Naman Shrestha
In ‘Handsome Devil: Charming Killer,’ the primary focus is on the multiple alleged crimes and two murders committed by a Florida man named Wade Steven Wilson. When he killed two women, Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz, randomly within a single day in October 2019, the authorities were alerted after his then-girlfriend, Mila Montanez, accused him of battery. The three-part true crime documentary series delves deep into his early life, his alleged mental illnesses, and the crimes he committed during the 2010s.
Wade Steven Wilson Strangled Two Women to Death in the Span of Hours
Wade Steven Wilson was born as Anthony Testasecca on May 20, 1994, to Steve Testasecca. Since his parents were teens and too young to handle the responsibility of raising a child, they placed him for adoption. He was then adopted by Steve and Candace “Candy” Wilson, who brought him up in Tallahassee, Florida. The Chiles High School graduate was allegedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder during his youth. According to reports, he was also involved in minor criminal activities and substance abuse. Starting from 2012, Wade started getting into serious trouble with the law as he was involved in assaults, burglaries, and firearm-related offenses. As a matter of fact, he was reportedly sentenced to prison for burglary and grand theft in November 2013.
A couple of years later, in 2015, he was arrested for kidnapping and sexual battery after a woman accused him of assaulting her in his car. Although he was acquitted of these charges, he was sentenced to prison for firearm theft in 2017. He was also connected to the murder-for-hire plot of Denise Williams, whose husband allegedly orchestrated the plan. In 2019, Wade was accused of more battery charges. At the time, he was dating a woman named Mila Montanez, who had taken back the accusations she had made against him in order to avoid going to trial. On the evening of October 6, 2019, Wade met a 35-year-old woman named Kristine Melton and her friend, Stephanie Sailors, at Buddha LIVE bar. After spending some time with the two women, Wade went to Kristine’s home in Cape Coral, where he proceeded to strangle her to death after Stephanie left.
He fled the scene, driving Kristine’s car, and met with his girlfriend, Mila, right outside her workplace in Fort Myers around 9 am on October 7. When she didn’t agree to get into the car with him, he became violent towards her and battered her severely. Mila managed to escape the situation and inform the police. After fleeing the scene, Wade reportedly lured 43-year-old bartender and mother of two, Diane Ruiz, into his car and strangled her. He then pushed her out of the car and ran over her multiple times with his car. Later, Wade confessed to his crimes to his biological father, Steven Testasecca, who told the police about his whereabouts. Thus, in the early hours of October 8, 2019, Wade was arrested for killing two women.
Wade Steven Wilson is Currently on Death Row in Florida
Since Wade Steven Wilson chose to plead not guilty to the murders of Kristin Melton and Diane Ruiz, his case was taken to trial. While awaiting trial, he got his face tattooed up with various symbols and quotes, including a swastika. He also allegedly tried to orchestrate an escape plan with his cellmate in 2020. In 2023, he also pleaded nolo contendere to the drug smuggling charges against him. In exchange, the charges related to his escape attempt were dropped. In 2023, he also survived a drug overdose at Lee County Jail. His trial commenced in the summer of 2024, during which the defense presented evidence of Wade’s deteriorating mental health and claimed that drug abuse impaired his judgment at the time of his crimes.
Meanwhile, the prosecution called Wade’s biological father, Steven, to the stand. He testified against his son in front of the jury and talked about how he confessed to him after the murders. On June 12, 2024, he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz. On August 27, he was sentenced to death for his crimes. A couple of days later, on August 29, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which would run concurrently to the death penalty. He and his defense have filed an appeal to get his death sentence overturned, a process that could take several years. As of today, he is held at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, on death row.
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