‘Wade Wilson’ Is Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Alter Ego. But Real-Life Man Killed 2 Women ‘for the Sake of Killing’

Wilson was convicted of the 2019 murders of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz

The Marvel character “Deadpool,” played by Ryan Reynolds in the eponymous series of movies, hits screens again with the July 26 release of Deadpool & Wolverine.

Deadpool is an antihero mercenary with a sharp wit and the superpower of quick healing. But away from the Marvel universe, another man named Wade Wilson faces sentencing for murdering two women.

In June, Wilson was convicted of the October 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, who were killed within hours of each other in separate incidents in Cape Coral, Fla., according to reports from WFLA, Fox 4 and WBBH. 

Wilson was arrested in connection with the murders that month. Authorities said Wilson met Melton at a bar and went home with her, Fox 4 reported. He strangled her to death the next day. Hours later, the outlet reported, Wilson saw Ruiz, a mother of two, walking home from work and asked her for directions. 

Ruiz got in the car and was strangled to death, according to the report. Her body was found in a parking lot.

“This case was about killing for the sake of the killing,” Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner said during closing arguments of Wilson’s trial, according to Fox 4. “Strangulation is the epitome of life slipping through someone’s hands.”

Prosecutors had previously argued during trial that Wilson had confessed to the murders, telling detectives, “I would do it again,” the outlet reported.

The News-Press reported that after the murders, Wilson called his father multiple times and confessed to the murders.

Wilson’s attorneys never disputed that their client was innocent, rather that he had been under the influence of drugs.

“I’m not arguing insanity, I’m arguing the state is claiming premeditation, I’m arguing he’s whacked out of his mind for any of this,” attorney Lee Hollander told the court, according to a report from WBBH.

After Wilson was convicted on June 12, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said in a statement, “This afternoon in the Lee County Courthouse, I sat with the families of Diane Ruiz and Kristine Melton as the verdict was read: Wade Wilson was found guilty on all counts. The families expressed to me their gratitude for the hard work of our team.”

On June 25, a jury recommended that Wilson be given a death sentence, the News-Press reported. A judge will now decide on the killer’s ultimate fate.

Fox 4 reported that Wilson’s sentencing was delayed to Aug. 27, having initially been scheduled for July 23