death penalty recommendations by jurors; sought separate trials for the different charges; sought to bar victim impact evidence at trial; and hoped three aggravating factors would be dismissed in his case, alleging unconstitutionality.

Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson has denied those attempts.

Additional charges while incarcerated

Wilson has at least twice faced additional charges since his initial incarceration at the Lee County Jail for the 2019 homicides. In April of last year, he faced charges in a narcotics scheme.

In October 2020, Wilson, along with a man accused in a domestic violence case, was thwarted in a bid to escape Lee County Jail.

The sheriff's office report said Wilson was the primary planner and instigator of the attempt.

According to a separate arrest report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office, around 6 a.m. April 20, 2023, a K9 conducted a free air sniff outside the main Lee County jail, 2115 Martin Luther King J. Blvd., because of narcotics allegedly placed there.

The K9 identified narcotics near an area where landscaping rocks are laid, the report says. Authorities recovered a gray grocery bag with two Ziploc bags inside.

Each bag contained loose cigarettes, suspected narcotics, lighters and pills. Both bags tested positive for methamphetamine.

An anonymous inmate trusty reported the narcotics were brought by inmate trusty Bobby Hitchman, 35, the report indicated.

According to the arrest report, Hitchman was providing the narcotics to another inmate trusty, Daniel Mulcahey, 38, who then distributed them to Wilson and a second inmate.

How does Wade Wilson hope to alter his look at the jury trial? 

According to two motions filed May 11, Wilson hopes to obtain a haircut before Monday and apply facial makeup to cover several tattoos in hopes they improve his image before the jury.

Court documents say that Wilson has enlisted a state-licensed barber to provide the haircut in the Lee County Jail subject to the jail's security requirements.

The latter of the two motions says Wilson has "numerous and varied tattoos" on his face, including "stitches," swastikas, and other designs "that might be objectionable to members of the potential jury pool."

According to the motion, Wilson has requested to apply makeup over them.

Wade Wilson trial gains national attention

Sara Miles, spokesperson for the 20th Judicial Circuit, said Law and Crime Network plans on attending the trial. According to their website, they cover live court video, high-profile criminal trials, "crazy crime," celebrity justice and smart legal analysis.

Other local cases that have gained national attention are Teresa Sievers' 2015 murder-for-hire that landed Mark Sievers on death row and the 1997 murder of former Marine Keith Jones that led to the 2022 exoneration of Michelle Ashley, 47.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.